The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

The Tiger Rising is epitomized as a metaphor in response to the protagonist, Rob's deep-seated turmoil over the death of his mother in this realistic fiction novel. DiCamillo reveals Rob's character as reserved, serious young boy who continually tries to stifle his deep thoughts as he grapples with coping with his mother's recent death. Throughout the book DiCamillo metaphorically shows Rob keeping his not-thoughts in his suitcase which he endeavors not to open. He tries not to succumb to his emotions. Rob carves things from wood in his spare time, and it seems to reflect his thinking at least at a surface level. Living in a motel where his father works to scrape a meager living for the two of them turns out to be the least of Rob's obstacles. He is plagued by a severe rash on his legs that causes him to be teased by bullies at school and eventually dimissed from school to allow the rash to heal. The itching annoyance of the rash is exacerbated with every stressor that surfaces for Rob in the plot of the story. Rob meets an improbable friend in Sistine, a newcomer in his school; and he carves an image of her soon after meeting her. Sistine is a young girl who has been displaced by her family, and her demeanor emanates the anger and frustration she tries to hide by her resistant attitude towards people in her new home. Her interactions with Rob reflect this most clearly. At the beginning of the book Rob discovers a tiger in a cage by the woods near his motel home. He keeps this a secret while he is dealing with other issues relating to life in a motel, bullying by classmates, and getting acquainted with the strange new character of Sistine. He learns unsolicited advice from Willie May, the motel maid to whom he shares the secret of the caged tiger. He carved Willie May a bird in memory of the bird she lost when it was released from its cage. She perceptively nailed the idea that Rob and Sistine were quite a pair with both of them dealing with deep-down anger and stress issues. As Rob sees things in common with Sistine he seeks to befriend her by showing her the tiger. She immediately is fixated on freeing the tiger. The reader is surprised with how simply the plot unfolds to Rob the opportunity to gain access to the keys to the tiger's cage when the motel owner, Beauchamp gives Rob the job of feeding the tiger. As the reader wonders how the tiger will fit into the entwined drama of the deep, disturbing emotions in Rob and Sistine Rob continues his quest to get to know Sistine and to show her that he cares for her situation. Together Rob and Sistine finally agree that the tiger should be freed. The despicable character Beauchamp and the prophetess Willie May seem to have a compounding effect on both Rob and Sisine to decide to free the tiger. The reader wonders why the children to not realize the ultimate consequences of a tiger on the loose in the community, but considering the depths of their deep-seated emotions and their need for satisfying their stresses, freeing the tiger seems to lead to releasing the weight of the anger and unrest within them. The freeing of the tiger was the tiger rising with the anger rising up and out of both main characters in the story. Rob's father is the victim of Rob's unleashed emotions as Rob hits him and irrationally blames him for his unhappiness after Rob's father shoots the tiger found released and running. The killing of the tiger is instrumental in bringing Rob and his father to terms with their situation, and at last Rob is able to carve a likeness of the tiger. Life is brighter for Rob at the end of the story, and he anticipates the return to school and to furthering his friendship with Sistine who has called Rob her best friend.
This book is unlike DiCamillo's other books in its serious tone and theme of finding oneself amid tragedy. It was not one of my favorite of DiCamillo's books, but its metaphoric elements were intriguing and food for thought.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

