Mod 6: The Dark by Lemony Snicket, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Summary:

Written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen, The Dark tells the story of Laszlo, who is afraid of the dark.  The dark in the story is personified as a character, and Laszlo will visit and greet the dark every morning where it lives during the day by saying hello at the basement door.  He hopes this will keep the dark from visiting him when it spreads out at night. 

One night, however, Laszlo’s nightlight burns out and the dark does visit and wants to show the boy something.  Armed with a flashlight Laszlo searches all the parts of the house trying to find what the dark wants to show him. 

Eventually the dark leads Laszlo into the basement, where he explains the importance of the dark, and reveals a supply of light bulbs to Laszlo in a small chest of drawers.  Laszlo thanks the dark and replaces the bulb in his nightlight and is able to sleep once more.  From this point own Laszlo continues to visit and greet the dark, but is no longer afraid nor bothered by it.

Snicket, L. (2013). The dark. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

My Impressions:

The artwork is what really makes this story for me.  Klassen is able to play so well with the contrast between the light beam and pure black darkness that each page can be strikingly visual.  The story it self is a great take on the “afraid of the dark” trope as well, which could help give smaller children piece of mind when coming to terms with this fear.  The fact that the Dark itself is a character is what makes the story so clever.

Reviews:

You do not know the temptation I am fighting right now to begin this review with some grandiose statement equating a fear of the dark with a fear of death itself. You have my full permission to slap me upside the head if I start off my children’s books reviews with something that bigheaded. The whole reason I was going to do it at all is that after reading a book like Lemony Snicket’s The Dark I find myself wondering about kids and their fears. Most childhood fears tap into the weird id (see, here I go) part of our brains where the unknown takes on greater and grander evils than could possibly occur in the real world. So we get fears of dogs, the color mauve, certain dead-eyed paintings, fruit, and water going down the drain (or so Mr. Rogers claimed, though I’ve never met a kid that went that route), etc. In the light of those others, a healthy fear of the dark makes perfect sense. The dark is where you cannot see and what you cannot see cannot possibly do you any good. That said, there are surprisingly few picture books out there that tackle this very specific fear. Picture books love to tackle a fear of monsters, but the idea of handling something as ephemeral as a fear of the dark is much much harder. It takes a certain kind of writer and a certain kind of illustrator to grasp this fear by the throat and throttle it good and sound. Behold the pairing of Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen. You’ll ne’er see the like again (unless they do another picture book together, in which case, scratch that).

“You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.” Laszlo is afraid but there’s not much he can do about it. Seems as though the dark is everywhere you look sometimes. Generally speaking it lives in the basement, and every morning Laszlo would open the door and say, “Hi . . . Hi, dark.” He wouldn’t get a reply. Then, one night, the dark does something unprecedented. It comes into Laszlo’s room and though he has a flashlight, it seems to be everywhere. It says it wants to show him something. Something in the basement. Something in the bottom drawer of an old dresser. Something that helps Laszlo just when he needs it. The dark still visits Laszlo now. It just doesn’t bother him.

There is nothing normal about Lemony Snicket. When he writes a picture book he doesn’t go about it the usual route. Past efforts have included The Composer Is Dead which effectively replaced ye olde stand-by Peter and the Wolf in terms of instrument instruction in many a fine school district. Then there was 13 Words which played out like a bit of experimental theater for the picture book set. I say that, but 16 copies of the book are currently checked out of my own library system. Besides, how can you not love a book that contains the following tags on its record: “cake, depression, friendship, haberdashery, happiness”? Take all that under consideration and The Dark is without a doubt the most normal picture book the man has attempted yet. It has, on paper anyway, a purpose: address children’s fear of the dark. In practice, it’s more complicated than that. More complicated and better.

Snicket does not address a fear of the absence of light by offering up the usual platitudes. He doesn’t delve into the monsters or other beasties that may lurk in its corners. The dark, in Snicket’s universe, acts almost as an attentive guardian. When we look up at the night sky, it is looking back at us. In Laszlo’s own experience, the dark only seeks to help. We don’t quite understand its motivations. The takeaway, rather, is that it is a benign force. Remove the threat and what you’re left with is something that exists alongside you. Interestingly it almost works on a religious level. I would not be the least bit surprised if Sunday school classes started using it as a religious parable for death. Not its original purpose but on the horizon just the same.

