Since it was my birthday on Tuesday, I decided to give myself a gift for this week’s blog; I would like to reminisce about a few books. I often think of YA books that still ring true after some distance. Some are books that I read as an adolescent and others are books that are quite new that I have read as an adult. All of my selections have the remarkable power to stay present while I think about race, class, and gender in young adult literature. This post could be quite long, but I will spare everyone and talk about three pairs from different times in my reading life. The first pair, Double Trouble for Rupert and Berries Goodman, is from my own childhood. The second is from when I was preparing to teach or teaching high school, I am the Cheese and Whirligig. The final pair is a set of quite recent publications, All American Boys and How It Went Down, and seem to be even more important given the events in Baton Rouge, LA and in Falcon Heights, MN.
I was an avid reader from the beginning. In fact, I don’t remember learning to read, I just remember reading. I began as my mother read to me, moved basal readers, and then continued on through Dr. Seuss, a whole series of We Were There books, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Henry Huggins, The Secret Garden, The Sword in the Stone, Charlotte’s Web, and a host of other books. The two books from my early reading history are old friends. The first is Double Trouble for Rupert by Ethelyn M. Parkinson. I wish I could tell you that it was a brilliant, piece of literature full of literary quality and profound insight. More than anything I remember reading this book and other Rupert stories and feeling happy. I probably bought my first copy through a scholastic book sale. I laugh at and with Rupert and probably wished that I could have been as clever, mischievous, and as carefree as he was in fiction. Nevertheless, it was fiction and I learned the great art of escaping reality for a period of time through reading and it has been a useful lesson.
The second book in this pair is Berries Goodman by Emily Cheney Neville, an author who is more famous It’s Like This, Cat a novel that earned her the Newbery Medal in 1964. Berries Goodman is a book that I love. I have written about it in a previous post. It is a book that reminds me of past friendships and my introduction to Jewish literature. Reading this book opened doorways that I never imagined. It lead me to books by Potok, Uris, Malamud, Bellow, Roth (both Henry and Phillip), Singer, and a number of other writers through the years. I layered my own occasional feelings of marginalization on the characters and themes I found in this novels. For me, this memory is a good example of what Teri Lesesne might call Reading Ladders.
The second book in this pair is Berries Goodman by Emily Cheney Neville, an author who is more famous It’s Like This, Cat a novel that earned her the Newbery Medal in 1964. Berries Goodman is a book that I love. I have written about it in a previous post. It is a book that reminds me of past friendships and my introduction to Jewish literature. Reading this book opened doorways that I never imagined. It lead me to books by Potok, Uris, Malamud, Bellow, Roth (both Henry and Phillip), Singer, and a number of other writers through the years. I layered my own occasional feelings of marginalization on the characters and themes I found in this novels. For me, this memory is a good example of what Teri Lesesne might call Reading Ladders.
The second pair of novels is part of a group of books that taught me that young adult literature can be and often is quality literature. These books are worthy of repeated readings, inclusion in classroom libraries, literary analysis, reading lists, and as part of instructional units. The first in this pair is Cormier’s I am the Cheese. While many of Cormier’s novels might be more widely known and read—especially, The Chocolate War--I don’t believe any are better or more profound in their structure, theme, or character development than this extraordinary novel.
The second book is Whirligig by Paul Fleischman. I can’t remember exactly how I came upon this book. I used it with high school students a few years before I went to graduate school and before I started channeling young adult fiction all of the time. I am quite sure that a librarian introduced me to the book. I was teaching AP English Literature and was looking for an activity to keep the students engaged between the end of the test in the first week of May and the end of school during the first week of June. If you have worked with AP students, I am sure you can hear the high pitched whine that goes something like this: “Why do we have to work? The test is over?” As if they have learned everything there is to know. Instead, of letting them do nothing (I know I was mean, as they were fond of reminding me), I developed a three week young adult literature project. Each student had to read one of three YA classic: The Contender (Lipsyte), The Chocolate War (Cormier), or Homecoming (Voigt) and then two more YA novels for a B and three for an A. (The list would be different now that I know more, but these three proved to be a good starting point for smart students who had lost track of the joy of reading for pleasure.) After reading one of those books and discussing it in their groups they wrote a review of the book using middle grade students has the audience. In addition, during that first week I book talked other titles and the librarian visited the classroom with a raft of new books to show them. The students read widely and enjoyed the assignment. Some dedicated themselves to an author: Lowry, Voigt, Cormier, Paulson, Zindel, O’Dell, Myers, Draper, Blume, Bauer, Konigsburg, and Hinton. Others focused recent releases Holes, Esperanza Rising, Whirligig, Speak, Monster, Make Lemonade, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The room became a sanctuary for silent sustained reading. More students than I like to admit asked me why they couldn't read more books like these in class. You know, I didn’t have a good answer. Many confessed to rereading books they remembered enjoying from an earlier time and finding out that they were falling in love all over again with The Giver or Hatchet. I enjoyed reading their book reviews and passing them on to a few of my middle school colleagues. A year or two later the school I was in used the book as a whole school summer reading. Is drunk driving an issues you would like to discuss with your students? Then check out Whirligig and its tale of a journey of redemption.