This rich fantasy masterpiece is surely distinctive among other animal fantasies that have preceded it. The story begins with a vivid description of Edward that within the first two pages gives the reader the image of a distinguished and intellectual gentleman of a rabbit. He is dressed in fine clothes with a pocket watch. As the story continues to unfold the reader eventually ascertains that the love bestowed upon the rabbit by his owner, the young girl, Abilene Tulane is strangely unrequited by Edward.
He waits placidly in the chair where the girl places him never far from her side. Edward presents as an observant yet haughty toy rabbit who resents the intimidating remarks from those of the household who show by their words and actions that they do not appreciate his finer qualities. Soon after Abilene's grandmother Pellegrina tells her a story about an unloving princess turned into a warthog by a witch the grandmother drops the reader a hint of foreshadowing by whispering to Edward that she is disappointed in him.
Edward's thoughts are descriptively revealed by the author as she narrates the story. He thinks matter-of-fact thoughts about his observations about people and situations around him, but the reader infers that he lacks emotion and is incapable of feeling deeply. At this point in the story I became personally involved in the intricacies of the unfolding story. The nostalgia of my children's beloved favorite animal toys that seemed melded to their every adventure and excursion awashed my connections to the book.
The plot began to tumble quickly into a mass of twists and turns like a sudden dip in a roller coaster. Edward's fate was so undeserved and tragic the reader wants to just shout at the characters who seem to recklessly disengage from Edward's deep unknowing needs. I gasped when I read that Edward was tossed overboard by an uncaring young boy who was taunting Abilene on board a ship taking her family to England. I felt Abilene's pain and loss vividly as I knew my daughter's tragic loss of a stuffed animal on a trip. Meanwhile Edward shares his thoughts about his unseemly condition and plight in his usual mundane fashion. I kept wanting Edward to be found by his owner and showered with love and affection to draw out the hidden passion that must be within that fine china self. But alas, his unfortunate adventures had only begun. Subsequently dark and narrow escapes await Edward as he tosses and tumbles through his life's maze. Edward was rescued from the sea by a fisherman, later unearthed by a hobo's dog and endeared by the hobo, and thrown off a train by another hobo. He was rescued from a scarecrow pole by a young boy, Bryce to be given to his dear, dying sister. Later, Edward is victim to an angry man smashing him to the floor and breaking him. Through all this Edward is beginning to realize sentiments of loss and love, and it begins to pain him. Edward survives and is patched back to doll life by a toy mender. DiCamillo had magically entwined me in Edward's near-death experience in doll heaven when the scene changed. At the end of the story I was sitting right beside Edward on a shelf in a doll shop as Edward finally poured his heart out to an old antique doll who tries to contend with him about his decrepit worth. He now knows why grandmother Pellegrina had been disappointed in him. At last Edward has soul. He knows love, because he has been loved by a young girl, a fisherman, a hobo, a dying girl, and a young boy. I felt devasted by the many tragedies of Edward's life at this point, and I could only expect a glimmer of a hopeful ending of the story. DiCamillo crafted her magic at the close of the story with a symphony of mended pieces: A woman and a small girl wearing a locket came into the doll shop. Edward has been found and reclaimed by Abilene who was wearning Edward's long lost pocket watch around her neck, and Edward rejoiced at the reunion.
This book will surely be cherished as a classic piece of literature as it reveals the transpiring soul of a china rabbit seeking recognition and honor in bridging his own need for love with that of his grateful owner.

Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

I was drawn to this book for the opportunity to experience recollections of the 1950s and to seek understanding of life for Italian Americans during that time. My uncle (my mother's sister's husband) was Italian, and I always wondered what made him "tick." I remember him as a very strong yet tender-hearted man who loved baseball. He used to make homemade ravioli for many family gatherings with his brothers, mother and family when they joined our side of the family for long Sunday aftertoon reunions. Penny From Heaven brought back a lot of those memories for me. Nonny's macaroni and homemade Italian foods and the many-course meals that seem to last all day were reminiscent of my earlier years. Penny, the protagonist presented as a regular young girl who grabbed life's gusto as much as she could along with her cousin and best friend, Frankie. Penny did not seem to be vain and proper, but she spoke her mind and built rapport with her extended family with ease. She seemed to be well-known by all in her community. Throughout the book she reflected on who her late father really was and how he died. Her family consisted of her mother who was portrayed as a rather minor character in contrast to her uncles, grandparents, Aunt Gina, Nonny, and Frankie. Holm characterized Penny's maternal grandparents as very down-to-earth people with typical yet annoying mannerisms: Pop-pop burped too much, and Me-Me couldn't cook well. Penny's extended family from her father's side lived near by, and Penny often visited them on Sundays. Penny seemed to feel more akin to her Italian uncles, aunt, Frankie, and Nonny, her paternal grandfather. Although the Italian side of the family showed a quarreling Aunt Gina and Nonny, they all tolerated and supported each other in love. Most of them treated Penny like a princess. The first two thirds of the book was mostly descriptive of Penny's day-to day life helping Frankie with deliveries from her uncle's meat store to playing baseball to hanging out and talking about family times with different family members. The plot took a drastic turn when Penny accidentally got her arm caught in the wringer of the washing machine when she and Frankie were under the guise of volunteering to do the laundry in the basement. Frankie wanted time in the basement to search for hidden treasure from his grandfather, and Penny was helping him do the laundry in the basement while he searched the walls. Penny's arm was seriously injured, and she spent a long stay in the hospital waiting and hoping for it to heal. The doctors were skeptical about Penny regaining use of her arm. One day in the hospital Penny overheard bits and pieces of a story about how her Italian father was a spy and how he died. This aroused a barrage of questions in her mind, and she was able to inquire again of a trusted aunt about what really had happened to her father. At long last Penny heard the true story about how her father was unfairly discriminated against as an Italian and an enemy alien . It seemed that now knowing the true story, Penny had new hope that enabled her arm to heal. One day she tried to reach for her lucky bean on the table beside her bed. To her surprise her fingers could curl around the bean. From that momement on the story took several upbeat turns. Her mother married the milkman who moved into her grandparents' house with them, she became a very popular girl at school, the boy with whom she had a crush asked her out to a movie, and her favorite Uncle Dominic returned after having abandoned her with the wringer accident. Uncle Dominic who had always slept in an old abandoned car out back finally moved into the basement of the house. Penny now had her family together: near and dear to her heart in more ways than one.

Avi - The Library of Author Biographies by Michael A. Sommers

Two of my favorite novels to plan to use in the classroom are written by Avi: Nothing But the Truth and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I chose to read Avi's biography in hopes to learn more about the background behind these books, but I did not learn much new from reading the biography. I had known that Avi had a learning disability, and I found this interesting relating to the population of learning disabled students that I have taught. I did learn from the biography that Avi was always an avid reader, and the literary background of his mother and father and extended family must have paved his way for pursuing authoring books. I am grateful for Avi's persistence in writing in spite of all the negative feedback he had received as a young writer. He has proved his talent at weaving a complex plot with rich characterization and gripping action. I appreciate the implied rebelliousness in some of his characters. Middle school students have lots with which to relate in Avi's books in dealing with issues of growing up and making choices. The biography emphasizes Avi's interest in historical fiction for middle schoolers. He thoroughly researches his characters and setting before finalizing his books, and he finds a lot of pleasure in the research phase of his writing process. There was limited background in the biography for the books I would like to read by Avi, but I know I can research reviews on his books before reading them. The source notes and bibliography at the end of the biography were helpful, and I appreciated the note about the website for the publisher for undated biographical information on Avi.

Mole Music written and illustrated by David McPhail

The picture book, Mole Music is a story about a mole who learns to play beautiful music on his violin while above ground marvelous effects are shown from the music emanating from the roots of the oak tree above Mole's house. The story embodies the theme showing how music enriches, comforts, and enlivens our lives with its beauty and harmony. Mole realized that his life was satisfying but humdrum. He was inspired one night when he was relaxing in front of the TV listening to a man playing a violin. He decided he wanted to play beautiful music, too. Mole ordered a violin in the mail, and upon receiving it he persevered in practicing steadily. After a month he began to play a simple song, and as years went by he played more beautiful music. While he was imagining and wishing he could play for large audiences of people and wishing he could change the world and “melt hearts” with his music extraordinary events were occurring above ground: The oak tree above its roots sticking through Mole’s ceiling was growing and thriving. The tree was providing a peaceful perch for many birds, opposing armies were making peace with each other, and presidents and common people were finding peaceful solitude or shelter under and around the oak tree above Mole’s home where he played his beautiful music. The inviting aura around the tree above ground seemed to attract people and birds, and at the end the soldiers were contentedly sleeping in and around the tree while Mole played one last song below before going to sleep and pleasantly dreaming. The book is an inspiration to aspiring young musicians, and it invites them to work with the same tenacity and verve as Mole as he seeks to develop his musical skill for the pleasure of others.

