Review: The Graveyard Book

Bibliography:

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. Ill by Dave McKean. New York: Harper-Collins. ISBN 9780061972652

Plot Summary:

As the novel begins, a sinister character named Jack has brutally murdered a family – father, mother, and a young daughter. Only the baby of the family remains, but as Jack prepares to finish the job he realizes that the child has wandered out of the house. The young baby wanders into a nearby graveyard, where the resident ghosts quickly decide to protect the boy. Given “the freedom of the graveyard”, the boy (named Nobody, “Bod” for short) is able to see and converse with the ghosts living there. Bod grows braver and wiser through encounters with ghouls, witches, evil men, a creature called the Sleer, and the mysterious lady on the grey horse. Eventually Bod is forced to come to terms with his own questions of identity and his need to be among the living, though leaving the safety of the graveyard will also mean facing the evil that is outside waiting for him.

Critical Review:

The world of modern fiction would be a much less interesting place without Neil Gaiman. Again and again he creates engaging characters and fantastical worlds for readers of all ages to explore and get lost in. In The Graveyard Book, Gaiman strikes a tone akin to the art of Edward Gorey and the films of Tim Burton; Gaiman’s graveyard is both macabre and inviting.

Although the setting may be unusual, the relationship between Bod and his ghostly family is not. Though Bod’s graveyard guardians may be dead (or, in one notable instance, undead), they are as loving a family as one could hope for. Bod is able to speak to ghosts, pass through locked gates, and fade into invisibility, but he is still very much a typical child. He gets into trouble, he clashes with his family, he makes good decisions as well as bad. Even more importantly, he yearns to understand who he is, and what his place is in the graveyard and the world outside.

The plot unfolds as a series of vignettes whose storylines are largely contained within each individual chapter. In these stories, such as Bod’s visit to Ghulheim and his encounter with the sinister Sleer, Gaiman incorporates conventions of traditional ghost stories and folktales to create something familiar, yet new. These vignettes do not initially appear to be related to the central storyline, but as the plot continues to develop, the characters Bod meets and the lessons he learns in each become essential to his overall story.

Gaiman weaves a number of big themes into his book – the importance of nontraditional families, the end of childhood, the inevitability of death, and the priceless gift of being alive. Bod is forced to face the dangers that eventually threaten the safety of his home. Preparing to leave the graveyard of his childhood for the unknown world outside, he tells his guardian Silas, “I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands….I want everything.” Perhaps not so ironically, what he has learned from the dead is the importance of living.

Review Excerpts:

2009 Newbery Award Winner

2009 Hugo Award Winner

2009 Carnegie Medal Winner

“There is plenty of darkness, but the novel's ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.”– Booklist (September 15, 2008)

“Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.”—School Library Journal (October 1, 2008)

“The conclusion is satisfying, but it leaves room for a sequel. Everyone who reads this book will hope fervently that the very busy author gets around to writing one soon.” – Voya (August 1, 2008)

Connections:

Read and compare other books by Gaiman, such as Coraline and M is for Magic.

Read The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (which Gaiman cites as an influence), and compare.

Create a 3-D diorama of Bod’s graveyard using posterboard, paper, and art supplies

Compare the similarly-toned works of Tim Burton (such as The Nightmare Before Christmas or Edward Scissorhands). In what ways are the creations of these two artists similar? In what ways are they different?

Review: The Storm in the Barn

Bibliography:

Phelan, Matt. 2009. The Storm in the Barn. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN 9780763636180

Plot Summary:

Matt Phelan’s graphic novel The Storm in the Barn is set in Kansas in 1937, at the height of the Dust Bowl days. Jack Clark is eleven years old. His sister Dorothy is seriously ill with “Dust Pneumonia”. The neighborhood boys bully him. Jack’s father is so preoccupied with the disastrous situation his family is in that he is unable to give Jack the attention he craves. In fact, Jack feels that he isn’t good for much of anything. One day Jack encounters a mysterious figure in his neighbors' abandoned barn. The man has a face like rain, and he guards a bag from which thunder and lightning periodically escape. After witnessing the brutality of the townsmen during a jackrabbit drive, Jack summons the courage to confront the Storm King. Stealing his bag, Jack runs to the top of a windmill, and, opening it, ends the Storm King’s reign. Storm clouds form and rain finally falls on the thirsty land.

Critical Review:

Matt Phelan’s graphic novel The Storm in the Barn blends together elements of historical fiction, folk tale, and supernatural mystery. It’s an interesting combination, to be sure. In Jack, Phelan has created a protagonist that many teens will be able to identify with. Jack craves attention and affirmation from his father. Jack’s father, however, has little patience or time for Jack. Despite Jack’s repeated attempts to get noticed, his father is completely preoccupied with getting his family out of a seemingly hopeless situation.