It is also a pleasure to read this book aloud. Mr. Snicket’s words require a bit of rereading to fully appreciate them, but appreciate you will. First off, there’s the fact that our hero’s name is Laszlo. A cursory search of children’s books yields many a Laszlo author or illustrator but nary a Laszloian subject. So that’s nice. Then there’s the repetition you don’t necessarily notice at the time (terms like “creaky roof” “smooth, cold windows”) but that sink in with repeated readings. The voice of the dark is particularly interesting. Snicket writes it in such a way as to allow the reader the choice of purring the words, whispering them, putting a bit of creak into the vocal chords, or hissing them. The parent is granted the choice of making the dark threatening in its initial lures or comforting. Long story short, adults would do well to attempt a couple solo readings on their own before attempting with a kiddo. At least figure out what take you’re going for. It demands no less.

The most Snicketish verbal choice, unfortunately, turns out to be the book’s Achilles heel. You’re reading along, merry as you please, when you come to a page that creates a kind of verbal record scratch to the whole proceeding. Laszlo has approached the dark at last. He is nearing something that may turn out to be very scary. And then, just as he grows near, the next page FILLS . . . . with text. Text that is very nice and very well written and perhaps places childhood fears in context better than anything I’ve seen before. All that. By the same token it stops the reading cold. I imagine there must have been a couple editorial consultations about this page. Someone somewhere along the process of publication would have questioned its necessity. Perhaps there was a sterling defense of it that swayed all parties involved and in it remained. Or maybe everyone at Little, Brown loved it the first time they read it. Not quite sure. What I do know is that if you are reading this book to a large group, you will skip this page. And if you are reading one-on-one to your own sprog? Depends on the sprog, of course. Thoughtful sprogs will be able to take it. They may be few and far between, however. The last thing you want when you are watching a horror film and the hero is reaching for the doorknob of the basement is to have the moment interrupted by a five-minute talk on the roots of fear. It might contain a brilliant thesis. You just don’t want to hear it at this particular moment in time.

Canadians have a special relationship to the dark that Americans can’t quite appreciate. I was first alerted to this fact when I read Caroline Woodward’sSinging Away the Dark. That book was about a little girl’s mile long trek through the dark to the stop for her school bus. The book was illustrated by Julie Morstad, whose work reminds me, not a little, of Klassen’s. They share a similar deadpan serenity. If Morstad was an American resident you can bet she’d get as much attention as Mr. Klassen has acquired in the last few years. In this particular outing, Mr. Klassen works almost in the negative. Much of this book has to be black. Pure black. The kind that has a palpable weight to it. Laszlo and his house fill in the spaces where the dark has yet to penetrate. It was with great pleasure that I watched what the man did with light as well. The colors of a home when lit by a flashlight are different from the colors seen in the slow setting of the evening sun. A toy car that Laszlo abandons in his efforts to escape the dark appears as a dark umber at first, then later pure black in the flashlight’s glow. We only see the early morning light once, and in that case Klassen makes it a lovely cool blue. These are subtle details, but they’re enough to convince the reader that they’re viewing accurate portrayals of each time of day.

The dark is not visually anthropomorphized. It is verbally, of course, with references to it hiding, sitting, or even gazing. One has to sit and shudder for a while when you imagine what this book might have been like with an author that turned the dark into a black blob with facial expressions. It’s not exaggerating to say that such a move would defeat the very purpose of the book itself. The whole reason the book works on a visual level is because Klassen adheres strictly and entirely to the real world. An enterprising soul could take this book, replicate it scene by scene in a live action YouTube video, and not have to dip into the film budget for a single solitary special effect. This is enormously important to children who may actually beafraid of the dark. This book gives a face to a fear that is both nameable and not nameable without giving a literal face to a specific fear. It’s accessible because it is realistic.

When dealing with picture books that seek to exorcise fears, one has to be very careful that you don’t instill a fear where there wasn’t one before. So a child that might never have considered the fact that nighttime can be a scary time might enter into a whole new kind of knowledge with the simple application of this book. That said, those sorts of things are very much on a case-by-case basis. Certainly The Dark will be a boon to some and simply a well-wrought story for others. Pairing Klassen with Snicket feels good when you say it aloud. No surprise then that the result of such a pairing isn’t just good. It’s great. A powerhouse of a comfort book.

