A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rawls, Wilson.1989. Where the Red Fern Grows. New York, NY: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553274295
B. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Wilson Rawls has written a heartfelt tale that deals with loyalty, friendship, determination, strength, and love. The book powerfully displays the bond between twelve year old Billy and his two red hounds. Billy deeply desires two hounds to hunt coons. He describes this yearning by stating: “I was ten years old when I first became infected with this terrible disease.” (p.7) Billy goes on to work odd jobs and saves for two years to be able to buy the dogs. Two years saving nickels and dimes! In a time where today we can have things instantly, this books demonstrates the grit it takes to be patient and work hard for a goal.
This book may be offensive to those who do not believe in a higher being. The book displays not only determination but faith in a God. The author makes reference to God throughout the book. Such as when Billy states; “I thought of the prayer I had said when I asked God to help me get two hound pups. I knew He had surely helped, for He had given me the heart, courage, and determination.” (p. 21) Toward the end of the book the family makes reference about how God had brought the dogs through prayer. “Remember, Billy said a prayer when he asked for his pups and then there were your prayers. (Moms) Through those dogs your prayers were answered.” (p.240) “I knew my father was a firm believer in fate. To him everything that happened was the will of God and in his Bible he could always find the answers.” (p.240) If believing in a higher power is offensive, I would not recommend this book. If not, then this book will reignite a belief in the divine handywork of a higher being.
As the story continues Billy’s passion for coon hunting grows deeper. “Mama made me a cap out of my first coon hide…she wished she hadn’t made it for me because, in some way, wearing that cap must’ve affected my mind I went coon crazy.” “Who-e-e-e, get him, boy, get him…” (p.99) As Billy shouts out you can hear the excitement in his voice.
I found as I read through the book I began to get a drawl in my voice. It was a fun book with vivid language that could be offensively funny to the younger age group of young adults. The word bitch is used to denote the female dog a couple of times. Grandpa also uses a word when he gets excited about Billy buying the dogs. Grandpa as proud as can be says, “Well, son you worked for it and you worked hard. We’re going to get those dogs. Be damned! Be damned!” (p.23)
The two hound dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann have such a powerful bond with each other and to Billy. They would not hunt with anyone but Billy. This love and bond is demonstrated in the challenges they face the night of the contest. The judge who followed states, “It’s a shame that people all over the world can’t have that kind of love in their hearts,” he said. “There would be no wars, slaughter, or murder; no greed or selfishness. It would be the kind of world that God wants us to have-a wonderful world.” (p.214)
Before I read the book I had been warned that it had a sad ending. I expected the dogs to die. What I hadn’t expected was the wave of emotions this book would evoke. I cried my eyes out not when Old Dan died but at the death of Little Ann. “The way she lay there, I thought she was alive. She made no movement. With the last ounce of strength in her body, she had dragged herself to the grave of Old Dan.” (p.237) She died of a broken heart. The bond between theses two hounds was amazing. Something believable yet not found everyday. The novel ends by giving a tribute to this love. The next spring there was a beautiful red fern that had grown between the graves of the two dogs. Indian legend said, “Only an angel could plant the seeds of a red fern and that they never died; where one grew, that spot was sacred.” (p. 246)
This novel offers a remarkable journey between a boy and his hounds. It is a journey filled with faith, love, and grit. I believe Young adults will enjoy this book and find this journey as remarkable as I did.
C. REVIEW EXCEPTS
Amazon.com Review: A straightforward, shoot-from-the-hip storyteller with a searingly honest voice. This unforgettable classic belongs on every child's bookshelf. (Ages 9 and up)
School Library Journal: "An exciting tale of love and adventure you'll never forget."
D. CONNECTIONS
*Billy grew up in an area that economically suffered. How different is that from what the economy we are living in today?
*Billy worked hard and saved every dime and nickel to buy his dogs. What would you be willing to work for over a period of two years?
*Billy found it easy to chop down a tree in order to get a coon. Were his actions justified? How would people react to that today?