Phelan’s artwork is a blend of watercolor, pencil, and pen. The illustrations have a very clean, almost simplistic look. Colors are generally pale and washed-out looking, well-suited to the dead landscape they depict. With minimal dialogue, the characters’ facial expressions tell much of the story. Jack’s face projects openness, innocence, and sadness, while the adults in the book generally appear bitter and suspicious. We understand that they have been soured by their struggle for survival. Nowhere is this more evident than the jackrabbit drive. As the men descend upon the rabbits, their faces become terrifyingly distorted; they seem to have become something less than human.

Fictional tales play an important role in A Storm in the Barn. The man who works at the drugstore tells Jack “Jack Tales”, the exploits of another hero named Jack. Jack’s sister Dorothy passes the time by reading about Dorothy in Ozma from Oz. These fictional tales help the characters deal with hard times, and also give them the courage to face their problems.

Much of the story is realistic and historically accurate, including the description of dust pneumonia and the disturbing jackrabbit drive, perhaps the most unforgettable sequence in the book. The segments of the book dealing with the Storm King, however, have the feel of a folk tale. For this reviewer, the two “faces” of the book never completely meshed. After the highly realistic sections of the book, the scenes in the barn seem out of place. The resolution in particular, when Jack finally proves himself by stealing the Storm King’s bag, felt unsatisfying. That said, The Storm in the Barn, is undoubtedly an achievement. It blends historical fiction, folk tale, and illustration in a unique way. Young readers may very well find themselves drawn into Jack’s story.

Review Excerpts:

“Written with simple, direct language, it's an almost wordless book: the illustrations' shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book.” – School Library Journal (September 1, 2009)

“Great for a wide range of readers, this will work particularly well as a gentle introduction for those new to graphic novels or as an elegant argument on the format's behalf against dubious naysayers.”– Booklist (August 1, 2009)

Connections:

Read other books about the time period, such as Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust or Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935 (Dear America Series) by Katelan Janke.

Pair with a nonfiction book about the Dust Bowl, such as the photographic book The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster by Martin W. Sandler.

Listen to music related to the period, such as Woody Guthrie’s “Dust Storm Disaster”.

Watch a video documentary of the period, such as American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl.

Review: The Midwife's Apprentice

Bibliography:

Cushman, Karen. 1995. The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York: Clarion. ISBN 0395692296

Plot Summary:

Medieval England is the setting for this tale of a young girls transformation from homeless “Brat” to “Alyce” the Midwife’s apprentice. At the beginning of Cushman’s short novel, “Brat” is burrowing in a dung heap for warmth on a cold winter night. Enduring the teasing and bullying of the town boys, Brat (now called “Beetle”, after the dung beetle) is taken in by the village midwife, Jane. The uncaring Midwife uses the girl as cheap labor, rewarding her with scraps from the table. Everyone around Beetle tells her that she is nothing, and Beetle believes them. When Beetle comes across the village boys terrorizing a cat, she rescues the creature, who becomes her one friend. The girl (who has taken on the name “Alyce” after being mistaken for someone else at the fair)manages to pick up some of the Midwife’s knowledge, despite the suspicious Jane’s effort to the contrary. A failed attempt to deliver a child herself causes Alyce to run away in shame, working for a time in an Inn outside of town. Redeeming herself during an emergency childbirth at the Inn, Alyce realizes that she has the potential to be many things. She returns to continue as apprentice to the Midwife, with renewed confidence and hope.

Critical Review:

In her Newbery Award winning novel The Midwife’s Apprentice, Cushman revisits medieval Europe, the setting of her earlier Newbery Honor book Catharine, Called Birdy. The world described in The Midwife’s Apprentice is one that will be foreign to many young readers, a world of superstition, a world before medical care and sanitation as we know them existed, a world that seems harsh, even cruel toward the young and the helpless. Cushman’s setting is a small village that can be viewed as a microcosm of medieval life. Through the villagers, readers come to know some of the different vocations and social positions that existed at the time: miller, blacksmith, midwife, baker, innkeeper, nobleman, etc. Cushman creates a vibrant world and characters that spring to life for the reader.

