Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Tan, Shaun. Tales from Outer Suburbia. 2008, 94 pg, New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 9780545055871.

Annotation

A collection of short stories, poetry, and accompanied by Shaun Tan’s stunning, pleasantly strange thought provoking artwork.

My thoughts

These modern stories completely captivated me with their stunning illustrations, strangely quirky characters and mysticism that left my imagination wanting more. Suburban life is typical portrayed as a white picket fenced middle class lifestyle of normalcy. These stories, however, are ideal for anyone wanting to escape the normalcy of daily life in or out of the suburbs. Strange situations like the enigmatic nut-sized foreign exchange student, a sea creature on someone’s front lawn, a new room discovered in a family home, a sinister machine installed in a park, a wise buffalo that lives in a vacant lot, and 10 other extraordinary stories.

Artwork

The art is rich and surreal. In his website, Shaun Tan discusses his art for this book. Tan states that to “treat each story individually, as a separate little universe (which is how they were more or less conceived)” he used different media to suit the “atmosphere of each tale.” The range of media is impressive as is the skill evidenced in the illustrations. This is a collection for artists and dreamers, and for anyone in need of a jolt of inspiration.

Literary devices

Use of Sophisticated Language: incomprehensible, frayed, perilous, melancholy, etc.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grades 7-12

Reviews and Awards

Awards: CBCA Book of the Year, 2009, Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009, New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books, 2009, BCCB Blue Ribbon Book 2009, Washington Post Best Kids' Books of the Year, Booklist Editors’ Choices for 2009, A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults-2010, An ALA Notable Book for Children-2010, USBBY Outstanding International Book-2010, LA Times Book Prize-Finalist

Author website: http://www.shauntan.net/

Media: Pencil/ oil on canvas/ acrylic and oils on paper/graphite and coloured pencil on paper/ gesso, acrylic and oils on paper/ paper collage and other people’s handwriting/ oil on wood/ ink watercolor and ball-point pen/ digital/ scraperboard/ gouache/ photocopied text/ pastel crayon

Genre: Graphic novel

Dante's Divine Comedy by Seymour Chwast

Chwast, Seymour. (2010). Dante's Divine Comedy. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 978-1608190843.

Annotation

Dante’s Divine Comedy is Seymour Chwast’s graphic adaptation of the classic, allegorical epic poem written in three parts: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

My thoughts

This is a much lighter version of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The original 14^th century allegorical masterpiece has over 100 cantos chronicling a journey through hell, purgatory and paradise. The original poem is intended to be horrifying and is supposed to give a basic education of Christian theology. Chwast’s graphic adaption is much easier to stomach and the summarization takes the text slightly away from the Christian theology making it more entertaining than dogmatic. Overall, this is a good introduction that is amusing and not overwhelming.

In addition, Chwast’s summarization takes away the original poetry that can be up to over 900 pages and condenses the text to 128 pages. The poetry is not as lyrical and has been so summarized that it has been lost so this book might not be good if the intent is for poetry. Then again, many readers shy away from the text because of the poetry. This is a good version to recommend to those who do not enjoy poetry or might not want to read the religious version. The historical names (Euclid, Aristotole, Socrates, Plato, Aeneas, Soloman, etc.), religious figures (St. James, St. John, St. Peter, Adam, Moses, St. Anne, St. Lucy, etc.), canto numbers, key terms (gate of Dis, the river Acheron, etc.) and religious concepts remain the same.

Focus on Artwork
The illustrations are appealing whereas other versions (like William Blake and Dore’s) can be horrifying for readers. I remember my own dismay reading this at a very young age. The illustrations scared me. They still do. These illustrations are humorous and modern. Dante is illustrated like a 1930s Dick Tracy sunglass wearing sleuth-like individual and Vigil wears a bowlers hat and bow tie. The way that these two figures are illustrated make this historically fear-mongering piece of literature less intimidating. This graphic novel version balances out the original Divine Comedy and can be used to modernize the teachings and reading of this western literature classic. 

Curricular connections

High school: Religious Studies, Catholic Dogma, or English.

Literary devices

Use of Sophisticated Language: gluttony, usurers, abstain self-indulgences, wanton, sower of discord, and other terms related to the religious poem.

