Book
Review
When
You Reach Me, Reviewed by Vanessa Flores
1.
Bibliography
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York: Random
House Children's Books, 2009. ISBN 9780375850868
2.
Plot
Summary
Miranda walks everyday to and from
school with her best friend Sal, who she grew up with, until one day Sal was
hit by an unusual boy named Marcus.
After that her life with Sal by her side changed. Miranda, walks the
same path every day passing Belle’s store, the group of boys who bullied others,
and the laughing man who just showed up one day. Arriving at home one day
Miranda noticed her house door was open but when she looked around nothing was
missing except a pair of her mother’s boyfriend, Richard’s, old shoes. Little
did she know this had to do with the note she found in her book from an
anonymous person, which told her he was coming to save her friends life and his
own. As time went on she ignored the letter until she found the second note in
the bread delivery bag she counted at Jimmy’s, her lunch time work place, the
note told her to tell him a story to help provide details he will need on his
difficult trip. By this time she was very confused but did not know what to do
for it also stated not to tell anyone for safety reasons. The third note she
found folded up in her coat pocket and he told her if she needed proof he would
show it to her and told her of three phrases that would help her believe his
notes. By this time Miranda did not know what to do until one day walking home
from school Marcus, the boy who punched Sal approached Sal and wanted to talk
to him but Sal began to run away from him. As he ran away from Marcus, Sal did
not notice the truck coming, but the laughing man did and he pushed Sal out of
the way. The laughing man saved Sal’s life and at that moment Miranda realized
it was the laughing man who was coming to save her friends life, but how was
this possible?
3.
Critical
Analysis
This intriguing story takes us
through a young girl’s ups and downs of her life. From losing her best friend,
making new friends and finding these mysterious notes that leave her thinking,
any young reader can relate to the characters and their feelings. The story takes
a fantasy look at the thought of time travel and at the end of the story leaves
the doubt of possibility in the character’s and reader’s mind. The style taken
of the author to write the story as if Miranda were telling the story to the
note writer, is interesting in the way that she retells how she came to the
conclusion of who the writer was.
4.
Review
Excerpt(s)
Winner of
the 2010 Newbery Medal
Winner of the 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction & Poetry
2009 Parents' Choice Gold Award winner
Winner of the 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction & Poetry
2009 Parents' Choice Gold Award winner
From Publishers
Weekly- "It's
easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read
L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it
raises."
From The Horn Book- "Closing
revelations are startling and satisfying but quietly made, their reverberations
giving plenty of impetus for the reader to go back to the beginning and catch
what was missed."
From Kirkus- "[W]hen
all the sidewalk characters from Miranda's Manhattan world converge amid
mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to
the beginning and say,'Wow ... cool.'"
From School
Library Journal- "This
unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of
readers."
Connections:
Discover other books by Rebecca
Stead:
·
Liar
and Spy ISBN 9780375850875
·
First Light ISBN 9780440422228
The following
activities are available to use as resources:
·
When You Reach Me Lesson Plans for
Teachers
·
Readers Guide & Activities :
Book
Review
Ship
Breaker, Reviewed
by Vanessa Flores
1.
Bibliography
Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011.
ISBN 9780316056199
2.
Plot
Summary
In the novel “Ship Breaker” a young
man is distraught by luck and fate. Nailer Lopez, a.k.a Lucky Boy, is a
teenager that must work to provide himself with the necessities to survive.
After a brutal storm that destroyed everything in its path, Nailer and his good
friend Pima find remnants of a ship wreck. In their search for scavenge they
find a survivor who may be their ticket out of Bright Sands Beach, or could
possibly be their worst mistake. They decide to keep their survivor, Nita,
alive. All three of them make an oath to each other to have each other’s back,
but when Nailer’s cynical father, Richard Lopez, shows up on the scenes he uses
Nita as a bargain for her safe return home. Lucky Boy hatches a plan, rescues,
and takes Nita to New Orleans II to find some allies. No matter how hard he
tried Nailer could not hide from his father. Richard,
with a group of goons, discovered their location and reclaimed Nita. Luckily
Nailer found some allies and together they went off in search of her. After a
fight to the death Nailer saved Nita and all his loved ones from a terrible
fate.
3.
Critical
Analysis
This novel puts the characters in a
setting where the place they live is filled with sadness, burden and
oppression. The characters need to fight for what they want and need in order
to survive. Working long hours just to make ends meet, Nailer finds himself
debating between his obligations to strip the ship or save the beautiful rich
girls life. The theme of loyalty is seen throughout the story when it comes to
Nailer saving and having someone’s back. Through the story Nailer’s loyalty is
put to the test when he needs to save Nita. In the process of protecting Nita,
Nailer finds something worth fighting for, the people he cares dearly for.