The world Cushman creates is enticing and exotic, but it is the rise of the main character that holds the book together. Beetle begins in such a low state (burrowing in a dung heap), that readers cannot help but look forward to her eventual rise. Defeated, passive, completely downtrodden by life’s events and the cruel people around her, a few key interactions and successes plant seeds of hope in Beetle. By the end of the novel, a new character has emerged, choosing the name Alyce to represent her own refusal to accept the limitations imposed by those around her. Alyce is clever, capable, and tentatively begins to recognize her own intrinsic value. In The Midwife’s Apprentice, Cushman has done an admirable job of bringing the past to life and creating a character that readers will care about and admire.

Review Excerpts:

Winner of the 1996 Newbery Award

“Cushman has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent."– Publishers Weekly (February 27, 1995)

“Earthy humor, the foibles of humans both high and low, and a fascinating mix of superstition and genuinely helpful herbal remedies attached to childbirth make this a truly delightful introduction to a world seldom seen in children's literature.” – School Library Journal (May 1, 1995)

“Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone.” – Booklist (March 15, 1995)

Connections:

Read other works by Cushman, such as Catherine, Called Birdy.

Pair with a nonfiction book about medieval life, such as DK Eyewitness Book: Medieval Life by Andrew Langley, Everyday Life in Medieval Europe (Uncovering History) by Neil Grant, and The Horrible, Miserable Middle Ages: The Disgusting Details About Life During Medieval Times (Fact Finders: Disgusting History) by Kathy Allen and Phillip C. Adamo.

Pair with a book about compost heaps, such as Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals.

Students could create a compost heap as a backyard experiment.

Review: Bloody Jack

Bibliography:

Meyer, L.A. 2002. Bloody Jack: being an account of the curious adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, ship's boy. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0152167315

Plot Summary:

Set in England during the late 18th/early 19th century, Bloody Jack tells the story of Mary “Jacky” Faber. Mary is orphaned at a young age when her family dies from the plague. Forced to fend for herself, Mary joins a gang of street urchins who survive by begging and stealing. After their leader, Charlie, is killed by an unscrupulous Fagan-like character named Muck, Mary decides she must leave London. When she encounters a British Naval Vessel needing ship’s boys, she decides to disguise herself as a boy to get the position. Because of her reading skills, “Jacky” is selected to help teach the ship’s boys to read. She becomes very close with the other boys on the ship, but as she begins to mature, she finds it harder and harder to maintain “The Deception”. Mary also struggles with her feelings toward Jaimy, one of the ship’s boys. Jaimy is conflicted (in a different way) in his feelings toward “Jacky”. She finally tells him her secret and the two begin a clandestine romance. Through an unlikely series of events (involving pirates and a huge kite), Jacky ends up saving her friends and bringing about the capture of the pirate LeFievre. Her secret, however, is out. At the close of the novel Jacky has been promoted to “midshipwench” but is put ashore at Boston to attend the Lawson Peabody finishing school for girls. Her adventures continue in the second Bloody Jack novel, The Curse of the Blue Tattoo.

Critical Review:

As a historical novel, Bloody Jack is “novel” first and “historical” second. Although filled with accurate details from the Georgian period (dialogue, style of dress, position of women, treatment of children, “the pestilence”, life aboard a royal navy vessel, etc.) the book succeeds independently of these elements as a great story with an irresistable main character.

In Mary Faber, Meyer has created an unforgettable heroine. One of the chief successes of the novel is the “voice” Meyer has created for Mary. Strong and feisty, a survivor, funny, vulgar, often vulnerable as well, readers will root for Mary as she manages to succeed against all odds. Those expecting a typical sea tale will be in for a surprise. Although the book does have its share of adventure, more tension is generated from Mary’s “deception” than from the pirates that roam the seas.

Experiencing the story through Mary’s eyes, we feel the injustice of the limitations placed on her because of her sex. We know that Mary is just as able (and often more honorable) than her male counterparts. At the end of the novel readers will cheer for Mary as she is at last able to reveal who she really is. Through her innate character, intelligence, and courage she has gained the respect of her shipmates. Although this story may appeal to females, the adventure, and the liberating theme of being true to one’s self make this a great pick for all readers.

Review Excerpts:

“Meyer evokes life in the 18th-century Royal Navy with Dickensian flair. He seamlessly weaves into Jacky's first-person account a wealth of historical and nautical detail at a time when pirates terrorized the oceans.” – Publishers Weekly (October 7, 2002)

“Capped by a fitting but bittersweet ending, the first-person narrative shines, and a wealth of historical research is seamlessly knitted into the material. A first-rate read.” – Kirkus (August 1, 2002)

Connections:

Read other books in the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer.

Listen to the excellent audiobooks narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

Pair with a nonfiction book about ships such as The Great Ships by Patrick O’Brien or Ships by Phillip Wilkinson.

Compare other historical novels with similar elements such as Pirates! by Celia Rees.