Use of Allegory: Dante's journey through the levels of inferno, purgatory, paradise is an allegory for the soul’s journey to God.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 7- High school and up: due to mature themes. Hell, inferno, purgatory and the various punishments for sinners aren’t really good for young minds. This is a classic, however, and these illustrations are less intense than William Blake, Dore, or other illustrated texts.

Reviews and Awards

Starred review, Publisher’s Weekly           

Author website: www.pushpininc.com/

Media: ink

Genre: graphic novel

Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange

Sidman, J., & Prange, B. (2010). Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Boston [Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 0618717196.

Annotation

Joyce Sidman combines poetry and science to examine some of the oldest living evolutionary survivors on Earth. Ubiquitous celebrates these survivors’ unique traits.

My thoughts

Ubiquitous means “somewhere that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time. Given that these species are prevalent and exist all over the world many of them are overlooked or assumed to be simple. This book reveals that these prevalent species are anything but simple. They are survivors for certain reasons and while this may seem mysterious, Joyce Sidman writes about some of the unique traits of these species that have made it easier for these species to survive.

This book highlights these special adaptive species and celebrates their unique traits for informational blocks, poetry, and detailed illustrations. Key pieces of information make this book interesting for children for example“…it is said that industrious squirrels plant more trees than humans do.” Crows have been “observed dropping large nuts at highway intersections so that passing cars will crack them open!” “Geckos can literally break their tail in two to escape from predators.”

The timeline in the beginning of the book is probably one of the better Earth timelines that I’ve seen for awhile. It really puts time into perspective. A mass of lines wind around each other like a giant fingerprint and spread across the inside cover and title page. For the scale, each centimeter represents one million years. It begins with Earth’s birth at 4.6 billion years. Humans, only come into the picture at the end of the timeline.

The prints are also creative and appropriate. Everything blends seamlessly.

 These are an impressive set of poems that tribute our planet’s survivors.

Curricular connections

Elementary school science- Biology

Students can reenact this timeline and bring their own timeline into the class using a 46 meters long string and cards to label the key events. Different colored string can be tied together to represent the different geologic periods.

Lesson Plan
See 'Lesson Plan' page

Literary devices

Use of Rhythm

First Life

(a diamante)

Bacteria

Ancient, tiny

Teeming, mixing, melding

Strands curled like ghostly hands

Winking, waving, waking

First, miraculous life

Use of Allusion

“… I am Sheath-wing, beloved of ancients. You have never seen armor like mine. As the sun-god rolls his blazing disk overheard, so I roll my perfect sphere of dung across the sands.” – Alluding to the Egyptians and the Sun-God Ra.

“Who swirled your whorls and ridges? Was it the shy gray wizard shuttered inside you? I hear he walks on one foot and wears a magic mantle, trailing stars. O shell, if only I could shrink! I’d climb your bristled back, slide down the spiral of your heart. I’d knock on your tiny door and ask to meet the mollusk that made you.”

Use of Sophisticated language

Adaptability, diamante, diverse, mutate, photosynthesis, prolific, organism, ubiquitous.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Age 6 and up.

Reviews and Awards

Awards and Honors: Starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus, Horn Book; Junior Library Guild Selection; Publisher's Weekly, Best Books of the Year; Washington Post, Best Books of the Year; Kirkus, Best Books of the Year; School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year; National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Books, K-12, 2011; Boston Globe, Top Ten Children's Books of 2010; New York Public Library's "100 Best Books"; Booklist, Top 10 Sci-Tech for Youth; Book Links, Lasting Connections for 2010; Finalist for the 2011 CYBILS Poetry Award; Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children's Book; The John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers

Author website: www.joycesidman.com/

Illustrator website: http://www.beckieprange.com/

Media: linocuts, hand-colored with watercolor

Genre: nonfiction, poetry

Why War is Never a Good Idea by Alice Walker and Stefano Vitale

Walker, Alice - author, & Vitale, Stefano - illustrator (2007). Why War is Never a Good Idea. New York, NY: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN: 978-0060753856.

Annotation

Powerful, evocative, hard hitting, gut wrenching poem about the devastating effects of war.

