Literacy Now

A love/hate reading relationship has formed between digital reading on tablets and moi. I dearly wish one side would just finally pummel the crud out of the other so that I could at long last jump on one side of the fence as to how I feel about these things and simply move on with my reading life.

Like William Tell, I cannot tell a lie: tablets are AWESOME! Then again, reading on them comes with a set of issues that are not only not going away, but are, in fact, amplifying with each new generation of device.

p: andyi via photopin cc

Reading on a tablet nowadays is akin to trying to count your profits after a long day at the lemonade stand while your annoying 8 year old little brother goes, “6, 11, 43, 12, 52” as you try to add up all the change. It’s inevitable that you are going to get distracted—that’s his entire goal—and have to double back and pick up the pieces from where your train of thought went off the rails.

Consider hyperlinks. For example, when reading an online article, do you click on the hyperlink that makes reference to something you know you want to read right at the very moment you come across the connection or do you wait until after you’re done with the entire piece to double back and go see where it was that the author was pointing you? Or do you skip it entirely? To do the former breaks the entire narrative flow of the piece you started, and even if the new link turns you on to a great piece of content, it’s also sabotaged your ability to coherently digest the mental meal author #1 wanted you to consume. On the other hand, if you wait until later to click, the narrative flow is still broken because you have to stop and give yourself a mental reminder, “Hey, remember to go back and click that – it looked interesting.”

Either way, as a reader you experience the mental phenomenon of, “Uhm, where was I?”

And if you skip it, you still paused to weigh whether or not you should bother with the hyperlink which—yep, you guessed it —also broke the flow of your reading. Our brains can’t multi-task in this manner. We can breathe and read but we can’t read and make navigatorial decisions about our reading and read.

Yes, I hyperlinked the word “navigatorial” just now. Why? Cause it’s a word I made up but it kinda seems like it should be a word—and there’s a word for words that might one day be words if someone starts to popularize them.

That word is neologism. I mention it because it prevents me (as the author) from having to hyperlink the above and yet still allows you, the reader, to stay within the text without having been transported to Goodness-Knows-Where on the Internet.

Quick question: Which do you prefer?

Of course, over the course of reading one or two pieces, perhaps this is not so bad. But if you do ALL of your reading on a tablet, this becomes something that actually nourishes non-stop stop-n-start, stop-n-start thinking. Sure, it’s challenging for me to maneuver this minefield of link after link after link with some of them of value and some of them just merely me horsing around, but consider for a moment that I am a digital immigrant. That means I’ve already had my brain developed in a physical, printed word world. Yet as we now see all the rage of outfitting students with tablets over printed books, is it just me or do others see that we might actually be nurturing partial attention deficit disorder?

In fact, its cultivation is perhaps even being assigned as homework!

Now add in the idea of emails, instant messaging, tweets, notifications, pins, racy YouTube videos, and so on when it comes to tablet reading and the question must be asked, “What kind of kiddie brain cocktail are we creating?”

And really, who’s immune? Question, did you click on the link where I mentioned “racy YouTube videos”? If not, did you make a mental note to click on it after? Even if the answer was “No and no” did you mentally find yourself saying, “I wonder where that link will take me”?

It took you to a cat video. Why? Because millions of hours of people’s lives have been devoted in the past decade to making and watching YouTube videos on funny things cats do.

Whodda thunk it?

I need to power down now. I want to love my tablet, but I can’t say I am all that fond of loving the potential consequences reading on tablets still has yet to bring.

Alan Lawrence Sitomer was California's Teacher of the Year in 2007. He is also the author of multiple works for young readers, including Nerd Girls, the Hoopster trilogy, THE SECRET STORY OF SONIA RODRIGUEZ, CINDER-SMELLA, and THE ALAN SITOMER BOOKJAM. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. In addition to being an inner-city high school English teacher and former professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University, Alan is a nationally renowned speaker specializing in engaging reluctant readers who received the 2004 award for Classroom Excellence from the Southern California Teachers of English, the 2003 Teacher of the Year honor from California Literacy, the 2007 Educator of the Year award by Loyola Marymount University and the 2008 Innovative Educator of the Year from The Insight Education Group. A Fun Look at Our Serious Work appears quarterly on the Engage blog.