4.
Review
Excerpt(s)
A Michael L. Printz Award Winner
A National Book Award Finalist
A VOYA 2010 Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers Book
A Rolling Stone 40 Best YA Novels Book
A National Book Award Finalist
A VOYA 2010 Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers Book
A Rolling Stone 40 Best YA Novels Book
From Publishers Weekly- “At its core, the novel is an exploration of Nailer's
discovery of the nature of the world around him and his ability to transcend
that world's expectations.”
From The Horn Book- "This thriller will grab and keep
readers' attentions as Nailer and Nita 'crew up' in their fight to
survive."
From Kirkus- “In Bacigalupi's
defiled, depressing landscape populated by mercenary humans and mechanical
dog-men, Nailer's loyalty offers hope.”
From Book List-"Vivid, brutal, and thematically rich."
5.
Connections:
Discover other books by Paolo
Bacigalupi:
·
The
Windup Girl ISBN 9781597801584
·
The
Drowned Cities ISBN 9780316056229
·
2005
Winner: Rosoff, Meg. How I live now. ISBN
9780449819609
·
2012
Winner: Whaley, John Corey. Where things come back ISBN 9781442413337
·
Ship Breaker Lesson Plans for Teachers
·
Ship Breaker Educator guide-curriculum
connections
Book
Review
Lunch
Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco, Reviewed by Vanessa
Flores
1.
Bibliography
Krosoczka,
Jarrett J. Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco. Ill. Jarrett
J. Krosoczka. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. ISBN 0375867309
2.
Plot
Summary
In this graphic novel, the Lunch
Lady accompanies the Breakfast Bunch, a group of boys, on their school field
trip. On this fieldtrip to the museum of arts, the Breakfast Bunch decide to
take a detour and take a tour on their own, but to their surprise they begin to
realize the art in the museum are fakes. As soon as they find out the reality
that Dr. Fraudwa, the museum director, is stealing the art and replacing it
with fakes, they are caught, tied up and thrown in the dungeon for no one to
find. When the Lunch Lady realizes the boys are missing she calls Betty, her
assistant lunch lady, to help her look for the boys, but they are nowhere to be
found. The Lunch Lady then leaps into action and looks for the boys, while at
the same time her assistant Betty rushes over and takes pictures of the fraud
going on at the museum. The ladies pull out all of their lunch lady gadgets and
get to work fighting the evil men, rescue the Breakfast Bunch and save the day,
all by the time the museum tour is over.
3.
Critical
Analysis
This graphic novel is an
entertaining book that highlights the lunch ladies and their unique abilities
of fighting crime with their lunch room gadgets. The images in the comic book
style story standout with their yellow, black and white colors. The yellow
color helps emphasize the yellow gloves and aprons the lunch ladies use giving
it that added sense of importance of the characters. Though the story is about
a lunch lady superhero, the story does not take place in the lunchroom rather
they bring the lunchroom items to the fight. For example their spork phone,
truth brownie, and carrot stick usb drive help them communicate and find data
they need to save the day.
4.
Review
Excerpt(s)
From Children's
Literature - -Young readers
will always question the real lives of the often somber-faced servers behind
the lunch counter after getting hold of this series.
From
Kirkus- “A
delightfully fun escapist read.”
From
School Library Journal- “Fun
and Funny.”
From
Book List-“This
tongue-in-cheek super heroine graphic novel will hit the spot for chapter book
readers.”
5.
Connections:
Discover the Lunch Lady Series by
Jarrett J. Krosoczka.:
·
Lunch Lady and the
Cyborg Substitute (Lunch Lady Series #1) ISBN
9780375846830
·
Lunch Lady and the League
of Librarians (Lunch Lady Series #2) ISBN 9780375846847
·
Lunch Lady and the Author
Visit Vendetta (Lunch Lady Series #3) ISBN9780375860942
·
Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown
(Lunch Lady Series #4) ISBN 9780375860959
·
Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit
(Lunch Lady Series #5) ISBN 9780375867293
·
Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes
(Lunch Lady Series #7) ISBN 9780375870286
·
Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril
(Lunch Lady Series #8) ISBN 9780375870354
·
Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain
(Lunch Lady Series #9) ISBN 9780307980793
·
Lunch Lady and the Schoolwide Scuffle
(Lunch Lady Series #10) ISBN 9780385752794
The following activities are available to use as
resources:
·
Have students create their own comic
about the Lunch Lady.
·
Have your own graphic novel event with
this starter kit.
·
Have fun playing the Lunch Lady game.
·
Learn more about graphic novels.
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