The second book is Whirligig by Paul Fleischman. I can’t remember exactly how I came upon this book. I used it with high school students a few years before I went to graduate school and before I started channeling young adult fiction all of the time. I am quite sure that a librarian introduced me to the book. I was teaching AP English Literature and was looking for an activity to keep the students engaged between the end of the test in the first week of May and the end of school during the first week of June. If you have worked with AP students, I am sure you can hear the high pitched whine that goes something like this: “Why do we have to work? The test is over?” As if they have learned everything there is to know. Instead, of letting them do nothing (I know I was mean, as they were fond of reminding me), I developed a three week young adult literature project. Each student had to read one of three YA classic: The Contender (Lipsyte), The Chocolate War (Cormier), or Homecoming (Voigt) and then two more YA novels for a B and three for an A. (The list would be different now that I know more, but these three proved to be a good starting point for smart students who had lost track of the joy of reading for pleasure.) After reading one of those books and discussing it in their groups they wrote a review of the book using middle grade students has the audience. In addition, during that first week I book talked other titles and the librarian visited the classroom with a raft of new books to show them. The students read widely and enjoyed the assignment. Some dedicated themselves to an author: Lowry, Voigt, Cormier, Paulson, Zindel, O’Dell, Myers, Draper, Blume, Bauer, Konigsburg, and Hinton. Others focused recent releases Holes, Esperanza Rising, Whirligig, Speak, Monster, Make Lemonade, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The room became a sanctuary for silent sustained reading. More students than I like to admit asked me why they couldn't read more books like these in class. You know, I didn’t have a good answer. Many confessed to rereading books they remembered enjoying from an earlier time and finding out that they were falling in love all over again with The Giver or Hatchet. I enjoyed reading their book reviews and passing them on to a few of my middle school colleagues. A year or two later the school I was in used the book as a whole school summer reading. Is drunk driving an issues you would like to discuss with your students? Then check out Whirligig and its tale of a journey of redemption.
The final pair of books was selected from books I have read in the last year or so. In any given year I read a lot of books, but only a few surface into my thought process time and time again. They show up when I think about constructing a new syllabus, preparing a workshop, talking with students, thinking about conference presentations, writing articles and book chapters, and most frequently when I think about how YA books can help us think about the issues that challenge our society today. These issues include equality, opportunity, the educational climate, charter schools, excessive testing, the absence of self-selected reading in classrooms, black lives matter, and white privilege.
I started writing this post early on July 7, 2016, I was buried in work and hadn’t heard much news. I was a part of the English Education faculty at LSU in Baton Rouge for seven years. My daughter still lives in the area and called me and asked if I heard about the Baton Rouge shooting and the additional news about the additional tragic shooting in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. I hadn’t, so I began looking at the out pouring of news through social media and more traditional news outlets. I wonder, are we all crazy? Just a few weeks ago, I reminisced about the tragedy in Orlando. Last week, Shelly Shaffer talked about books that might help us talk about school shootings. Perhaps we are in more crisis than we imagine.
I started writing this post early on July 7, 2016, I was buried in work and hadn’t heard much news. I was a part of the English Education faculty at LSU in Baton Rouge for seven years. My daughter still lives in the area and called me and asked if I heard about the Baton Rouge shooting and the additional news about the additional tragic shooting in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. I hadn’t, so I began looking at the out pouring of news through social media and more traditional news outlets. I wonder, are we all crazy? Just a few weeks ago, I reminisced about the tragedy in Orlando. Last week, Shelly Shaffer talked about books that might help us talk about school shootings. Perhaps we are in more crisis than we imagine.