We are surrounded by technology. From the invention of the wheel to keeping up with today’s tweets and Instagrams, technology drives this fast-paced and ever-evolving world of instant communication. This week the Children’s Literature and Reading SIG takes a look at newly published books that help explain these new technologies to children and young adults. Fiction authors have placed these technologies as integral parts and devices in weaving their stories. In addition to a few new books, we have added some blogs and apps that we have found helpful in keeping up with current trends in the reading worlds of students.

Reading Today Online offers a plethora of articles featuring the use of technology in today’s classrooms.

ReadWriteThink.org offers over a hundred lesson ideas that deal with various aspects of technology including tech and copyright, teen Literature and technology, using technology to analyze and illustrate symbolism, fresh perspectives and new Literacies, technology integration, using media technology to enhance writing, writing technology autobiographies, and many more.

GRADES K-2

Gall, Chris. (2013). Awesome Dawson. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

A born inventor, Dawson spends his free time thinking of uses for discards. For most of his short life, he's been creating new products from simple tools and the stuff other folks throw away. This eco-friendly boy is convinced that he can find a way to recycle most everything that others are getting rid of. He particularly likes to restore toys and give them second chances. But his construction of a cat food-powered robot to complete his chores is all too successful, with the Vacu-Maniac sucking up everything in sight. That’s not a problem until it bursts out of Dawson’s house and heads out into the neighborhood. It will take some inventive thinking and fast action to save the town from being annihilated. The book's colorful illustrations, created by engraving on a clay board coated with ink and Adobe software, will have eye-appeal for young readers who are likely to be fascinated by all their details. The endpapers add to the book's delights, featuring a garbage dump with vehicles, sinks, and billboards and a sign for MacGyver Street, and encouraging close examination. Although the pages may be too packed with objects for adult eyes, this picture book is bound to excite many youngsters and maybe inspire some interesting creations fashioned from junk.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Heshka, Ryan. (2013). Welcome to robot town. New York: Henry Holt and Co.

From a child robot’s point of view, this book takes young readers into the everyday life of a young robot in Robot Town from waking up in the morning as the “wheels start turning” to walking to school where the Traffic Bot directs young robot (carrying his Iron Guy lunch box) across the street. On the way to school he passes Mechanic Crank Shaft who repairs robot cars. Principal Nutzundbolts, a famous inventor, greets the little robots when they arrive at school. After school, the young robots burn off energy doing things for fun like watching the movie set of Director Steelburg on Aluminum Avenue. Many career spinoffs are featured on double page spreads like Dr. Socket, Clean-up Crew, Recyclotron, Telly Scope at the observatory and more. At the end of this busy day, Little Robot is ready to rest and recharge for tomorrow. Acrylic and collage illustrations add to the fun and mechanics of this introduction to all that robots can do. Enjoy a fun little mechanized voice book trailer at YouTube or read more of the backstory at the MacKids blog.  Pair with Robots of the Future (Brasch) reviewed below.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 3-5

Allen, Kathy. (2013). Cell phone safety. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Although cell phones are ubiquitous, many users often fail to practice safety when using the devices, giving out personal information, current location, and forgetting that the same safety rules that apply to face to face encounters with strangers apply to encounters through cell phones. This informative title sounds a cautionary note about how to use the devices wisely. In several “Talk about It” sections, readers encounter cell phone-related problems to solve such as whether to respond to a text from an unknown number, what to do if you follow a friend's texted link to an inappropriate website, or even precautionary measures to prevent identity theft. The book also contains vignettes about cyber bullying as a reminder of how technology can be used in the wrong way. Although the information provided here is basic, it is also important and provides guidelines designed to protect the user.                                                                                        

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Brasch, Nicolas. (2013). Robots of the future. PowerKids Press.