In Flight with David McPhail - A Creative Autobiography

David McPhail has loved drawing since he was a child, and he has been doing it as long as he can remember. His drawings seem to show rough edged sketching with pencil or ink, and he creates shadowing in his figures with just a few pencilstrokes. The result of his drawings appear mostly lifelike, but I notice that his drawings of people are slightly disproportionate, in that the heads are somewhat larger in proportion to the bodies. McPhail relates with a very clear image to the reader on page 5 of his autobiography that pictures just "dance" through his head and are "fuzzy and out of focus" until he draws them. He can then see them. The illustration on page 5 shows fuzzy colored drawings superimposed on a sloppy draft of a page of writing. It seems to show as he describes in his biography that the pictures come into his head when the writing becomes clear. He relates that the stories he writes find him, "not the other way around." Because of this he likes to always have his writing tools handy, so he can quickly get a story down when it comes his way. The autobiography describes his early books mostly about bears and pigs. He shares with the reader the communication he has with his editor in a form of argument back and forth until both are satisfied with his stories. He reads his story over and over many times before beginning his illustrations, so he can quickly sketch with the story clearly in his head. He draws a picture from many angles and perspective before he decides which one best fits his story, so he draws numerous illustrations before deciding on the final ones to go on the pages of the dummy book. He illustrates mostly with watercolors and ink. He has written and illustrated about fifty books, and he has illustrated fifteen more. His goal is to write one book every year or two. He loves getting paid to do what he loves best.

A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant reveals the depths of the protagonist's soul in this book more than other books I have read by this author. I was drawn to read this book to see how a seventh grader may perceive the rich experience of making a commitment to become a Christian. Rylant portrays Pete as a vulnerable sponge ready and willing to soak up everything the Preacher Man has to say to him. Pete highly respects this Preacher who is in town for a series of evangelistic meetings. After being saved by the things preached by the Preacher Man Pete experiences new feelings and a new and different outlook on life. He comes to realize a chasm of differences with his best friend, Rufus who is an atheist. As the book progresses the reader begins to think that Pete will give up everything and follow the Preacher Man in his travels, but the story ends with Pete being "stood up" by the Preacher Man in favor of a young girl who the Preacher Man prefers to take with him. Pete felt let down and discouraged, but Rylant has a way of making the reader hold out hope that Pete is still a changed young man in spite of the deception of the Preacher Man. Rufus remains steadfast and loyal to Pete throughout the book, and he even stays up all night waiting for Pete to return from his wait to escape town with the Preacher Man. At the end of the book Pete questions Rufus about his belief in God, and his response to Pete gives the reader hope that perhaps Pete's influence on Rufus may eventually bring about a good turn for Rufus. This realistic fiction work is a deep perceptive view into the life of a seventh grader at the age where he is questioning his own purpose and station in life.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Curtis