As I mentioned, I started writing this post early on Thursday, but I began thinking about the books I would include over the 4th of July weekend. I had to sort through several options before deciding on the first two pairs, but these two books, All American Boys and How It Went Down were already locked in. If you don’t know these books, you are missing out. Both books create a plot that captures moments of tension that exist in our society. I think we often think about books that will engage our students and we should. On a slightly different note, I think that many teachers avoid books that make themselves uncomfortable and then mask not using them under a myriad of excuses: the students are not ready to discuss this, the book is of a high enough literary quality, we don’t have time, it isn’t approved, I don’t have copies, we are preparing for the test, and on and on. After what has happened over the last week can we afford to avoid the difficult questions? I am sure the authors of these two books would join me in shouting from the roof tops about these issues. The students are ready; are we?
In All American Boys, Reynolds and Kiely capture a moment of police brutality that deserves discussion. In this joint authored book, the authors examine the event from two distinct points of view. Please just read it. If you are a teacher who cares about students, you will find a host of ways to either teach this book or introduce it to your students. The next author, Kekla Magoon, who actually wrote the review of All American Boys for The New York Times, contributed to the difficult conversation of race and policing in America with How It Went Down. The plot of Magoon’s powerful novel is revealed through a variety of voices. A reader is forced to consider point of view as they contemplate the details and debate with themselves the motivations and risks of each character. Together they from a perfect pairing for classroom instruction or each could serve as a follow-up to the other as students or teacher develop their reading lists. Both of these books deserve to be a continuing part of young adult literature set in urban spaces.
In All American Boys, Reynolds and Kiely capture a moment of police brutality that deserves discussion. In this joint authored book, the authors examine the event from two distinct points of view. Please just read it. If you are a teacher who cares about students, you will find a host of ways to either teach this book or introduce it to your students. The next author, Kekla Magoon, who actually wrote the review of All American Boys for The New York Times, contributed to the difficult conversation of race and policing in America with How It Went Down. The plot of Magoon’s powerful novel is revealed through a variety of voices. A reader is forced to consider point of view as they contemplate the details and debate with themselves the motivations and risks of each character. Together they from a perfect pairing for classroom instruction or each could serve as a follow-up to the other as students or teacher develop their reading lists. Both of these books deserve to be a continuing part of young adult literature set in urban spaces.
I have resisted going on and on about both of these novels. I want to, but I won’t. They can hold their own in terms of their literary quality and their powerful story lines. Oh sure, some might find something to nitpick about, but that is missing the point. These books represent young adult literature's continuing contribution about how literature can help us make sense of our lives. Frankly, I wish that I wasn’t writing on the heels of a week of tragedy. I feel for the family and friends of the black men who lost their lives and for the family and friends of the police officers who lost their lives as well. As Americans we should all feel the loss. Again, yesterday was my birthday. I wanted to have a day of fun and joy (don’t I always?). I did, but I also had a measure of hope added to the day as I listened to the Dallas Memorial service with my wife as we drove around. I was never a big fan of President George W. Bush, but I was open minded and patient while he spoke during the service. I was moved by this quote: “To often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, and while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” Okay, that works for me. Too often, I hear educators and others talk about “those kids.” Are we judging them by one event, one news story, and one situation? Ultimately, I think I will be judged by my actions and not my best intentions. While those intentions might be noble, they don’t mean a damn. The actions matter. How I make the students I teach feel about themselves and their lives matters. I commit to do better.
We continued to listen to the Memorial as President Obama began speaking while we drove. When we reached our distention we both just continued to sit in the car and listen. As I listened to the speech, I latched on to the words of hope: from President Obama:
"I understand how Americans are feeling. But, Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds. (Applause.) I know we'll make it because of what I've experienced in my own life, what I've seen of this country and its people -- their goodness and decency --as President of the United States. And I know it because of what we've seen here in Dallas -- how all of you, out of great suffering, have shown us the meaning of perseverance and character, and hope."
"I understand how Americans are feeling. But, Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds. (Applause.) I know we'll make it because of what I've experienced in my own life, what I've seen of this country and its people -- their goodness and decency --as President of the United States. And I know it because of what we've seen here in Dallas -- how all of you, out of great suffering, have shown us the meaning of perseverance and character, and hope."
My children and many of my students might see me as a gentle curmudgeon with a gruff and satiric façade, I do so to hide a tender interior. While others will spend time critiquing either President Bush or President Obama's contributions to the Memorial Service, I will not. I hope this posting lasts as a humble effort to join two opposing political ideologies in a moment of unity that will live beyond the mourning and towards continuing efforts to unite us despite our differences. One of my former students, Austin Yde, posted a statement of hope. In his post he links to a Rufus Wainwright’s post where Rufus sings Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with the members of CHOIR CHOIR CHOIR. After you listen to this video, maybe we can start by reading together.
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