THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls

Walls, J. (2005). The glass castle. New York, New York: Scribner
Summary: A stunning memoir that displays the true spirit of family. This novel is written by Jeannette Walls, the second of four children born to Rose Mary and Rex Walls. The Walls family lived in destitute conditions. They endured homelessness, lived in the poverty stricken mountains of West Virginia, and finally ended up in New York City. Jeannette tells of her early life story in a way that will have you laughing, howling with outrage, and saddened all at the same time. The unique, red headed girl’s story begins with her at age three cooking hotdogs on a gas stove by herself. She catches her dress on fire and is rushed to the hospital. Her father, an alcoholic, springs her from the hospital’s burn unit—most likely to escape the bill—but told her that they were going on an adventure. That is how the family endured their painful lives—by embarking on “adventures.” Rose Mary Walls longs for a life as a painter-- not as a mother-- and leaves the responsibility of raising children up to the children themselves. Jeannette truly overcomes the odds of her childhood by moving to New York City, only to be followed by her homeless parents.
Rationale for Selection: I originally chose this book because it is on the Florida Teens Read list for 2007. I also know that my students love to read nonfiction—so this was a perfect fit. I know that many of my students can relate to the harsh situations that Jeannette endured, and hopefully they can be inspired—as I was—to achieve their dreams.
Reader Response: I was blown away by this book! It is definitely in my top ten list of books ever read at this point in time. I was inspired, horrified, and encouraged by this memoir. It also inspired me to try some writing of my own. This was the author’s first book, and it was awe inspiring. After reading this book, I will forever refer to my nose as a “snot locker!”
Genre and Themes: This book was nonfiction and dealt with issues such as abuse, alcoholism, homelessness, and family relationships.
Teacher Thinking Notes: I have already used this book in teaching the vocabulary term “memoir.” I think it can be used as a model for kids to write their own brief memoirs. My students are going to start using portfolios to collect some samples and monitor their progress. I would like for them to have their own memoirs included in their portfolio.
Reading Level: 9- Adult
Interest Level: Very High
Quality: High

Flinn, A. (2005). Fade to black. New York, New York: HarperCollins.

Summary: The three main characters in this book are Alex, Daria, and Clinton. Alex is an HIV positive teen that has moved to a small town in Florida. He must deal with being an outcast in school. Daria is a girl with Down Syndrome that has a crush on Alex. She follows him to just to be near him, and witnesses someone beat Alex brutally. Clinton is a fellow classmate that has serious reservations about being in the same classroom with Alex. He is a ringleader that encourages others to stay away from Alex. Daria tells police that someone in a letter jacket is the person who beat Alex. Is it Clinton?
Rationale for Selection: One thing that attracted me to this book was that it was set in Florida. Right away my students could make a personal connection. I have also had several students read some of Flinn’s other books—in particular, Breathing Underwater. They have all raved about this book—boys and girls alike. My students are going to start reading out loud to the Life Skills class in our school. I loved that this book told part of the story through Daria’s point of view. I want my students to realize that every person is human and has feelings—even if they are different from you.
Reader Response: I really enjoyed this book and liked how each main character told their story from their point of view. Alex Flinn really developed complex characters. Each of them had their own flaws, which made this story very realistic and believable.
Genre and Themes: This was a fictional book that really dealt with being an outcast of society. You could feel each character’s pain about feeling alone. It had a heavy emphasis on AIDS, Down Syndrome, divorce, and alcoholism.
Teacher Thinking Notes: This would be a great classroom shared reading. I would like to read it out loud next year before the kids start reading to the Life Skills classroom. Many of the students are apprehensive about going into a classroom that is not “normal” to them. They are a little scared about venturing out of their comfort zone. I think Daria’s point of view could perhaps put them at ease.

BLACK AND WHITE By Paul Volponi

Volponi, Paul, (2005). Black and white, New York: Penguin Group
Summary: This present day novel includes Eddie and Marcus, star high school basketball players in New York, that want a little extra cash for their senior expenses. They make the decision to rob people at gunpoint and end up getting caught.
Rationale for Selection: I wanted to read books that the young men in my class would enjoy.
Reader Response: I loved this book. I started reading this book during sustained silent reading in my class. I had to end a few minutes early to give the class a book talk about this novel. The media specialist was overwhelmed with kids asking her to check out this book. I would definitely recommend it to both boys and girls to read.
Genre and Themes: This was a fiction book that touched upon race relations, money and the power people with money possess, and teenage relationships.
Teacher Thinking Notes: I would love to introduce this book during black history month. There are several other Walter Dean Myers books that could be used in conjunction with the novel. It could be easily used in a health class, a sociology class, or reading class. It would be great for teaching point-of-view. Each character tells his story every other chapter.
Reading Level: 9-12
Interest Level: High
Quality Level: High

Inspiring activities for COPPER SUN by Sharon Draper

Young Adult Lit Project
“Horror, Humiliation, and Hope”



Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper is an historical fiction novel that focuses on two teenage girls forced into slavery. The year was 1738 and fifteen-year-old Amari had just witnessed the brutal massacre of her village and the murders of her family. She had been captured by mysterious “pale skinned” visitors and had an iron brace forced around her neck. She was placed on a boat and endured a tortuous journey around the world. When the boat finally reached land she was sold into slavery and a world that was entirely new and cruel to her.