On shelves April 2nd.

Bird, E. (2013). Review of the day: the dark by Lemony Snicket [a review of the book The Dark by L. Snicket]. School Library Journal website.  Retrieved from           http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2013/03/11/review-of-the-day-the-dark-by-lemony-       snicket/#_

Usage in a Library Setting:

This could be used as part of a science program where the nature of light is examined after reading the book.  Flashlights could be used to study light beams, and prism crystals could be brought in to examine the light spectrum.

Mod 5: Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers

Summary:

Aidan Chamber’s book Postcards from No Man’s Land tells two different distinct yet interconnected narratives.  One of the narratives follows an English tourist named Jacob as he finds himself initially lost and depressed in Amsterdam.  He is visiting in place of his ill grandmother at the request of a woman who helped out his grandfather during Word War II.  He is pick-pocketed, mistakes a man for a woman, even visiting the one time home of his idle and secret crush Anne Frank does little to cheer him up.  The other narrative is set during World War II and tells the story of a teen age girl named Geertui who takes in a wounded English paratrooper who failed to push the germans out of Holland.  The English solider, who also happens to be named Jacob, starts to grow close to Geertui.

In modern Amsterdam, Jacob’s luck starts to turn around when he finally meets up with his friend Daan, who is the grandson of Geertui.  The two of them visit museums and engage in a few romantic relationships, and it is revealed the Geertui is dying from cancer, and wants to tell Jacob about her time with his grandfather, the previously mentioned Jacob from World War II.

Back in the past we learn that Geertui and Jabo become romantically involved, and devlop a physical relationship when his wounds are healed.  He dies of a heart attack, however, but not before it is revealed that Geertui is pregnant.  Daan’s grandfather agrees to marry Geertui as long as it is never revealed that the child she carries is not his. 

When young Jacob meets with Geertui in the present, she reveals on her deathbed that Daan’s mother is actually the daughter born from her and Jacob’s relationship.  In the end Jacob returns home, but is unsure as to what he will tell his grandmother, but has learned a lot about life and his family in the process.

Chambers, A. (1999). Postcards from no man’s land. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

My Impressions:

An interesting book that deals with one of my favorite time periods of World War II.  I initially thought there would be more connections to Anne Frank and the Holocaust than there was when it was revealed that Jacob had a crush/felt a connection to her.  Even so it tells and interesting tale and even though I was able to put together what was going on quite early in the book, I don’t feel the story suffered because of it. 

Reviews:

“ Since Jacob's grandmother, Sarah, is too ill to make a trip to Holland to meet long-ago wartime acquaintances of her late husband, Jacob is sent in her place to attend a ceremony at his grandfather's grave in Arnhem, honoring him and other fallen soldiers from World War II. When he arrives in Amsterdam, Jacob is hosted by young Daan, who is also the grandson of Geertrui, the woman who nursed Jacob's grandfather in the war. In fact, this relationship turns out to have been more intimate; Jacob's grandfather had an affair with Geertrui, and Jacob and Daan are half-cousins. Throughout most of the book, two narrative threads run concurrently: one tells the story of Jacob's present-day trip while the other tells the story of Geertrui's survival of the war and devoted tending of Jacob's grandfather. Interspersed among the chapters of Geertrui's story are excerpts from real war journals (a note in the acknowledgments credits the authors) that tell more about the grisly battle of Arnhem in which Jacob's grandfather was mortally wounded. Chambers' writing is complex and intense, with equal attention and detail given to characters in both time frames. Both Jacob and Geertrui reach milestones of maturity in their respective stories, and they experience parallel (albeit very different) sexual awakenings: Geertrui in her love for a wounded soldier (Jacob's grandfather), and Jacob in his attraction to two young people, a girl in Arnhem and a boy in Amsterdam. Chambers creates a heady flood of sensory and emotional detail while keeping tight reins on several powerful plots and subplots, crafting an unusually compelling and balanced portrayal of two young people coming of age. Fans of Anne Frank's diary will be particularly drawn to this volume, both because of Jacob's own fascination with Anne Frank and because of its similarly unflinching honesty in depicting both life during war and the process of growing up.”