Color photographs and easy-to-understand text make this book an accessible approach to understanding robots and all the things they are capable of doing in today’s society. The variety of things that robots can do and the consistency and precision in which they perform are explained to young readers. Included in the book are question boxes entitled, “You Decide,” that ask probing questions that may have a controversial edge to the use of robotic technology. For example, “Will robotic research and technology do more good for humans than bad?” The end of the book includes a glossary and websites for further investigation.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Demuth, Patricia. (2013). Who is Bill Gates? Illus. by Ted Hammond. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.

Biographies continue to be a much studied and enjoyed genre and the CCSS continue this support. From the publisher’s Who Was… series, this book introduces young readers to the life of Bill Gates, business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author.” Bill Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955. Even as a child, he had an interest in gadgets and budding technology. As he continued his career and developed ways to improve on the personal computer it lead to his creation of the Microsoft Company. Bill amassed a fortune through this very successful computer company, and then decisions faced him about how best to use his fortune. Together with his wife, they formed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and have sponsored many initiatives in education, world health, and community giving. This early biography not only introduces young readers to the life of Bill Gates but also to the idea of philanthropy.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Enz, Tammy. (2014). Max Axiom STEM adventures: The terrific tale of television technology. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

As he often does, savvy scientist Max Axiom takes advantage of a televised football game to which his friends are glued to explain the inner workings of television and how those images and sounds that have everyone so mesmerized are transmitted into homes. After describing the camera recordings that capture the game, the articulate and well-informed Axiom explains how radio waves allow TV technology to exist. One of the last pieces of technology he discusses is a remote control device, something with which most readers will be familiar although they are not likely to know that it relies on the electromagnetic spectrum to function. Additionally, he explains how satellite and cable TV work. But none of the radio waves or digital signals would matter without how the human brain reads them. The colorful cartoon panels that tell Max's story and allow him to share his knowledge with readers are appealing, and show the practical side to technology.                                                                                                                                

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Forest, Christopher. (2013). Robot competitions. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Robots are no longer simply features of movies or in science fiction books. Today they are often used in contests of strength and agility. For many teens and adults, the robots they build engage in competitions to determine supremacy between human-robot teams. This book describes some of those contests such as BattleBots and For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), events intended to spark an interest in science, engineering, and technology. There are even robotic contests that are held underwater, and some held in exotic locales such as in the Australian Outback. Filled with photographs of some of the intense competitions in which youngsters and their robots engage, this book is a great reminder that many innovations began as experimental designs in competitions for robots.                                

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Hunter, Nick. (2013). How electric and hybrid cars work. New York: Gareth Stevens Publisher.

From the EcoWorks series promoting ideas of consumer awareness comes this look at automobiles as means of transportation that are earth friendly. Though consumers are rushing toward the best fuel efficiency there are other considerations when selecting one of these cars for purchase. Full color photos make this book appealing to young readers. Looking at the pros and cons of electric and hyrid cars will help shape the decision of the future of these modes of transportation. The author looks at hybrid engines, batteries, creation and use of fuel, the greenhouse effect and carbon emissions and other eco-friendly aspects of hybrid cars in addition to perhaps the less favorable aspects like speed and cost of these new vehicles. Introduce this book with the video from “How Stuff Works” website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Richards, Jon and Ed Simpkins. (2013). The human world; the world in infographics. Berkeley, CA: Owlkids.

What is an infographic? On the opening page of The Human World, not only will young readers immediately see what an infographic is, the opening statement explains, “Welcome to the world of infographics. Using icons, graphics and pictograms, infographics visualize date and information in a whole new way!” Bursting with colorful charts, diagrams, facts, figures, text boxes, inserts, text types and more, this visual splash of information and facts covers global topics including people, cities, population, heights of buildings, wealth and poverty, going global, water resources, waste, dwindling resources, transportation, communication, work, rest and play and more. The use of statistics applied to colorful charts and diagrams are so much more easily understood and compared by using the infographics presented here. Teacher resource guides are available for some of the books in this series at the OwlKids website. (Other books in the World of Infographics series are The Human Body, The Natural World, and Planet Earth.)