Amari’s slave owner, Mr. Derby, purchased her as a sixteenth birthday present for his son, Clay Derby. Amari endured weekly nightmares at the hands of Clay. At the Derby plantation, Amari meets sixteen-old-Polly. The only difference between Polly and Amari is their skin color. Polly is an indentured servant for the Derbys and longs for her freedom, just as Amari dreams of her freedom.

Amari and Polly work together at the plantation until one fateful night. They are summoned to help deliver the newborn baby of Mrs. Derby. The beautiful, bouncing baby is healthy, but there is one major problem.

After that fateful night Amari, Polly, and young little slave boy, Tidbit, make their way south to Ft. Mose, and freedom. Will they make it with Clay Derby, slave hunters, and gators trying to stop them?

Author information: Sharon M. Draper is a long-time Language Arts teacher and native of Ohio. She has been an Ohio Teacher of the Year, and was one of the first ever National Board Certified Teachers in Language Arts. She has one numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King award in 2007 for Copper Sun. She has authored numerous books, and her Hazelwood High trilogy is a favorite among teens. She has an innate ability to relate to teenagers and get even the most reluctant reader to start, finish, and enjoy her books!

Reader Response: Copper Sun is a phenomenal book! I don’t usually read historical fiction, but chose this book because a student of mine last year insisted that I read it. I must mention that this student was not a fan of reading—he also told me that I should order a class set of these books for my students to read next year! High School students will be able to relate to these characters because there is raw emotion involved. They will be horrified, sad, hopeful, and jubilant throughout the reading of this novel.

Rationale for Selection: I chose this book because I am a huge fan of Sharon Draper. I read the Hazelwood High trilogy as shared reading in my tenth grade reading classes, and her books motivate the kids to go check out more of her titles from the media center. Copper Sun has adult scenes, adult themes, and is graphic in nature at some points. High School students love this. They don’t feel like they are reading some watered down version of a book—and it isn’t boring to them. I definitely would not recommend this book to a student under the age of twelve. I would like to use this book as part of an author study of Sharon M. Draper or would like to use it during Black History Month. Sharon Draper is a black female author, and the issue in the book is slavery. My classroom is 95% minority, and they often request books by black authors. I feel that this is quality literature that the kids will like!

Ten Item List of Student Activities Connected to Copper Sun:

10. Tea Party—this is a pre-reading strategy where I will take lines from the story and distribute them individually to class members. They will circulate around the room like a tea party and predict what the story will be about using the clues/lines from the book.

Guided Imagery using the five senses. The students will complete a graphic organizer after reading the first few chapters about Africa. They will imagine what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted, during the scenes from the village. This will probably bring about some strong emotions in the readers also.

Say Something—this will be a partner activity done after the students read about the journey on the boat. Some example conversation starters are: “I wonder what will happen to _______ because _________? Or “ I hope that ______.

Written conversations—this is very similar to “say something” but all conversing is done on paper. This will be done after the chapter when Mrs. Derby’s baby is born. The kids will have plenty to talk about then!

ABC Character Chart—this will be a great way for the students to analyze the characters in this book. Each person in the group will choose a different character and fill out a foldable chart filled with character traits. For example if I chose Clay Derby I would write A—an animal of a person, B—bratty sixteen-year-old, C—coward for not sticking up for Amari, etc.

Inference Notes—I have never done this activity but I found it online through the sources Dr. Slick gave us. It is located here: http://englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/inferencenotes.pdf
This will be a during reading activity that will be done in the middle of the book.

Student Discussion—this will be an after reading activity. Sharon Draper has a phenomenal discussion page for the book listed here:
http://sharondraper.com/lessonsdetail.asp?lesson=12

Write letters to the author! This is a great activity for professional letter writing. Ms. Draper will even write your class back if you put all of your letters in one envelope!

Choice for students—Scene drawing with caption writing OR Poetry writing about the book. Students can either write a poem about the theme, characters, setting, etc. or use their creative talents to draw, paint, digitally create, a picture and then add an appropriate caption.

1. Student review of book for school website and/or Barnes and Noble website. Students will write a review of the book to post online.