Aviary Wonders Inc. Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual

Even before The Smack began this year, as the books arrived and the piles in Dia`s office grew, I was intrigued by this book in particular. In its picture book format, it did not fit the typical Smackdown novel or graphic novel or even literary nonfiction format that we have seen in the last four years. At least not that I could remember. Dia, feel free to correct me. This book might possibly be a first for The Mighty Smackdown.

On the bottom of the front of the dust jacket, `Renewing the World`s Bird Supply Since 2031` had me very curious. What was this author up to? What they were up to is to cleverly point out what we have lost and what we could potentially lose if we don`t take care of what we have.

As this review at the Washington Post points out, and publisher trailer on YouTube embedded below brings to life, this book could easily become an interactive app, However, I fear its message would probably be lost in such a transformation to another form. And it is because of its sophisticated message that, while its images could be enjoyed by a younger student its message would probably be lost as well.

I think this book could lead to lots of interesting inquiry questions for students as they explore then discover other bird books as well as resources online.

I can`t wait to share it with my grade nines to see what they think!



p.s. If it wasn`t for Mr. Shu`s post and vine, I would have forgotten to remove the dust jacket. What a surprise!

Update: This post sat as a draft until now. Since then I have tested out Aviary Wonders on a couple of students and finished Falling into Place. But first: Falling into Place.

 When I started Falling into Place, the voice in my head said, "Oh, this is one of those books." The mean girl with the Mercedes. I won't summarize as Dia has already done that for us. I did find it had momentum and I wanted to find out what happened. It did lead Dia and I, and later Andrew, to have much discussion. Can high school really be this bad? Yes, yes it can.

In the end, though, I much prefer Aviary Wonders. And, when I tried it out on a couple of my students, as Dia mentioned, the student that had more guidance (although, in this case, it was simply a "you might want to read it for a second time now that you are finished...) was the one to hit the nail on the head and understand the message. The student that did not have guidance, while intrigued that his peer was reading "a picture book" was not able to glean the message.

This reminds me of one of the many messages from Kelly Gallagher about the importance of re-reading for different purposes. The first time, you're just getting the lay of the land. The second, third, fourth...each repeated reading brings a different surprise.

I'll Give you the Sun vs. Through the Woods

 

I’ll Give You the Sun is told from the perspective of a pair of teenage twins, Jude and Noah, talented emerging artists, and the story is told through the artist’s eye with rich imagery and descriptions.  Noah tells the story of “Before” and Jude tells the story of “After.” 

Through the Woods is a series of 5 short stories, plus an introduction and conclusion, told through images and small pieces of text.  The stories are not related, except that they are all about scary and dangerous experiences people have in dark and spooky settings. 

I’ll Give You the Sun in 3 words:  heartfelt, moving, lovely

I love, love, love this book.  I love the way it moves back and forth in time, telling the story from the perspective of twins Jude and Noah.  I love the relationship between Jude and Noah, and how they are almost, but not quite, one person.  The story of their family is tragic and beautiful.  And the ending!  Oh, the ending might make this my current favorite book.  Would I teach this book?  Maybe.  There are some mature themes and fairly explicit content.  I’m not sure if it’s whole class novel material (although I’d love it to be).  I do think it would be a fantastic book to have on the library shelf to recommend to that just right student. 

Through the Woods in 3 words: creepy, interesting (but) unsatisfying

Graphic novels are not usually my thing (reading the pictures is so much more effort than letting the pictures flow in my own mind!) so I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this book more than I expected to.  I read this book on a Saturday morning in my sunny kitchen - thank goodness or I may have had nightmares!  The images are compelling and pull you into the series of short scary stories, but the stories themselves are unsatisfying.  The conclusions leave you hanging.  Not in an exciting cliffhanger way, more in an “Oh, that’s it? What just happened?” kind of way.  I think although students might be inclined to pick up this book because of the spooky stories and creepy images, they’ll put it down frustrated and confused. 

My vote is, obviously, for I’ll Give You the Sun.  Brad will post his opinions in a few minutes…

Freedom Summer Murders Vs Night Gardener

 vs  

Well, Sandra and I had to sit down over this one.  The Freedom Summer Murders is a non-fiction account of the murder of three men who were working on the Freedom Summer campaign, a campaign to register african-american voters in Mississippi in 1964.  The three were brutally slain by the (spoiler-alert), KKK and the book tells the story of the three, as individuals and then when they worked together.  It also attempts to tell the story as the KK would have seen it.  It is was powerful event that eventually led the FBI to discover and prosecute the killers and whose events led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act.