My thoughts

This is a pacifist’s poem in the extreme, and if it isn’t then as the pages turn the reader will think about pacifism. It doesn’t rationalize a war instead it turns war into this evil personified thing that destroys life and has wide consequences. “When it comes/ To nursing/ Mothers/ It is blind;/ Milk, especially/Human,/ It cannot/ See.” These words are tragic and very scary because it doesn’t show the supposed just-causes of war it shows the unintended consequences on the lives of innocents.

The illustrations start off bright and capture the various regions in descriptively vague ways. China, South America, Cambodia, a jungle, European architecture, Middle-east architecture, and Africa are depicted showing the global scale. The people from these places are shown going about their innocent daily duties and lives. “Through War has a mind of its own/ war never knows/ Who/ It is going/ To hit.” A church and homes are depicted with many people playing, talking, working, walking, riding, fishing, drinking, swimming, sitting, kissing, etc. A death cloud looms on the following page. The illustrations get darker until the last page. The final page is painted from the perspective of the bottom of a well looking up at the moon. Looking down into the well are silhouetted forms with lit eyes looking into the war-tainted water. These people are innocent various global representatives representing the wide spread effects.

Curricular connections

History

Literary devices

Use of Personification: “the power and wanton devastation of war” is represented in this poem. The illustrations show the consequences of war.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 5 and up. The book jacket says “all ages.” Some people feel that this book is “scary” and disturbing. It is just as war is. I think that children are exposed to so much directly and indirectly though life and through the media. The earlier children are introduced to truths (like war is devastatingly terrible) the better. Otherwise, there is the chance of raising a generation who is blind to the consequences or sees the wrong causes. This is just a personal opinion, however. There are other people who view this book and poem as political propaganda meant to indoctrinate children to be peaceful. In addition, this particular personified war is evil. It doesn’t show the version where people gain freedom and are liberated. Books like this are great for discussions. I would think it would be good for a middle school debate.

Unfortunately, perhaps books that have these ‘mature’ concepts should be suggested with discretion in a public library setting or for individuals (parents, teachers, etc.) interested in and inquiring about war in general.

Reviews and Awards

Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize and an American Book Award for her novel The Color Purple. School Library Journal included Why War is Never a Good Idea in its Best Books of 2007 list.

Author website: No known website.

Illustrator website: www.stefanovitale.com/

Media: Acrylic painting

Genre: Juvenile picture book, poetry

Ellington Was Not A Street by Ntozake Shange and Kadir Nelson

Shange, N. - author, & Nelson, K. - illustrator (2004). Ellington Was Not A Street. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN-10: 0689828845.

Annotation

Illustrated picture book of the poem “Mood Indigo” by Ntozake Shange.

My thoughts

The book is about historical greats in the black community, told through a child’s (Duke Ellington’s daughter) eyes with “Mood Indigo” providing text. Mood Indigo is a historical poem by Ntozake Shange and was inspired by many different activists and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance. The poet notes these individuals and the back of the book provides biographical information. Paul Robeson, William Edward Burghardt DuBois, Ray Barretto, Earlington Carl “Sonny Til” Tilhgman, Dizzy Dillespie, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Virgil “Honey Bear” Akins, the Clovers, and of course Duke Ellington make appearances at her house and are all included in the book.

What really stands out for me are the beautiful oil illustrations. These are incredible double page paintings that really capture the time. One of the most interesting pictures was the "family photo" at the end. I found this to be a very powerful statement because it shows that it really takes several different types of people to make change and take a stand against society. Each personality comes through Kadir Nelson’s rendering of person’s expression. Very impressive.

Favorite Quotes:

“I listened in the company of men

politics as necessary as collards

music even in our dreams.”

“our doors opened lie our daddy’s arms

held us safe & loved”

Curricular connections

History- African American history- the Harlem Renaissance- 20^th cent Black history- grade 3-8- These men are some of the greatest black heroes of the early twentieth century to past day America. The book includes a helpful biographical section in the back with pictures of the featured men. The book can be used to introduce some of these men. It can also be used in an English class to introduce different poets and forms of poetry.