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Schwartz, Heather E. (2013). Cyberbullying. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Beginning with a chapter entitled, “What is Cyberbullying?” this colorful book presents ideas for young people on how to deal with people who are online and trying to bully, stalk, steal identity, or simply ruin some of the fun parts of online activity. Using bold text, glossary boxes, ideas to “Talk about it”, illustrations, and color photography, Cyberbulling creates a guide for dealing with these situations that can become annoying as well as dangerous. Interestingly, the author also poses the question, “Are You the Cyberbully?” (p.8) Using guiding questions that begin, “Have you ever …” the author continues with questions that ask, for example, “… forward a funny, but not very nice, e-mail about someone?” Other chapters describe: how cyberbullying works; the effects of cyberbullying; bullies getting in trouble; a safe space; take a break (have some fun in real time with no technology, ride a bike, take a walk); taking control; bold bystanders; sorry cyber-bullies; preventive measures. The book concludes with a glossary, a bibliography for further reading, and available websites. The Engage blog also has many posts and articles with insights on how to stop bullying.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 6-8

Bender, Lionel. (2013). Invention. Special photography by Dave King. Revised edition. New York: DK Publisher.

Known for their exquisite photography, publisher Dorling Kindersley and author Lionel Bender bring this revised edition of Invention to the Eyewitness series. Throughout history, inventions have changed the world and how we live. From early inventions and technology like the wheel, or the gear, the abacus, and early timekeeping devices to the discovery of rockets, telecommunication, silicon chips, and more Bender provides a visual timeline of amazing inventions and the stories behind them.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Frederick, Shane. (2013). The technology of football. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Sports Illustrated Kids has prepared this “High-Tech Sports” series. The author has written the book so that sports aficionados as well tech-interested kids will enjoy learning about the application of technology into various aspects of the sports industry. The football volume opens with a bit of the history of the game beginning with a chart of helmets through the years and how for safety and protection the helmets have better insulated the players’ heads from brain injuries after hard tackles. He goes on to discuss shoulder pads and how they are designed to absorb the shock of hard hits and tackles. Jerseys that were made to keep players cooler and drier have been developed. On to stadiums and a look at Astroturf and the early artificial turf that actually caused injury to today’s Field Turf that is much improved and safer using silica and cryogenic rubber. Other aspects of stadium design from domes that now cover many outdoor stadiums to the fan experience of watching plays on big-screen TVs in the stadium. Color photography, fact boxes, short paragraphs, a detailed index at the end with a glossary and bibliography add to the text features of the book. (Other books in this series are The Technology of Basketball, The Technology of Baseball, and The Technology of Hockey.)

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Gray, Leon. (2013). Global positioning system: who’s tracking you? New York: Gareth Stevens Publisher.

The term GPS is starting to become a household term and most people consider it a helpful tool in locating places they need to go. Golfers and hikers, fishfinders and other athletes or sporting enthusiasts are using GPS to help find the target of their sport. The military use of GPS ranges from vehicles to weaponry. Conservationists are tracking animals with tagged GPS units to help observe and maintain certain animal populations. But the debates are starting as to the invasiveness of GPS into our personal and private lives. The author has provided ideas dealing with both sides of the GPS privacy issues. The use of sidebars, fact boxes, color photography, and “The Debate” text boxes are inviting text features that will draw young readers into the topic. “You’re the Expert” poses questions for reader to think about and weigh all sides of the issue as you think about all the uses of this new technology and the ethics of GPS use.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Heppermann, Christine. (2013). Twitter; the company and its founders. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishers.

The lives of Twitter founders and developers Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, and Christopher “Biz” Stone are presented in this book for young readers. Their early lives, growing up, and where they went to school are described and how they conceived and developed the social network of Twitter. The rapid growth and popularity of their concept and company are explained in addition to information and thoughts on the future of this pioneering piece of technology.(Also in this series: Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Sony, TiVo.)

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

MacKay, Jenny. (2013). Online schools. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.

Online Schools takes a look at alternative education and what opportunities are available through the virtual environment in education. This book discusses how online schooling has evolved and how it got started. With color photographs and text boxes, it offers current examples of students and schools using online classes and the potential online schooling offers and the reasons it can become the education alternative needed in certain family or location circumstances. It concludes with the potential for continued and further possibilities in online education for many levels of education from elementary school to advanced professional degrees.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Rooney, Anne. (2014). Computer science and IT: Investigating a cyber attack. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library.