McDowell, K. (2002). [Review of the book Postcards from no man’s land by A. Chambers] . Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books, 56(1), 9-10.

Usage in a Library Setting:

With the strong theme of family history in this book, maybe it could be used as part of a Genealogy program to get users interested in what the library has to offer in the way of researching Genealogy and family history.  This book could be discussed and showcased as a possible example of what people may find out if they did look into their own family histories.   

Mod 5: Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

Summary:

Midwinterblood is the story of the seven lives of Eric and Merle. Each section of the book represents one of the lives. The story begins in 2073 with Eric as Journalist. He travels to a mysterious island known as Blessed Island (the island is featured in all seven stories). He meets Merle and falls instantly in love with her while investigating the Dragon Orchids, which supposedly give island inhabitants immortal life. He is eventually captured by the natives and is to be sacrificed to the gods when he gets the strangest impression of De Ja Vu.

The second story picks up at this point om 2011 when Edward, an archeologist, is digging for tombs on Blessed Island. A small boy named Erik helps Edward discover a tomb with the skeletons of two vikings within it. Edward then meets Erik's mother, who is a woman named Merle.

In the next story a World War II pilot crashes on Blessed Island, and is taken care of by Erik, who is a farmer this time. Erik dislikes the pilot, and the war, but changes his mind when he sees a photo of the pilot's daughter, a girl named Merle. He helps the solder flee the island, but is killed in the process.

In 1902, we meet Merle as a little girl going to pick the dragon orchids with her mother. She meets up with Erik, who is a famous painter, and inspires him to finish his painting, which is titled Midwinterblood, and he then is rejected from the National Musem in Sweden, and dies unhappily, but not before adding Merle to his painting.

The 1848 story is about an old woman telling a star-crossed love story to her grandchildren about Erik and Merle, but it turns out the old woman was really Erika (this lifetimes erik), and Merle was her forbidden lesbian lover.

In the next Story an older Melle recounts a terrifying story about herself and her twin brother Erik and their Uncle Tor, who adopts the twins and refuses to let them go even in death, and returns from his gave nightly to look for them until Erik offers to return to his grave with him.

In the 7^th tale we are revealed the origin of the Erik and Melle line, when we learn that Erik was originally a King who was forced to sacrifice himself to appease the gods and save the people of his island, where everyone is dying of famine and disease. His wife Queen Melle is devistated by this and King Erikr promises here they will live again and find each other.

We cut back to 2073 at the point where Merle tries to save Erik and escape with him. They are both caught and sacrificed together instead, and they both remember all their lives and time together as they die and all that is left is the two of them.

Sedgwick, M. (2013). Midwinterblood. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.

My Impressions:

The stories in each section of the book could have easily been separate tales, but tying them together was both interesting and a little strange. I think the past lives was a pretty cool idea, and I also liked that the two characters were not always lovers in each life, but still somehow connected or relater whether it be siblings or parental ties. It's hard to say too that the ending was happy as they both die. It was definitely a different book than you normal read, and I am unsure as to how much I actually liked it.

Reviews:

“Midwinterblood is comprised of seven vignettes, with settings ranging from the future to Viking times and a variety of characters, including vampires, ghosts, and humans. Common to all the stories is the Scandinavian island, Blessed; a mysterious dragon orchid; and Eric and Merle, who play different roles in each story. This unusual book for teens (many of the stories feature adult characters only) goes backwards in time, beginning with a story that takes place in 2073. While each narrative could stand alone, combining them into one volume with the barest threads of connections (similar to Olive Kitteridge or Let the Great World Spin) makes the book noteworthy. The audiobook is expertly narrated by British actor Julian Rhind-Tutt, whose hushed English voice is perfect for the recording. Sedgwick's sparse prose is beautifully read with a haunting, dreamlike quality that lets listeners experience the horror, mystery, romance, and tragedy that abounds in the book. Melancholy yet lovely music briefly separates the vignettes. “

Paladino, J. (2014). Midwinterblood [review of the book Midwinterblood by Sedgewick, M]. School Library Journal, 60(7), 55.

