The Van Gogh Cafe By Cynthia Rylant

This book surprised me. It was not a down home classic like the other books I recently read by Cynthia Rylant. I respect her writing far more now that I have seen the vast differences on her writing style. I was beginning to think that all she wrote about was the country and sad things.
The Van Gogh Cafe reminded me of a movie I once watched called The Majestic. Jim Carey was the star, of course. The Majestic was a theater that was believed to make good things happen until the owner's son did not return from war and the Majestic fell into disrepair. Many years pass and a young man comes to town and everyone believes he is the lost son. They believe it though they know it is not true. Come to find out he is a famous actor who was in an accident and has amnesia. Of course the Majestic opens back up and good things happen again. The actor even decides he will be the man they all thought he was though they knew he wasn't. Is that confusing enough?
The Van Gogh Cafe is very similar. The magic is in the cafe and wonderful things happen there. Wishes come true. People find what they are looking for. One night an actor shows up looking for a friend. My favorite line from the book was wishes come true if you believe they will. I think both stories I am speaking of are trying to tell us that we must believe in something and expect that it will happen.
Overall, I liked this book far better than any other Cynthia Rylant books. I am not sure at what age this would have made sense to me. The power of believing in something is a bit abstract for most students in the age group I have taught. Any thoughts?

Money Hungry By Sharon Flake

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Sharon Flake at the VSRA conference in Roanoke last week. I read her book The Skin I'm In last year when one of my students was reading it and having trouble getting into it. Her mom had bought the book for hoping that it spark a love of reading. I really enjoyed the book and was eager to read more from Sharon Flake.
I selected Money Hungry because it is a part of a sequel and the summary on the back was intriguing. I am currently selecting books for a group of students for a lunch bunch reading group and I want books with sequels or other good selections that relate to encourage reluctant readers to grab another book when we complete the group.
I sat down to read Money Hungry yesterday and did not put it down until I was finished. This was another enjoyable read by Sharon Flake.
I love the way she embraces cultural and creates her characters in real life situations with real life problems. I find it interesting that Sharon has some characters speaking with AAE (African American English) and others in SAE (Standard American English). Her characters are free of stereo typical roles and yet embrace heritage and cultural. Conflicts are solved in nonviolent ways. The most interesting aspect for me personally is that her characters are very real to life and she puts them a situation that seems very real and then allows the reader to see what most people would think (as inspired by stereo types) and then lets us see inside of the character to the reality of the situation.
In this particular book, Raspberry, is seen as greedy and money hungry because her main goal everyday is to make money. She sells things at school and works hard after school always coming up with a new plan to make money. Raspberry is desperate to make and hide money. Her friends, mother, and school staff look at her in a negative way because of this never really asking why she was so focused on money. As the story progresses we see the hardships that Raspberry and her mother face while trying to make a better life for themselves and get out of the projects. Come to find out, Raspberry is so obsessed with money because she is building a nest egg for her and her mother in case of emergency. They were homeless once and Raspberry never wants to be in that position again.
Throughout the story of Raspberry and her obsession with money we get a glimpse of her life in the community, at school, and with her friends.
Sharon Flake does a great job of allowing the reader to glimpse life in the projects. There are good neighbors who look out for one another. There are friendships bonded in such a deep way that you feel their connections. There are also dangerous situations and the need to survive.
I will be reading her second book in this series today!

Missing May By Cynthia Rylant

I really did not enjoy this book. The descriptive language was great. The characters were intriguing. My favorite scene was in the kitchen of the trailer when Summer first arrives with May and Ob. I could visualize exactly what the frig and pantry looked liked. I will definitely use that segment as an example of descriptive language in the future.
The book was just sad. It was a year of mourning May and all that her death represented to Ob and Summer. Summer's fixation on death really made me anxious. Even the attempts at humor through Cletus did not have much impact on me.
I have learned a lot about Cynthia Rylant through reading so many of her books. She is a country girl with deep roots and strong family ties. I enjoy her writing style and lovely language but she is not my favorite. As I talk to my peers about the books I am reading I get strong opinions on both sides. I have found that people either love Missing May or Hate it.