Middle grade and YA readers will find this step-by-step realization of a possible hacked email account or computer and its subsequent resolution to be fascinating. What makes the book especially pertinent are how easily things go wrong and how careless the main character is with his password, something of which most of us are guilty. When Ben notices something odd about a page displayed on his computer, he worries at first that one of his friends has stolen his password. But things turn out to be much worse than Ben had imagined. After investigation by his company's IT expert to confirm the attack and determine the parts of the system that have been compromised, the police get involved, and forensic experts look for clues as to when the files were accessed. Readers are drawn into the investigation through a series of clues that may enable them to crack the case while sounding cautionary notes for their own computer use. The author stresses the need to protect personal data from others, and suggests simple actions that can prevent hacked accounts such as changing passwords frequently, using firewalls, and never storing passwords on public computers. Who knew that cyber sleuthing was so complicated and yet so similar to other types of detective work?

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

GRADES 9-12

Dashner, James. (2013). The eye of minds. New York: Delacorte Press.

Turning to the world of fiction and from the author of The Maze Runner trilogy, comes the first volume in James Dashner’s new series, The Mortality Doctrine. Young Michael is entrenched in the world of virtual reality and is a skilled Internet gamer in Virtnet. He is engaged in Lifeblood Deep with virtual friends Bryson and Sarah. Michael is fearful when Virtual Network Security track him down but finds they want his hacking skills to locate a gamer named Kaine who is wreaking havoc on Virtnet to the point of pushing one game to suicide. Michael and his virtual friends plummet headlong into cyber adventure and danger as they pursue Kaine. Fast paced and high energy bring this tech novel to fans of sci fi who enjoyed Dashner’s earlier work. With the recent popularity and release of the movie, Ender’s Game (1985, Orson Scott Card), readers might enjoy thinking about comparisons between the two novels.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Looking for apps for reading? See these websites:

• The Cybil Nominations for 2013
  www.cybils.com/2013-nominations-book-apps.html
  Check out the previous years winners and nominations!
• 6 Great Reading Apps for Kids  (from Scholastic)
  www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/6-great-reading-apps-kids
• 10 iPad Apps for Teaching Kids to Read (from How Stuff Works)
  http://computer.howstuffworks.com/tablets/10-ipad-apps-for-teaching-kids-to-read.htm#page=0
• eSchool News: Apps
  www.eschoolnews.com/search/?gs=app+for+reading
• Essential Apps for Kids and Teens  (from Common Sense Media)
  www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/best-first-kids-apps/android-tablet
• School Library Journal App Reviews:
  www.slj.com/category/books-media/reviews/apps/
• Kid Apps Explode on Smartphones and Tablets. But are they good for your children? (from The Washington Post)
  www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/kid-apps-explode-on-smartphones-and-tablets-but-are-they-good-for-your-children/2011/11/07/gIQAq2enVN_story.html

Blogs about children's literature:

Last year we created a list of great blogs for children’s and YA literature. We have added a few more blogs to the list:

• The Cybils
  www.cybils.com
• Anita Silvey’s Book-A-Day Almanac
  http://childrensbookalmanac.com
• The Brown Bookshelf
  http://thebrownbookshelf.com
• Collecting Children’s Books
  http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com
• Editorial Anonymous
  http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com
• Nerdy Book Club
  http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com
• The Nonfiction Detectives
  www.nonfictiondetectives.com
• Nonfiction Monday
  http://nonfictionmonday.wordpress.com
• The Pirate Tree; Children’s Literature and Social Justice
  www.thepiratetree.com
• Read Roger
  www.hbook.com/category/blogs/read-roger
• Reader Kidz
  www.readerkidz.com
• Reading Rants
  www.readingrants.org
• Teach Mentor Texts
  www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz2hLNjo080
• Teaching & Learning 2013 from AASL
  www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/best-websites/2013
• LearnBig
  http://learnbig.com/
• Bing for Schools
  www.bing.com/schools
• Reading Today Online
  /readingtoday

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.