The Night Gardener is also scary tale but one of fiction.  Two orphaned kids end up working for a wealthy family in the house in the middle of the woods.  The house has been built around a tree that is able to provide the family members with things they want, but at a cost - their health and mental well-being.  In addition, the creepiest man ever comes at night to tend to the tree.  It is a book you don't want to read before bed!

So how do you decide? Two books, both good, both have merit - do we pick the book we like best of the book we could sell to kids?  How do you compare apples to alligators?  Well - it's year 5 and we still can't figure it out.  So, in the end, Sandra liked them both but preferred Freedom Summer Murders.  Although I found FSM interesting, it did not grab me and I definitely preferred Night Gardener.  If you love non-fiction, read FSM but if you want to read the book that is moving forward, it will have to be the Night Gardener (just read it during the day!)
And good luck to whoever gets this in the next round because you think comparing it to FSM was hard, I can only imagine how you will compare it to Aviary Wonders.

Aviary Wonders vs. Falling into Place

When one of our fellow smackers - Brad asked me about books for this year's Smackdown  I mentioned Aviary Wonders Inc.  it wasn't long before I got a text saying it's a picture book! At that the first argument of the season of smacking was born. Yes friends it is a picture book but a slow, inquiry based read shows what a great find this book could be for division two or three.

AWI is a beautifully rendered catalogue reading like some of the catalogues that have been clogging my mailbox this festive season. What is it selling? Birds. Why? Because this is a catalogue from the future...you know the one without any birds. When I constantly ask the readers and writers in my class SO WHAT? to make them hone in on author message I might use this book as a mentor text. The illustrations are beautiful and yes, Andrew, many of our students may miss the point and they will need guidance to get there but in this case it is worth it.

Next book was Falling into Place and I definitely knew I had left the clever work of pictures behind to join what has to be the worst high school on the planet. First time author (who wrote this in high school) Zhang tells the story of Liz a high school student who is going to kill herself because...because she is a very mean girl. She has hooked one best friend on drugs and pressed her other best friend to get an abortion. She's also made out with the boyfriend that got the girlfriend pregnant. Liz drinks, does drugs, bullies people into suicide, pregnancy, eating disorders and social isolation. She does this because her mom is absent, obviously the teachers are absent (pet peeve for me) and her dad died in an accident she feels she caused when she was much younger. Would kids read this....yup it reads like an episode of any high school soap you could mention. The condensed mayhem for me was too much. I hope Zhang takes her promise as a writer and lets life experience help her control her stories more in the future.

Aviary Wonders Inc. gets my vote.

Illusive vs. Port Chicago 50

Illusive by Emily-Lloyd Jones

As an avid reader of Dystopian teen fiction, I was happy to start my first Smackdown with Illusive.  The story is set in the future after a pharmaceutical company created a vaccine for an epidemic virus, but with interesting side effects; a small percentage of the population developed superhuman abilities such as mind reading, levitation, dominance, and as the main character Ciare has – the ability to blend in and manipulate her surroundings.  There were 2 choices for these affllicted, join the Feds or become a criminal. 

I did find myself getting lost in the story as it is compelling and full of action. I liked the main character and felt sense of empathy as her history comes to light.  In a few places, I did find myself being annoyed the fallout of her actions, as she continued to make poor decisions and put herself and others in danger, but then upon reflection, I realized that she is a teenage orphan and she is behaving exactly as a teenager would act, making poor decisions and trying to do everything on their own.

There is a lot of potential for the storyline to continue, but you are left with a sense of the book being finished with a satisfying ending.  I would recommend to division 3 and 4 students, as the content is exciting and edgy enough, without being sexually inappropriate.  Great discussion could be had around if you would choose to work for the government and be controlled, or be free but as the life of a criminal.  The criminal life is not glamorized, and the reader develops empathy for the characters afflicted with the side effects of the virus and creates a lot of potential for discussion about government control, good vs. evil and right vs. wrong.