Usage in a Library Setting:

Perhaps this book could be used for an activity where young patrons or students are encouraged to create a past life forthem selves in one of the historic time periods used in the book. Imagine themselves as a viking and research what vikings did, or a WWII solider, etc. Use the book as springboard for a history lesson and creative writing project.

Mod 4: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Summary:

The Newberry award winning novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle tells the story of Margret (Meg) Murry, her younger brother Charles Wallace, and friend Calvin O'keefe's adventure through time and space to save Meg's missing father(Mr. Murry). After an encounter with a strange tramp who turns out to be a celestial being named Mrs. Whatsit, and her friends Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which the trio of children use a tesseract, or wrinkle in time and space, to travel to a distant planet called Camazotz to save Mr. Murry, who is imprissoned there by a great evil that is threatening the universe. While searching for Mr. Murry Charles is corrupted in taken control of by a giant disembodied brain called IT. Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Murry are forced to flee (via another tesseract) to another planet called Ixchel where Mrs. Whatsit and her two strange friends appear as well and inform Meg that only she can rescue her brother using a weapon the evil does not have but Meg does. Meg returns to save her brother but must discover what the weapon is on her own. She realizes in the end it is love, saves her brother, and tesseracts back to earth to be reunited with her family.

L'Engle, M. (1962). A wrinkle in time. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux

My Impressions:

I read this book many years ago when I was in middle school, and remembered liking it, but I had forgotten most of the story, so when I saw it on the list I felt I should read it again and see if I still found it enjoyable. It was just as good as I remembered and despite being over 50 years old, A Wrinkle in Time still holds up as a science fiction classic.

Reviews:

“This 50th anniversary production of L'Engle's Newbery-winning story introduces a new generation to Meg Murry and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, as they travel to rescue their father, a trip that truly "wrinkles time." Engaging vocal interpretations of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which contrast nicely with the young voices Davis employs for the children. An introduction read by the late author adds to the enchantment of this classic tale. A Common Core text exemplar for grades 6-8. Common Core Standard: RL.6.3. Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. Content Standard: Oklahoma State Department of Education (Oklahoma C3 Standards, Language Arts, Grade 6) 2. Inferences and Interpretation b. Make inferences or draw conclusions about characters' qualities and actions (i.e., based on knowledge of plot, setting, characters' motives, characters' appearances, other characters' responses to a character). ”

[Review of the book A Wrinkle in Time by M. L'Engle]. (2012). School library journal. Retrived from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2929/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|683427|1765538&mc=USA#

Usage in a Library Setting:

Since Sci-Fi stories a popular these days I feel this classic could fit right in with a book talk, perhaps included alongside some other teenage sci-fi tales that are not as new and may be overlooked by some modern teenagers who would thoroughly enjoy it if they gave it a chance.     

Mod 4: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Summary:

Lois Lowry's The Giver follows the story of Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy who lives in a futuristic society that has rid itself of all fear, hatred, pain, and war.

To accomplish this everyone citizen within the community has given up their individuality and choice. At age twelve jobs are assigned based on the abilities and interests of the person. Citizens can be assigned a spouse and given exactly two children, who are birthed by birthing mothers who never meet the children, and are then raised for a year in nurturing centers. When children are fully raised they are split from their “families” and the adults live in group homes until they are too old to serve the community, at which point they are sent to be cared for in the House of the Old. Sick children and the extreme elderly are eventually “released” from the community, which is believed to be a setting free from the society to join the people in the “Elsewhere”, but unbeknownst to most it is truly death by euthanasia.

Jonas is a bit different from most other citizens in that his eyes are pale while most have dark eyes. He is also able to glimpse flashes of color, when everyone else sees only in black and white. When he turns twelve he must take place in the Ceremony of Twelve, which is when jobs are assigned for citizens. He is nervous about this event, but is given the highly honored assignment of Receiver of Memory. This means he will be tasked with inheriting and keeping all the memories of the past including those of war, pain and emotion the society gave up in favor of tranquility. He receives the memories from the societies current Receiver, an old man who tells Jonas to call him the Giver.

