The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  
Author: Sherman Alexie  
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: 2007 
Genre/Format: Teen Issues-Fiction/Novel 
Summary: Junior is growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation when he decides he will leave the rez to get a better education by attending an all-white high school that is 22 miles away.  This book tells his story as he deals with adolescence and trying to find his place in the world. 
What I Think: I listened to this book on audio a little over two years ago (May, 2008) and as I opened the book to read through and look at the language in this book I instantly remembered hearing Sherman Alexie's voice as he narrated the book.  He has an accent and a kind of lilt to his voice that is unforgettable.  This is definitely a book I would recommend listening to because it adds so much to the book and to the character.  I'm not good at "hearing" a character's voice in my head as I read, I usually hear my own voice unless it's a biography of someone famous or of an author I've heard before.  Here is a snip of audio from Sherman Alexie's website that is a perfect excerpt from the book to share.
     I chose to review this book (even though I read it a couple of years ago) because it is on this year's banned books list.  It's amazing to me that this book is on the banned books list but has won numerous awards and been chosen as the best book of the year by various groups.  I do remember cracking up as I listened to this book and I kind of remember thinking it was a high school level book because of the content and language, but it doesn't ever need to be banned.  As I flipped through the pages I remembered why I would recommend it to an older student - because the main character is a teenage boy who thinks like a teenage boy and expresses those teenage boy thoughts in the book.  Obviously, there is nothing wrong with this, and I think it's healthy for teenage boys to be able to read a book like this and relate to what he is dealing with, but I would hesitate to recommend this to one of my 7th or 8th graders, maybe to an end-of-the-year mature 8th grade reader, maybe.
     For high schoolers, I think this book is great!  I think it's important to read books about people from different cultures and to be able to gain some perspective about their lives.  I think the fact that our country forced people onto reservations is a sad part of our history and I feel like the repercussions of that are not often portrayed in mainstream culture...have you ever seen a sit-com set on a reservation?  Me either!  Alexie does a good job of writing a hysterical book with a character you can't help but love while also portraying life on a reservation.  
Read Together: 9 - 12 (I don't think I would choose to read this aloud myself, I might read parts of it or play parts of the audio for students-see above-because the writing is so good and/or booktalk it.) 
Read Alone: 9 - 12 
Read With: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie By David Lubar; King Dork By Frank Portman; Spanking Shakespeare By Jake Wizner; Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie or Notes From The Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick; I Am the Messenger By Markus Zusak 
Snatch of Text: "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." p. 6
     "Last week, my best friend Oscar got really sick.
     At first, I thought he just had heat exhaustion or something.  I mean, it was a crazy-hot July day (102 degrees with 90 percent humidity), and plenty of people were falling over from heat exhaustion, so why not a little dog wearing a fur coat?" p. 9   *Good for inferring who Oscar is.*
     "I was hot mad.  Volcano mad.  Tsunami mad.
     Dad just looked down at me with the saddest look in his eyes.  He was crying.  He looked weak.
     I wanted to hate him for his weakness.
     I wanted to hate Dad and Mom for our poverty.
     I wanted to blame them for my sick dog and for all the other sickness in the world."  p. 11
     "Can you imagine what would have happened to me if I'd turned around and gone back to the rez school?
    I would have been pummeled.  Mutilated.  Crucified.
     You can't just betray your tribe and then change your mind ten minutes later.  I was on a one-way bridge.  There was no way to turn around, even if I wanted to."  p. 55
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Asking Questions, Making Inferences, Making Predictions, Visualizing 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Anaphora, Metaphor, Descriptive, $100 Words, Slang, Voice
Writing Prompts: After reading pages 9 - 14, write about a time when you felt disappointed in yourself, someone else, or something - use anaphora like Sherman does to add emphasis to your writing.
Topics Covered: Spokane Indians, Reservations, Family, Friendship, Bullies, Poverty, Love, Adversity,  Courage, Prejudice, Death, Disability, Taking Risks  
Translated to Spanish: Yes! Here's the link to Diario completamente verídico de un indio a tiempo parcial, although it seems like it might be hard to get your hands on.  Bummer.

      

This book review is posted in honor of ALA Banned Books Week 2010.

Don't Touch My Hat

Title: Don't Touch My Hat

Author: James Rumford  

Illustrator: James Rumford 

Publication Date: 2007  

Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book  

Summary: In this story, Sheriff John keeps the peace in Sunshine with his mighty ten-gallon hat.  He doesn't want anyone to touch his hat.  One night, he's called to bring the town back to order and finds out that what's in his heart is more important than his ten-gallon hat.  

What I Think: Peanut and I had a ton of fun reading this book.  We loved yelling out, "Don't touch my hat!" And then laughing at the irony at the end of the book.  I think Peanut was a little young to understand what was going on, but I definitely think school age kids would crack up at the ending of this book while also learning the lesson that it's what's inside that counts.  The message of this book is great, but there are so many other elements of writing in this book that it can be used in so many different ways in the classroom - I think it would be a versatile buy!!!     