What can you do with a single word?

Plenty.

For my latest children’s book, I gave myself the challenge of telling a complete story using only one word. I almost succeeded. On the final page, I needed to introduce a second word (and sharp-eyed students are quick to point out that there are four additional words used in the illustrations).

While working on the story I had great fun imagining all the ways that a single word, (in this case “moo”) could be depicted (Moo. Moo? Moo!), and how these variations could be strung together to form a story. Long before the book was published I began showing a dummy of the book with accompanying sketches to students during my author visits. When I did so, three things invariably happened:

1. Everyone (including the teachers) laughed.
2. The students spontaneously mooed along with me as I read the text.
3. At least one student would say, “You should write a sequel called Baaaa!”

My response was always the same. “No, YOU should write the sequel.”

And frequently, they did. At the end of the day students of all ages would present me with one-word books they had written during recess or free time. These miniature books, made from notebook paper folded in half, were filled with illustrations of animals having wild adventures, and each was composed of a single word. Some of the students had developed an entire series of books based on a single animal sound, starting with baaa, then moving to quack and meow, and finally circling back to moo again.

It made me happy that my silly book idea was motivating so many young people to write their own books. As a former elementary school teacher myself, I was also secretly glad at all these young authors were learning in the process.

What can students learn from writing a one-word book?

Plenty.

A one-word book is the perfect way to show how punctuation drastically affects the meaning of text. Beginning writers can practice using question marks and exclamation points to indicate inquiry and excitement:

Meow? Meow!

Older writers can experiment with more sophisticated techniques, using ellipses to suggest suspense:

Meow, meow, meow…

Or dashes to indicate an abrupt stop mid-word:

Meow, meow, meo-

And underlines to indicate emphasis:

Meow, meow, meow.

A one-word book also highlights the importance of visual clues in understanding a story. In the book MOO!, the illustrator Mike Wohnoutka creates a sense of danger and urgency on one of the spreads by focusing in on a close-up of the cow’s face, painting the background red, writing the word moo so large that it extends off the page, and slanting the entire composition at an angle.

Ask your students how they might use visual clues to make an animal look sleepy. Stir their visual creativity with questions like: What colors would best depict this mood? How would the animal’s face and body look? What type of line would be most appropriate for the illustrations: thick, thin, jagged, rounded? What size and style of lettering would they choose? How would all of these choices be different if they were trying to show an animal looking mad?

Understanding how an author/illustrator uses clues like these to convey meaning, and then practicing them in their own one-word books, strengthens students’ visual literacy, a skill needed when reading everything from graphs and charts to food labels and comic books.

Because a one-word book requires minimal spelling and vocabulary skills, even the youngest author can have success writing an entire book that they, and their classmates, can read and enjoy.

Finally, there’s one more benefit from having students write a single-word book. Along with being a way to reinforce skills and concepts mandated in curriculum guidelines, writing a one-word book is fun. Writing can and should be fun, and in my humble opinion, that’s justification enough for any writing project. In fact, writing a one-word book might be so much fun that your students will say, “Moo!”… or “Oink!” or “Roar!”

For a guide to using MOO! in your classroom, please click here.

David LaRochelle is a former fourth grade teacher who has been creating books for young people for the past twenty-five years. His other titles include IT’S A TIGER!, HOW MARTHA SAVED HER PARENTS FROM GREEN BEANS, THE BEST PET OF ALL, and 1+1=5 AND OTHER UNLIKELY ADDITIONS. The first picture book that he both wrote and illustrated, ARLO’S ARTRAGEOUS ADVENTURE!, was released in August. When he’s not writing, drawing, or visiting schools, David loves to carve creative jack-o’-lanterns, which can be viewed at his website http://http://www.davidlarochelle.com.