To read a bit more about the life of Wilson Rawls check this website:
http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/09sep/9-24rawls.html
Additional work by Wilson Rawls:
Summer of the Monkeys ISBN 9780440415800
You can also rent two versions of Where the Red Fern Grows on DVD:
Where the Red Fern Grows. Sterling Ent. 1974. ASIN: 6301394704
Where the Red Fern Grows. Disney 2003. ASIN: B0002S64VO
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 9780060530938
B. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Neil Gaiman wrote an award winning book that will keep its reader entranced. This novel lulled me into the plot word by word. It actually caught me by surprise. This novel would never have found its way into my hands if not for this assignment. Yet, I loved it and I am now officially hooked on Gaiman’s writing! I was delightfully taken aback at how the characters and plot drew me in. Here is a snippet of how it begins, “The street door was still open, just a little, where the knife and the man who held it had slipped in, and wisps of nighttime mist slithered and twined into the house through the open door.” (p.5) The novel events are recounted by a narrator. This narrator even asks questions of the reader from time to time such as: “you might think—and if you did, you would be right—that Mr. Owens should not have taken on so at seeing a ghost…” (p.14)
The protagonist in this story is Nobody Owens, an orphaned boy who is adopted by the Owens family, who happen to be ghosts that live in the graveyard. Nobody, also called Bod, is given the freedom to roam the graveyard and has a guardian who watches over him. Silas, his guardian, could always be counted on. When talking to Bod about his education Silas explains, “Some skills can be attained by education, and some by practice, and some by time.” (p. 37) Slowly Bod learns the ways of his new family and is able to fade, slide, and dreamwalk. Bod’s family the Owens’ are from another generation. They speak formally and Mr. Owens calls his wife Mistress Owens. One friend he makes from the graveyard is with a witch named Liza. Liza was a witch that had been “drowned and burned and buried here without as much as a stone to mark the spot.” (p.110) The two build a friendship and eventually Bod gives her a headstone with and her initials on it that states underneath, “we don’t forget.” (p.143) I was so touched by Bod’s thoughtfulness as was Liza. Bod only has one friend who is alive during his stay at the graveyard. Her name was Scarlett Amber Perkins. This friendship does not last long because her parents worry about her imaginary friend Bod and out of concern move her away. Eventually she returns. In the process of rediscovering their friendship Scarlett, unbeknownst to her, brings danger into Bod’s life. The man Jack who made him an orphan was still out there looking to finish the job he started. All is revealed in the end at a cost, the cost of his friendship with Scarlett. Yet, the story ends with the promise of life.
It is a beautiful story that intertwines family, love, mystery, death, destiny, and life. The story is filled with adventure, danger, and mystery. The denizens of the graveyard add humor, depth, and drama to the story. It is a story that I highly recommend. Young Adults and Adults will enjoy this novel that will weave a web of mystery, darkness, and delight that is sure to stir the soul.
C. REVIEW EXCEPTS
Booklist: “There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming.”
Horn Book: “Gaiman's assured plotting is as bittersweet as it is action-filled -- the ending, which is also a beginning, is an unexpected tearjerker -- and makes this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished.”
School Library Journal: “Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”
Kirkus Review: “Wistful, witty, wise--and creepy. Gaiman's riff on Kipling's Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family's murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending.”
D. CONNECTIONS
*When Liza found out that Bod risked his life to buy her a headstone what did that mean to her?
*Nobody Owens: Why do you believe the author chose this name?
*Do you believe Bod had a good childhood? Why or Why not?
Listen to the trailer of the book narrated by Neil Gaiman at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk
Visit Neil Gaiman and learn more about his works at:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/
ONE WHOLE AND PERFECT DAY
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clarke, Judith. 2007. One Whole and Perfect Day. Asheville, NC: Front Street. ISBN 978193242556
B. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I found Judith Clarke’s novel, One Whole and Perfect Day, to be utterly delightful. I enjoyed weaving through the lives of the various characters. Sixteen year old Lily believes her family to be very dysfunctional. Underneath it all she understands that her life is rich in comparison to her grandmother who grew up an orphan. As the novel moves in and out of the lives of her family we begin to see that each member of the family had idiosyncrasies. Lily is just plain reliable and takes on the role of mum in the family. Lily’s mum was a psychologist who brought home lame ducks from the adult day care center. Lonnie, her brother is lost in his world and acts useless. Her grandfather, Pop, is believed by Lily to be racist. A racist man who loses it from time to time and almost uses an ax on Lonnie. Grandma Nan talks to her imaginary friend Sef which Lily knows is just plain odd. Exasperated by her family, she desires one whole and perfect day and states to her mum, “We are too…dysfunctional.” In which her mum replies, “Show me a family that isn’t.” (p201)
Lily is not exactly your typical teenager. She is neat and responsible in every sense of the word. Yet she is also just a normal teen who longs to find love. She knows that the girls at school favor boys in “Year Twelve and Year Eleven…” (p 86) She happens to favor a year eleven boy herself. Teens will relate to her longings and to the embarrassment Lily feels towards her family members. They will completely understand her longing for a whole and perfect day. What Lily has yet to discover is that everyone’s idea of a perfect day is different. She begins to learn that everyone has a story, reasons for the way we are. In the end she is left in disbelief and delight as she states: “Could this actually be her family, all together in one room with no one quarrelling or threatening or criticizing?” (p.242) The book leaves the reader with the hope that maybe it is possible to have a whole and perfect day when everything seems just right.
C. REVIEW EXCEPTS
Michael Printz Honor Book
Horn Book: “Like an extended treasure hunt, Clarke's novel traces eight characters through chance meetings, family rifts, and decisive moments to a final, festive celebration of unity.”
School Library Journal: “Clarke's characters are fully realized both physically and emotionally. The pace of the plot is gentle and there are no real unexpected twists. Though readers will foresee the events to come, this
does not detract from the enjoyment of the book.”
Publishers Weekly: “Filled with surprising turns of events and serendipitous encounters with strangers (who ultimately take on significance in the story), this book celebrates rekindled friendship and blossoming romance.”
D. CONNECTIONS
*If Lily were to download a song off i-Tunes that captured her life in song what song would that be?
*What would make a whole and perfect day consist of for you?
*Lily thought her family was dysfunctional. Was it or were they typical of most families? Explain.
*What does it mean to be racist? Can it exist in different forms? Was Stan racist or was he just grumpy?
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