Read Together: K - 8  

Read Alone: 3 - 8  

Read With: How To Be a Cowboy by Bonnie Highsmith Taylor  

Snatch of Text: "Without that sweat-stiff, trail-dusted, bullet-riddled hat, Sheriff John could do nothing - or so he thought."  

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Predictions   

Writing Strategies to Practice: Compound Adjectives, Descriptive, Irony, Slang

Writing Prompts: Write about a character with a good luck charm who is able to be successful without his/her good luck charm by the end of your story.  Write about your good luck charm.  Use compound adjectives to describe an object.  

Topics Covered: West, Superstition, Luck, Courage

Translated to Spanish: No

Petite Rouge

Title: Petite Rouge (Picture Puffins) : A Cajun Red Riding Hood
Author: Mike Artell  
Illustrator: Jim Harris 
Publication Date: 2001  
Genre/Format: Folk Literature - Fairy Tale/Picture Book
Summary: This is the classic Red Riding Hood tale with animal characters set in Louisiana, complete with Cajun culture throughout! 
What I Think: I had a blast reading this book to Peanut last night!  I easily fell into the Cajun dialect and loved the rhythmic reading that the text inspired.  It took Peanut a second to realize the language was different and I stopped a few times to explain that the words were different and that some words sounded different but we used the pictures to understand what was going on.  I loved it, Peanut is three so I can see how it was a little confusing for him...and I'm not sure he really, truly knows the regular version of Red Riding Hood (I better get on that, huh?).
Read Together: K - 8
Read Alone: 3 - 8
Read With: This could be part of a folk literature unit - read with other versions of Little Red Riding Hood to compare and contrast the different versions. 
Snatch of Text: "It was Claude, dat ol' gator.
Petite Rouge gotta honch
dat ol' Claude t'inkin' he'd
like to have her fo' lunch.
'We takin' dis food to mah 
grand-mere's,' she say.
'An' I got me dis pole, 
so you git out de way!'"
Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Connections, Predicting, Making Inferences
Writing Strategies to Practice: Slang, Rhyme, Rewriting
Writing Prompts: Choose your favorite fairy tale and rewrite it in a different setting or with different characters.  Write a page of dialogue including slang your characters would use so a reader could tell you about the characters only from their dialogue.
Topics Covered: Fairy Tales, Strangers
Translated to Spanish: No

 

Gaff

Gaff

Title: Gaff
Author: Shan Correa  
Publication Date: 2010
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction - Teen Issues/Novel  
Summary: Paul Silva lives in Hawaii with his family.  They have raised roosters ever since his father was hurt in a lumberyard accident.  Paul is proud to help his dad raise the roosters and sell them for cockfighting until he actually gets to watch his first cockfight and realizes he is horrified that his family is involved in any way.  He is determined to do whatever he can to disconnect his family from the cockfighting business.   
What I Think: I have to say I was nervous to read this book because I knew at some point I was going to have to read about the actual cockfights...but the book really does focus more on Paulie with only one truly graphic cockfighting scene - and it was necessary to understand Paulie's experience at his first cockfight.  I loved reading a book set in Hawaii - I'm ready to go now!  Correa incorporated Hawaiian culture into the book which I think would be great to give students perspective.  
As far as the plot goes, I finished the book feeling fulfilled in how the story ended and I love that.  This book has elements of friendship, family, romance, and standing up for what you believe in despite what others might think.  
Read Together: 6 - 8  
Read Alone: 6 - 8   
Read With: Non-Fiction about Hawaii or cockfighting;   
Snatch of Text: "Finally Sal wiped his chin with his napkin and told his grampa, 'Paulie like know bout ole days in da Philippines, kay?  An bout da roostas?' 
     Grampa Salvador looked across the table at me, his eyes crinkling at their corners, 'You like, Paul?"
     I wondered if he meant did I want to hear , or did I just like roosters.  So I just said 'Sure' to both.  
     Mr. Salvador - Alberto - leaned his head back, remembering.  'Was six den.  Maybe seven.  Da fadda take me see his bes roosta first fight.  Was prize winna already, dat bird, an was da first fight.  But da fadda, he know.  An he know I need see um.  Can neva forget.'" p. 37
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Visualizing, Using Context Clues, Asking Questions, Rereading
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Descriptive Writing, Dialogue, Slang, Setting, Characterization
Writing Prompts: Write about a time when you listened to a family member tell a story from their childhood.  Write a short story and the rewrite the short story in a different setting - choose a different time period or a different place for your story to take place.  Brainstorm/free write about a character - develop who your character is, where your character is from, what your character might say.
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Integrity, Challenges, Courage
Translated to Spanish: No