Ness, P. (2011). A monster calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Author Siobhan Dowd died from cancer in 2007 before finishing this book, and Patrick Ness completed it at the request of her publisher. The novel is a fantasy built on the unrelenting reality 13-year-old Conor O’Malley faces as his mother is dying, also from cancer. Set in England, the plot finds Conor virtually alone as he faces the looming catastrophe. He hates his grandmother for her bossiness and stubbornness even though she will undoubtedly inherit his care since his father has remarried and has a new wife and child in the United States. He is bullied at school and has shut out his former childhood best friend while the disease continues to ravage and waste the only person he really cares about. Many nights at exactly 12:07 a.m., a monster, apparently the yew tree behind the house, comes to him wherever he is. The creature is horrific and terrifying; he tells Conor a series of seemingly random bizarre tales and demands in return a story that must contain the troubled boy’s truth. Is the monster a frightening nightmare? Then what is the source of the yew berries and leaves left on his bedroom floor after a visit? Who destroys the grandmother’s sitting room in an act of violence? Who lands the school bully in the hospital after a ferocious beating?

A children’s story, but much, much more, Ness uses his skills to produce a staccato-like narrative that draws the reader into the compelling and tragic tale. The book could become maudlin, but humor seeps through the horror of both plotlines. Conor has to know his mother is dying, and all the last-ditch efforts being tried are not going to stop the course of the disease. The suspense is whether he can survive both terrors.

Dr. Judith A. Hayn is an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This article is part of a series from the Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL). If you are interested in other books like this and ways to include them in your curriculum, join SIGNAL. 

“To read well is to take great risks, to make vulnerable our identity, our self-possession.” This is a quote by George Steiner. He goes on to say that the task of the literary critic is to help us read as total human beings. I feel the same might hold true for writers. To write well often means to take great risks and make vulnerable our identities. Sometimes we must lose our self-possession in order to write as total human beings. We must, in short, slip out from the comfort of our own skin and inhabit others’.

It is somewhat ironic that in the past few years to write as a total human being I have had to slip out of my own skin and into the feathers or pelts of animals for my fantasy series about owls The Guardians of Ga’Hoole and then The Wolves of The Beyond. Oddly enough, I found this tremendously liberating. To do this, I would first have to learn all about the habits, habitats, and behavior of a particular animal.  You see, even though this is fantasy, if I am to move the reader to a state of willing suspension of disbelief, there must be a compelling veracity about the animal. And yet at the same time I am telling a story in which I want an emotional resonance that is deeply human.

A recent article in the NEW YORK TIMES addressed this question of perspective, pondering how Woody Allen could write such great roles for women. Cate Blanchette, the star of Woody Allen’s recent film BLUE JASMINE, spoke of Allen’s ability to capture the voice of women. “Often you can write more closely about your own perspective and experience of the world through a character of a different gender,” she said.

Well for me it was writing from the perspective of a different species.

THE EXTRA (Candlewick) is a different kind of story entirely. It is not fantasy at all, but historical fiction. THE EXTRA tells a story that fell between the cracks of history during the Nazi Holocaust. It is not about a Jewish girl, but a Roma (Gypsy) one. It is based on a true story about how Hitler’s favorite filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl, went to an internment camp where gypsies were held as prisoners and took several of them to use in a movie she was making.

It might seem odd that as a Jew, and one who has lost distant cousins of my generation in the holocaust, I would choose to tell a holocaust story from a non-Jewish perspective. Indeed in a book that has no Jewish characters. Three years ago, in my book ASHES which is set in Berlin in the early 1930s during the rise of Hitler, I made a similar decision. I told the story from a gentile girl’s perspective. I felt that I could write a more powerful story if it came from an unorthodox angle.

I think the best Holocaust novel I ever read was SOPHIE’S CHOICE, which was narrated by a gentile man. So why did I find this gentile voice so moving? It is mysterious like art itself. But I think it is the choice that William Styron made to use the young, naïve Southern male as the narrative channel for this story of ultimate horror that gave it a kind of distance that, in the end, made it so powerful.

I, too, must have subconsciously sought a distance. There are many stories and many voices for telling them, but the voice of Lilo in THE EXTRA and that of Gaby in ASHES were the ones that whispered in my ear with an insistence I could not deny. It was a great risk. I let loose of my own identity, and watched my self-possession dissolve.