Lesson Plan

See 'Lesson Plan' page

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grade 3-8

Reviews and Awards

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner

Author website: No found website.

Ilustrator website: www.kadirnelson.com/

Media: Oil paints

Genre: juvenile picture book, historical, poetry

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse

Singer, M., & Masse, J. (2010). Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. New York, N.Y.: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN: 978-0525479017.

Annotation

A picture book of reversible poems based on popular fairytales that includes different perspectives from the main character and villain using the same words.

My thoughts

Talk about misunderstanding someone’s words. It’s fascinating how the same words, the same poem, can be written in the opposite direction to give a new meaning and different tone. The only changes are capitalization and punctuation, but the points of view and perspective are entirely different. This book is a clever turn on words and an interesting word play with familiar characters from childhood fairytales. And, it makes an individual think about word order and perspective. The book truly shows that there are two different sides to the story and entire picture.

Curricular connections

Humanities- poetry grades 2-6: Recommended for readers who enjoy poetry and playing with words, lovers of fairy tales, teachers who teach writing (or poetry/fairy tales), or anyone who loves children’s books.

Lesson Plan

See 'Lesson Plan' page

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grades 2-6

Reviews and Awards

2011 ALA Notable Children’s Books, All Ages; 2011 NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts; CLA Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts 2011; Children's Book Committee Bank Street College of Education Children's Choices - Best Books of 2011, Special Interests, Poetry; Booklist 2010 Editor’s Choice, Books for Youth, Nonfiction, Middle Readers; Booklist Lasting Connections of 2010, Language Arts; Horn Book Fanfare, Best Books of 2010, Poetry; Kirkus Reviews 2010 Best Children’s Books; Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books 2010, Picture Books

"The poems are both cleverly constructed and insightful...giving us the points of view of characters rarely considered." --Horn Book

"A mesmerizing and seamless celebration of language, imagery, and perspective." --Kirkus, starred review

Author website: marilynsinger.net/

Illustrator website:  www.joseemasse.com/

Media: acrylic paint on illustration board

Genre: poetry

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and Pamela Zagarenski

Sidman, Joyce, Joyce Sidman, and Pamela Zagarenski. Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. ISBN: 0547014945.

Annotation

A collection of poems describing different seasons with colors, sounds and smells.

My thoughts
This book is the winner of the 2010 Caldecott Award. This book is an interesting twist for a concept book. It combines a collection of poems with seasons and colors to produce a visual stunner.

The short  pieces of poetry are great attention getters and would be great for a class lesson on how to write poetry and would be good for a read aloud setting. It would also be good for children learning the seasons and colors.

Focus on Artwork

Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations really add to the text. They really show and explain the text very well and are painted in bright vibrant colors. The entire book is beautifully illustrated with complicated layers, textures, and intense color combinations with a color palette that is based in earth tones and subtly changes to convey each season. This book teaches children about color and really does a great job at that through using the varying hues and also by including the written word typed in the given color throughout the book. In addition, Zagarenski creatively uses type. The lettering is seen both vertical and horizontal.

Curricular connections

Grade 4- Middle School

Elementary School: color poems

English/Humanities: Creative Writing: students can write their own color poems

Art: colors and nature

Literary devices

Use of Rhyme

“Green trills from trees, clings to Pup’s knees, covers all with leaves, leave, leaves!”

Use of simile

 “…each note dropping like a cherry into my ear.”

Quotes

And White?/White/Whispers,/Floats,/Clumps,/Traces its wet finger/on branches and stumps./White dazzles day/and turns night/inside out.

Where is Green in winter?/Green darkens, shrinks,/stiffens into needles./Green waits in the hearts of trees,/feeling/the earth/turn.

Reading level/ Interest Age

Grades 1-4; Ages 6 – 9

Reviews and Awards

2010 Caldecott Honor Book

2010 winner of the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

Booklist, 2009. Horn Book, 2009. School Library Journal, 2009.

Winner of the Cybils Award

A Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Book

A School Library Journal Best Book

New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

Author website: www.joycesidman.com

Illustrator website: www.atthegallery.com/artists/zagarenski.html

Media: Mixed media paintings on wood and computer illustration

Genre: Poetry, juvenile picture book