Dear Mr. Henshaw
Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow.
When given a writing assignment in school, Leigh Botts
chooses to write a letter to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Leigh is
struggling with his parents’ divorce and his absent father and reveals his
troubles to Mr. Henshaw in his letters. Mr. Henshaw suggests that Leigh begin
to write in a journal. Leigh takes Henshaw’s advice and his writing improves
over the course of the story. Leigh writes an essay about his favorite memory of
riding with his father in his rig, and he wins honorable mention in a contest
in which he wins a lunch meeting with a well-known author. Leigh finds comfort
in his writing an demonstrates emotional growth as the story ends. Readers can
easily relate to the character of Leigh and the story’s plot, especially young
readers struggling with the divorce or separation of parents.
Out of My
Mind
Draper, S. (2010). Out
of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Melody’s photographic memory easily makes her one of the
smartest kids in her school, but no one knows because she isn’t able to
verbally communicate. Melody’s peers and even some teachers feel that she is
unable to learn due to her inability to use words and her limited ability to
control her body. With the help of her school aide, her parents and a family
friend, Melody discovers a life-changing device that allows her to use words
for the first time. The author’s dialogue makes it easy to imagine Melody’s
constant struggle to communicate her wants and needs. Family is a major theme
throughout this story. Melody’s supportive and encouraging parents and close
family friend work to make her dreams come true by doing everything in their
power to help ease her daily struggles.
Diary of a
Wimpy Kid
Greggory is an awkward middle school student who records his
adventures and traumas in a journal given to him by his mom. Greggory comes up
with creative ways to survive the bullies of middle school, but his crazy ideas
often get him into trouble. Even though he is viewed as a dork by his
classmates, Greggory survives his first year of middle school by looking on the
bright side of his mishaps. Young readers can easily relate to the characters
of this book and the struggles that can occur during the middle school years.
The language and context used by the characters is comparable to the language
used today by students, thus making the book believable. The plot of this book
also makes it relatable to young readers. The struggles of the main character
reflect problems which are easily comparable to the struggles of middle school
students in real life.
See the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9DIx1VJRMs
Rules
Lord, C. (2008). Rules.
New York: Scholastic.
Catherine only wants to be normal. However, her life is
anything but normal with her brother David. David has been diagnosed with
autism, and Catherine desperately attempts to teach him socially appropriate
behaviors. Catherine meets a boy named Jason while attending her brother’s
doctor appointments. Jason is a paraplegic and can only communicate by pointing
to words in his communication book which lacks in cool, teenage lingo. Catherine
and Jason develop a friendship as she helps him add new words to his book. Catherine
is embarrassed to be seen with Jason in front of her new neighbor and friend,
Kristi. In the end, Catherine discovers that her own behavior towards Jason is
the most embarrassing of all. Being different and accepting others’ differences
can be major struggles for young people. The theme of accepting differences and
Catherine’s struggle with accepting differences makes this book easily relatable
to the everyday struggles of school aged children.
See the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH_4BsFhmvE
Paterson, K. (1977). Bridge
to Terabithia. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Jesse is disappointed when a girl steals his chance to be
named the fastest kid in the fifth grade. Even though they have little in
common, Jesse eventually befriends Leslie. Jesse and Leslie’s imaginations
carry them to their secret land of Terabithia where the two rule as king and
queen. Leslie’s tragic death brings Jesse’s world to a halt, but he eventually
accepts her death and invites his younger sister into his secret world where
she will become the new queen. Paterson provides in depth descriptions which
make it easy to imagine the setting of Terabithia. One of the main themes
throughout this book is friendship. Through their friendship, Jesse and Leslie
are able to escape their troubles from the outside world. Gender roles also
play an important part throughout the book. Jesse and Leslie are both
disapproved of because they don’t fit the typical masculine and feminine
stereotypes.
Chapter 5:
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Cardell,
S. (2008). Children's literature in action: A librarian's guide.
Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Chapter 5 provides an in-depth
description of contemporary realistic fiction books including types of contemporary
realistic fiction, well known authors in the genre and the evaluation criteria
for contemporary realistic fiction books. Contemporary realistic novels should
depict events and people in today’s society, but are made-up by the authors.
Today, authors of this genre frequently write about struggles such as death, divorce
and homelessness. Young readers are often able to easily relate to the topics
of contemporary realistic fiction novels which help make the books appealing to
older children. Popular themes for this book genre include discovering one’s
identity, friendship, family and growing up. These books can be humorous as the
characters tackle the hardships of growing up, or written in a serious manner
to portray struggles such as sexuality or abuse. These books can be used during
book discussions as the relatable topics can easily spark in-depth discussions
in the classroom. Types of contemporary realistic fiction include short stories
for children, short novels and series. Series are a popular trend among young
readers today because they develop a familiarity with the characters which keep
young readers asking what will happen next. Popular authors of this genre include
Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary and Louis Lowry. Characters, setting, theme, plot
and style are the elements used to evaluate contemporary realistic fiction books.
Readers should be easily able to relate to a story’s main characters and the
issues the characters encounter. The plot and themes should be based upon
happenings that are believable and likely to take place within today’s society.
The setting and style of contemporary novels should be realistic and natural.
The portrayal of gender and culture has changed over the years to reflect the viewpoints
of current times. Well-known awards for contemporary realistic fiction include
the Newbery Award and the Hans Christian Anderson Award. Book reports, oral discussions,
and readers’ theatre are examples of ways to engage readers and encourage
verbal responses towards their feelings of these books. I particularly enjoyed
reading this chapter because of my previous job working with middle school
students and witnessing their daily struggles to fit in. I feel that the five
books that were assigned for this chapter realistically target struggles that I
have witnessed my students cope with in real life.