This historical fiction book set in the 1960s takes the reader from a hilarious narrative of nonstop mischief with Byron, Kenny's older brother to their close call with tragedy in the horror of the church bombing in Alabama. Kenny, the bookworm narrates the story throughout the book. His older brother Byron gets in so much trouble his parents resort to sending him off to spend a summer with Grandma in Alabama. At first the reader laughs at the one-of-a-kind pranks that keep Byron ticking and his little brother packing away the memories. Byron inceasantly teases his younger brother, but Kenny copes and watches his brother challenge the rules of society. Byron makes burning toilet paper parachutes in the bathroom . Kenny and his little sister Joetta cringe as their mother gets ready to burn Byron's finger to teach him a lesson. Byron deals with the bully who painted his brother's lost gloves with black shoe polish. He appears in front of his mother with an Afro resulting in a shaved head as punishment. Kenny portrays Byron as a fool, and between the lines the reader can almost witness him gloating as Kenny's parents finally resort to planning to drive Byron to Alabama to endure some Grandma remedy. The book takes a sudden turn in mood when the family arrives in Alabama. Kenny ventures into a forbidden water hole and almost drowns after he has a vision that will later push him to become a hero for his little sister. Byron's character changes as he becomes a helpful older brother to Kenny. The climax occurs when the family is startled with a huge blast that turns out to be the bombing of a church where Joetta was attending church school. When Kenny fears Joetta missing and finds a black shoe like the one she left the house in we see a new heroic side of Kenny appear. He shows a big brotherly side at the end of the book when he invites Joetta into his room with a new compassionate side to him. The family pulls together in the wake of the tragedy, and they vicariously suffer with the families who lost loved ones in the bombing.

The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton

This captivating mystery about a significant historical time of the Underground Railroad was a book that was very hard to put down: Truly an all-nighter, because so many deep issues were intertwined with the plot. Set in the 1960's this book centers around a young black protagonist named Thomas Smalls. Thomas Smalls and his family moved to Ohio to rent an old house dating back to the time of the Underground Railroad. Thomas never felt accepted in the new town, and even the folks at church did not seem to welcome the Smalls. At the beginning of the book the reader wonders if someone was breaking into the house to rearrange furniture for some strange reason. Being a curious young boy Thomas must investigate. Finding strange tin triangles stuck in the door jams who would think that these must be part of a puzzle for Thomas to try to solve? Strange things are happening to the Smalls throughout the book. The strange Darrows family seem to try to scare the Smalls out of the house. The reader wonders if the Darrows are in cahoots with Pluto, the eccentric caretaker of the old house. The high point of the book seemed to be the practical joke played on the Darrows to scare them off, yet later in the book after Thomas had discovered a secret tunnel and passageway under the house the reader discovers two Plutos. A rich and valuable treasure awaits Thomas beneath the house that connect him to his past and to learn gems of knowledge about the Underground Railroad. This book is a must-read, and the true twists and turns of the novel must be saved for those who have not yet picked up this book.

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

This book was a puzzling yet celebratory experience for me. The first half of it just did not reach me, because it forced me to face again my father's death about a year ago. I just did not want to read on at that point. But Cynthia Rylant is true to her down-to-earth way of touching readers in that part of the soul that says, "Yeah, I've experience that, too." The last half of the book came around to giving me a huge hug to affirm that my circle of grief had been completed much in the same way as Summer's had. There was a tremendous healing effect of that good long cry and allowing a living loved one to feel needed and to be healed by feeling needed. A couple of full circles of grief interlocking and becoming strengthened by them.
I could only wonder if May and Ob were the aunt and uncle that Rylant grew up with after losing her mother and father. Summer was always cautiously looking on and worrying about Ob, yet she always shared thoughts that let me believe she was ready to be the caretaker of him and their trailer home. Cletus was the nonconformist who turned out to be the character who enabled Summer and Ob to process through losing May. He was have been a comfort to Ob as an optomistic conversationalist who knew how to draw out a person's thoughts in conversation. Though Summer found Cletus annoying in his propensity for being overly observant and collecting things he must have earned her respect by the end of the novel. Perhaps when she became acquainted with Cletus's parents she was able to see him in a different light. The climax was clearly when Ob decided to turn the car around to follow through with the original plan to visit the capitol building. That must have been the point when Ob realized that his sole purpose in life was to be needed by Cletus and Summer. At the end of the book Summer must have finally realized how much Ob had wanted to "fill May's shoes" in caring for Summer. The italicized narrative of May speaking to Summer's conscience was touching and seemed to mirror the feelings Ob must have conveyed to Summer through his embrace to comfort her and to wipe away her tears. I wonder if the book were to continue if Cletus would eventually become an adopted member of Ob's home.