Seedfolks By Paul Fleischman

I was so excited to read this book because I heard that it is a great teaching novel. I have heard many middle school teachers refer to using it for various things. I was intriqued by the size and cover of Seedfolks. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, it was was actually similar in size to Van Gogh Cafe' by Cynthia Rylant. Though I had heard that this was a good book, I had heard nothing of what it was about.
Soon into the book it reminded me of the book Flipped that I blogged on previously. Seedfolks tells the story of many different people and how this random plot of land affected their lives. Each chapter was of course from a different point of view much like Flipped. The difference was that Flipped told a story over time and focused on two main characters and Sedfolks was a short specific time period and many characters were featured. Each chapter was about a different person and that person was not featured again.
The characters in Seedfolks all lived in the same general neighborhood and each had a hardship of sorts. Kim, the first person introduced in seedfolks, is the first person to use the land. Kim never met her father who died before her birth. She worries that he will not know her when he checks on the family from heaven. Since he was an avid farmer she decides to grow lima beans in the empty lot to connect to him. This is how it all got started. Another person sees her and wonders what she is doing, it must be no good. The concerend neighbor goes to dig up the expected the drugs and discovers the lima beans. The cycle continues. As time goes by more and more people decided to plant a small garden in the lot.
Each person is using the lot to fill a need or gain something. Some need food, some desire attention from a special person, others need to feel empowered and important.
I liked the book but at this point it is not a favorite for me. I will definitely file away for a special occassion.

The Battle of Yorktown By: Scott Ingram

The Battle of Yorktown is another informational text. This particular text is also geared towards young readers. This book has more realistic illustrations than most other children's books. Some are actual photos and others are pencil sketches. There is quite a bit of information in this book. It seems to be written for older elementary students. It is very factual and includes information including many elements of the Revoluationary war, a few chapters are devoted to the Battle of Yorktown. I liked how the book included a timeline and the names of all historical figures that influenced the battle of yorktown.
The preface, The American Revolution, was very condensed. I am not a history buff and it was a difficult read for me. So many dates and facts to put in order.Though the local connection was interesting, overall I would not reccommend this book to a child unless there was an adult willing to read it with him or her.
Two thumbs up for a good resource
Two down for interest

The Trail of Tears By Joesph Bruchac

The Trail of Tears is an informational text about westward expansion. My seven year old is currently very interested in battles and history so he helped me select this book. This particular book is geared fro grades 2-4. The front cover is very appealing and helped us begin to discuss what The Trail of Tears was. The cover shows many Cherokee people traveling on horseback and in wagons carrying everything they own. The chapter titles are great fro young readers because they are typed in bold print and distinguishing colr. They also allow children to begin to think about the content of the chapter. For example the first chapter is called the sad departure. We were able to disscuss what made a departure sad. My little genious concluded that they must not have wanted to leave their home. Each new page has a large illustration that depicts what was happening as the people prepared to leave and then covered the events of the journey. I thought the maps were ecspecially useful to help make connections to young readers about the origination point of the journey and the destination. This book also included historical figures who are notorious for their role in life at that time. This book, being a children's book, did sugar coat the details of the revolution and the white settlers. I really felt that my son got a great start to understanding history. I would recommend this read to anyone who knows a young person interested in history.

Fever 1793 By Laurie Halse Anderson

I really enjoyed Fever. That is not surprising because I am a fan of historical fiction. Fever meant more to me at this moment in time than it would have 6 months or more ago because I spent a week in Philadelphia this summer on a historical trip. As I read about Mattie and her trips to the market I could look into my mind and picture the brick row houses and the hear the clamper of horses hooves on the stone roads.
Fever is a historical fiction novel based on the outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia. The main character, Mattie, her mother, grandfather, and friend Eliza are face with the choice to stay or flee the city. Before the epidemic is over thousands of people were dead from the plague of yellow fever.
I felt bad for Mattie early on because of the lose of her father and the tight ship her mother ran. I admired her mother for being strong and surviving in the face of adversity.
When Polly died I could feel the tension and fear within the family, Eliza included. They were brave to stay and face the epidemic.
I felt that the story line was interesting and easy to follow in addition to the historical elements being factually informative. It was easy to follow the sequence of events and learn how colonial life was affected by the tragedy.
I honestly did not expect Mattie to come down with the fever and I did not expect her mother to return. I was wrong on both counts (I am usually such a good predictor).
I felt the lose of Grandpa the most. Poor Mattie was all alone until she met Nell and then found her way to Eliza again. I was so worried for her.
It was nice to read a happy ending that had hope for the future. I have not read many novels lately that end on a happy note.