As Jonas begins to receive memories, starting with an exhilarating sled ride, he begins to question and dislike the way the community lives. His experiences with joyful and painful memories show Jonas that the rest of the community isn't experiencing life at all. The Giver, who has felt the same for a long time encourages Jonas' questioning of the ways of the community. He devlops a familial relationship with the Giver as the story progresses.

Jonas also starts to develop a relationship with a small child named Gabriel being cared for by Jonas's “father” and he attempts to help the child sleep by transmitting soothing memories to the boy, and begins to develop a relationship with Gabriel as well similar to the family memories he has received.

The Giver reveals to Jonas that “release” is death when it is revealed that Gabrieal will soon be released. This enrages and horrifies Jonas, and he decides that he and the Giver must work together to change the community. The Giver tells Jonas of the last receiver who asked to be released when some of the memories of sadness proved to be too much for her. Her death caused all the memories she had gathered to disperse into the community, which caused a many of the community members to be unable to handle the sudden intake of emotion. The Giver and Jonas planned for Jonas to acquire many more memories and then escape into the Elsewhere, which would cause his memories to disperse into the community and the Giver would help them come to terms and change society.

Jonas learns they plan to release (kill) Gabriel much sooner than expected, however, and he instead decides to steal his fathers bike and Jonas and flee earlier than planned into the Elsewhere. He finds colorful surroundings and animals with his escape, as well as changing weather, but also cold, hunger, and pain. The story ends on a mysterious note with Jonas and Gabriel finding a sled like the one in the first memory he received. He believes he sees lights and hears music of a friendly village ahead of them and is sure someone is there to help them as he races with Gabriel down the hill.

Lowry, L. (1993) The giver. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company

My Impressions:

I found The Giver to be a great book that raises some interesting societal questions. Is there truly life with out choice and pain? Can we have the good with out the bad? All these things and more are pondered in this book. Dystopian Society novels are very popular at the moment, and The Giver was a bit ahead of it's time in this regard.

Reviews:

“I thoroughly enjoyed this book because, even though it is supposed to be more of a children's book than young adult, the storyline is complex enough to hold the attention of older readers. I really enjoyed Jonas as a character because his character development from a scared boy, to someone willing to risk his future to save the community, is enjoyable to follow. This book shows the path of growing up; at first we are scared to accept that there are new responsibilities, but as we slowly get used to it we want to move more and more away from childhood.”

[Review of The Giver by Lowry, L.] (2014). The guardian webpage. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/sep/06/review-the-giver-lois-lowry

Usage in a Library Setting:

With the popularity of Dystopian Society stories, The Giver would be right at home alongside modern novels such as The Hunger Games, or Divergent in book talks or displays targeted at young adults. Any patron or student reading any of these new novels should definitely be pointed towards The Giver as well.

Mod 3: Golem by David Wisniewski

Summary:

Golem by David Wisniewski tells the story of a Jewish ghetto in Prague being slandered by what is known as the Blood Lie, in an effort by those who hate Jews to turn the rest of the city against them. A rabbi named Judah Loew has a dream that the only thing that can save the Jewish people is to perform a mystical Cabala ritual and create a Golem; a living clay giant that will serve and protect the Jewish people. With the help of two others the ritual is performed and a giant Golem named Joseph is created with the Jewish word truth carved into his forehead. Joseph is sent to work capturing those spreading the blood lie about the Jews and filling Prague's prisons with the criminals. Joseph begins to enjoy being alive and is enamored with sunsets and scents.

As Joseph uncovers the truth about the blood lie, the enemies of the Jews mount an attack on the Jewish Ghetto. Joseph grows enormous in size and stops the assualt, which causes the emporor of Prague to summon Judah Loew to him. He promises the Jewish people will be safe as long as the Golem is destroyed.

Judah finds Joseph, who does not want to return to Clay and wishes to keep living and refuses Judah's order, but Judah simply erases the first letter in truth, changing the word to death, which causes Joseph to crumble away. His remains are stored and sealed with funeral rites in the synagog where they may be called upon again if needed.

Wisniewski, D. (1996). Golem. New York, NY: Clarion Books

My Impressions:

My favorite part of this book is the Art. The cut-paper style is so unique and wonderfully done it adds some amazing visual interest to this classic story. It is easy for me to see why this book won the Caldecott.