Port Chicago 50 Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

Port Chicago 50 is an interesting non-fiction read.  It is the true account of the segregated naval base of Port Chicago in World War II.  Black men were allowed to join the navy, but weren't allowed to be on a ship, be armed or in any combat.  Port Chicago was an explosives loading base that was one of the only places the navy would place their black naval soldiers.  The men were untrained in handling these highly explosive cargo, but were pushed to work harder and faster to keep up with quotas. After a huge explosion destroyed the docks and killed many men, over 200 refused to  go back to work until their safety concerns were addressed.  After punishment, direct orders, and threats from superior officers, many went back to work, but 50 men remained.  
Through interviews with many of the men who survived the explosion and with many of the 50 who were jailed and faced execution, prejudices are unveiled that I was unaware of, and insight into government policy and how the actions and consequences of these 50 men refusing to work changed history for black Americans.  
Although a little dry and repetitive at times, I was intrigued because it is a true story.  Whenever I read about the prejudice and discrimination black citizens faced in this century, I am always appalled, but relieved we have come so far in the last 50 years.  It is a good book, but if I look at this through the lens of a teacher and recommending books to kids, Illusive gets my vote as it would appeal to a wider audience of readers.  

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

Paranormal murder mysteries, or any stories with creepy ghosts, are not something I would choose to read on my own.  However, the whole point of joining Smackdown was to broaden my horizons, so I trepidatiously dove in.  Famous Last Words is set in Los Angeles, where Willa has just moved with her mom and her new Hollywood film-director step-father.  The city is currently gripped with news reports of a possible serial killer who has been targeting young actresses and leaving them posed, post-mortem, in re-enacted scenes from old movies.  Willa has bigger concerns, though, as her attempts to contact her dead father in the spirit world seems to have brought a new ‘friend’ along.  Willa faces the teen struggles of facing a new 90210-esque school, trying to find her way with her new step-father, grieving her own father, and fighting an ever more obvious supernatural presence.

I was not looking forward to reading this book, even the cover is a bit off-putting.  However, five hours later I realized I’d read the whole thing with hardly a break.  It scared the crap out of me, but I kept turning the page to see what happened next.  I found that Willa, and the other side characters—even the supernatural visitor, has a surprising amount of depth.  The mystery and suspense were skillfully built.  The juxtaposition of non-paranormal narrative and the paranormal parts occurred in a successful rhythm, building up to a climax that brought all of the parts together very satisfyingly.

It’s out of character for me to recommend a book like this, but if you like paranormal murder mysteries (or just want to see what a nicely written one is like) you should give this one a try.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

I was so ready to love this book.  Scott Westerfeld is one of my go to ‘read this’ guys.  His world building in the Leviathan, Uglies, and Midnighters series is brilliant.  I couldn't wait to see how Westerfeld would weave his science fiction/fantasy magic into a dual track narrative:  one part telling the story of the author, Darcy, and her year of bringing her first book from contract to publication; and the second part the fantasy book she’s written.  Admittedly, I should have keyed in to the early clues that reading about someone’s challenges with revising a draft and fighting with editors could be a bit dull—but I held out hope.  The paranormal romance part of Afterworlds, the book Darcy wrote, seemed like a Westerfeld sure thing.  I was so disappointed. 

Darcy’s story (the young author) reads like an attempt at a cathartic coming of age tale.  She moves to the big city, enters into her first serious relationship, faces fears of surviving in the publishing industry and then battles out how to balance her publisher’s expectations with her own artistic integrity;  I found her experience both fantastical and dull at the same time.  I eventually found myself skimming her chapters and hoping the chapters from her paranormal romance book would compensate.  Darcy’s book follows the plight of a young woman, Elizabeth, who survives an horrific terrorist event only to wake up and realize she’s something of a grim reaper who sees ghosts AND is set to fall in love with a super-hot god of the dead.  Now this sounded promising.  But, alas, it’s as if Westerfeld’s attention was so divided between the two plot lines that neither world was sufficiently built.  The characters all felt quite flat (even the supposedly super-hot god of the dead).  We were supposed to believe that Elizabeth and the super-hot god of the dead were desperately in love, but that was the least steamy romance in the book. 

I persevered, reading to the very end, thinking, surely, Westerfeld is going to somehow meld these two plots together in a brilliant twist that makes it all worthwhile.  He didn’t.  I can’t, in good conscience, recommend this book, but I sure would be keen to see if other readers think it was truly as bad as I thought.