Reviews:

Wisniewski's retelling of the golem legend varies only slightly from the traditional version recounted by Beverly McDermott in The Golem It is the tale of a clay giant formed in the image of man to protect the Jewish people of medieval Prague from destruction by their enemies. His master, the chief rabbi of Prague in the late 16^th century, was a highly reguarded Cabbalist (a mystic). In this telling the golem speaks with the simplicity of a child, and hs is destroyed when the emperor guarantees the safty of the Jewish people. A lengthy not explains the idea of the Golem and details Jewish persucution throughout history. Wisniewski has used layers of cut paper to give depth to his illustrations. Many of which have a three-dimensional appearance. A wispy layer, which begins as the vapor of creation, becomes smoke from torches carried by an angry mob of armed silhouette people and horses. The colors are browns and grays of the earth sunrise mauve, and the pumpkin and burnt orange of fire and sunset. Skillful use of perspective enhances the Golem's immense size. While the plot is stronger in Mark Podwai's retelling, Wisniewski's text lacks the power and child appeal of McDermontt's spare, well-crafted tale. Still, collections waning another edition of the story might consider this one.

Scheps, S. (1996). Golem[review of the book Golem by David Wisniewski]. School Library Journal, 42(10), 142. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211695174?accountid=7113

Usage in a Library Setting:

This book can be used as part of a Jewsish culture program to teach patrons about the Jewish culture, religion, and history. It could be done around the time of a major Jewish holiday, such as Passover or Chanukah, or it could be used as part of a Jewish book and culture display.   

Mod 3: This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Summary:

This is Not My Hat is a Caldecott award winning picture book written and Illustrated by Jon Klassen that tells the story of a little fish who steals a much bigger fish’s bowler hat.  The little fish is convinced he will get away with the crime despite understanding that it was the wrong thing to do.  He spends most of the story swimming away from the scene of his crime while explaining that the big fish will not wake up, notice the hat missing, or be able to find him.  The images however show the big fish waking up, and instantly knowing his hat is missing and searching for the little fish.  The little fish is convinced he can hide in the long kelp and that the crab who sees him will not tell on him.  He is wrong and the crab tells the big fish where to find the thief and he follows him into the long grass.  The next image shows the big fish returning from the long grass with his hat and the little fish is not seen again, the implication being that the bigger fish ate him. 

Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press

My Impressions:

I love this story and it’s simplistic art style.  The minimalist backgrounds, which is mostly just black with the occasional bubbles or seaweed help to not distract from the story, which is told just as much with pictures as it is with the words. This story is very fun and has a bit of a darker ending than most children books with the little fish dying in the end, but I feel it works very well with the story and really hammers home the message that there are consequences to actions such as stealing (possibly with some explanation of how animals do things as opposed to people).

Reviews:

PreS-Gr 1–With this new creation, Klassen repeats the theme from I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick, 2011), but with a twist. The narrator here is the thief–a small, self-confident fish who has pilfered a little blue bowler from a big sleeping fish. He wastes no time or words in confessing his crime as he swims across the page announcing, “This hat is not mine. I just stole it.” He continues his narrative with no regrets, but with a bit of rationalizing (“It was too small for him anyway.”) as he swims to his hiding place, unaware that the big fish is in quiet pursuit. Readers, of course, are in on this little secret. When the two disappear into a spread filled with seaweed, the narration goes silent, and youngsters can easily surmise what happens as the big fish reemerges with the tiny blue bowler atop his head. Simplicity is key in both text and illustrations. The black underwater provides the perfect background for the mostly gray-toned fish and seaweed while the monochromatic palette strips the artwork down to essential, yet exquisite design. Movement is indicated with a trail of small white bubbles. This not-to-be-missed title will delight children again and again.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Cincinnati, OH

School Library Journal. (2012).  Pick of the Day This is Not My Hat [Review of the Book This is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen].  School Library Journal Website.  Retrived from http://www.slj.com/2012/09/reviews/pick-of-the-day/pick-of-the-day-this-is-not-my-hat/

Usage in a Library Setting:

This would be great for a story time book, possibly alongside Jon Klassen’s Other book I Want my Hat Back, where there could be discussion about what it feels like to have something taken from you and how this behavior hurts people, and possibly what the thief could have done differently if they wanted the hat.