African American: Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Elizabeth and Marilyn Nelson. 2007. Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Illus. by Floyd Cooper. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong. ISBN: 1590784561.

PLOT SUMMARY
Through a collection of poems, authors Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson tell the true story of teacher Prudence Crandall who opened her school to African American girls in 1833 Canterbury, Connecticut and of their perseverance through the actions of the townspeople who are racially opposed to Crandall’s decision to teach young misses of color.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color is a beautiful book of poems that relays the story of a teacher and her African American students’ during the 1830’s. Award-winning poets Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson’s collaboration presents twenty-four poems, separated into six parts, provides vignettes to the story. The poems are written in the sonnet form. Each have fourteen lines and either follows the traditional rhyming scheme or follows the innovative free verse style. Several are creatively separated into multiple stanzas to make the specific sonnet affective in telling and can become an overall intriguing poem for the readers to read and reflect upon.

Each poem has a different voice and portrays different thoughts and feelings that tells the story from its beginning with students leaving their home to attend the school to learn, to the education, to when Miss Crandall and her students hearing and experiencing the heated opinion of the townspeople, to when Miss Crandall has nothing left but to close the school. Despite being in poetic form, the text remarkably is rich and understandable to the readers. This is particularly seen in the sonnet “Fire from the Gods:”

I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.
Like Brer Mosquito on Brer Elephant,
now I know my capacity for awe
is infinite: this thirst is permanent,
the well bottomless, my good fortune vast.
An uneducated mind is a clenched fist
that can open, like a bud, into a flower
whose being reaches, every waking hour,
and who sleeps a fragrant dream of gratitude.
Now it’s “illegal,” “illegitimate”
to teach brown girls who aren’t state residents.
As if Teacher’s stealing fire from the gods.
As if the Ancestors aren’t tickled to death to see
a child they lived toward find her minds infinity (p. 19).

and in “End”:

Upturned stacks of Webster’s blue-backed spellers.
broken slates. Liberators burned to ash.
Ninety panes of first-floor windows smashed,
frame wood splinters and jagged as tinder.

I can no longer protect my students.
Strangely, it is not God’s words that ring
in my head as I search for understanding,
rather, words that I saw on a charred reader:

I must remind you that the earth is round.
Men and animals live on the surface.
There is no comfort in these words,
yet the fact of them comforts me: schoolbooks.

I am a teacher of colored misses,
But I can no longer protect my students (p.44).

Within each poem, to create the authors added to the different voices that they created is have different tones and how they address people. The schoolgirls call Miss Crandall “Teacher,” “Miss Teacher,” “Teacher Pru,” and “Miss Crandall” The poem “Miss Ann Eliza Hammond” wonderfully illustrates a student’s opinion and speech:

I brought here, in a bag between my breasts,
money from Mama’s friends who had bought herself,
then saved enough, by working without rest,
to free four friends. This woman gave me her wealth
of carefully folded dollars to I could take
Miss Crandall’s course of study. And within a week
of my arrival, I was summoned to appear in court.
The judge ruled I’d have to pay a fine, depart,
or be whipped naked.

Honey, the first white fool
that thinks he gone whip me better think again.
Touch me, and you’ll draw back a nub, white man.
I ain’t payin’, and I’m stayin’. People’s dream brought me to this school.
I’m their future, in a magic looking glass.
That judge and the councilmen can kiss my rusty black (p. 26).

Floyd Cooper’s illustrations are a pure compliment to the poems. Through an innovative subtractive multi-medium technique, the artwork is colorful with a color scheme of neutral tans and accents of pinks, greens, purple, and blue and provides a softness that adds to the overall presence that is given with the book. In particular are the depictions of the students. Not one looks a like and have varying sizes of noses, lips, skin color and hairstyles. In particular the portraits for the poems “Miss Ann Elizabeth Hammond” and “Arson at Midnight” are beautifully executed. To keep the book appearance light and airy the illustrations are kept to one or two per two-page spread and only occupy a corner or side. There are double-page spread illustrations at the beginning of each of the six sections that depict the schoolhouse and the students. Though the clothing is more representative of what was worn during and after the Civil War, the illustrations are wonderfully done and are perfect for the book.

To complete the book there is an introduction that provides the details and historical facts to put the poems into context. Finally, there is a note from the authors that present information on the creative process of their collaboration and how their poems only present a certain parts of the entire story that allow the readers to think, imagine, and explore the meanings of the poems with the historical story.

Though their story is relatively unknown, through the collaborative work of Alexander and Nelson, Prudence Crandall and her schoolgirl are now part of the treasured books that tell the powerful stories of this part of America’s history. This book is perfect for all school and public libraries.

REVIEWS
BOOKLIST
Twenty-four clear, beautiful poems in different voices tell the stirring history of white teacher Prudence Crandall, who defied bigotry in Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1833 by setting up a school for 20 young African American women, many of them freed slaves, who dared to attend. Alexander and Nelson, both Connecticut poets, use dramatic sonnets to tell how Crandall and her students braved resistance to “teach and learn.” The pupils speak directly of the anguish of family parting (illiteracy “means silence when you leave home”); the wonder of learning (“I didn’t know how much I didn’t know”); the racism, including the “etymology” of invective (“no one in town will sell us anything”); and the horrifying climax of “Arson at Midnight,” when 300 men attacked the school and closed it down. A long introduction details the historical facts, and in a final note the poets (Nelson is Connecticut’s poet laureate) talk about how each has used the sonnet form. The images in their poems and in Cooper’s quiet, dramatic pastel illustrations compellingly capture the haunting history. Pair this picture book for older readers with Suzanne Jurmain’s The Forbidden Schoolhouse (2005) and books about the KKK -- Hazel Rochman. Booklist, published by the American Library Association.

KIRKUS REVIEWS
Two years after Suzanne Jurmain's nonfiction chronicle, Forbidden Schoolhouse (2005), comes a glorious poetic celebration of the teacher and students at a Connecticut school that defied mid-19th-century convention to educate African-American girls. Divided into six sections, four sonnets in each, the voices of the 24 girls tell, one by one, the tale, from hope and excitement at the beginning of the enterprise to fear and defiance as forces both institutional and vigilante conspire to destroy Miss Crandall's School. Nelson's sonnets adhere to a strict form while Alexander's explore the boundaries of the form; each distills the powerful emotions inspired by the story. For example, "Fire from the Gods": "I didn't know how much I didn't know, / Like Brer Mosquito on Brer Elephant, / now I know my capacity for awe / is infinite. . . . " Cooper's soft pastel illustrations provide a muted counterpoint to the text, mixing depictions of school and students with images of the natural world in a lovely rhythm. A foreword provides a brief prose history of the school; a concluding authors' note explains their collaborative process. (Poetry. 10+)

CONNECTIONS
*Learn more about Miss Crandall, her school and her students with the book: The Forbidden School House: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students by Suzanne Jurmain
*Have the students explore the resources available on the Prudence Crandall Museum’s website: http://ct.gov/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2127&q=302260

African American: Last Summer with Maizon

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline. 1991. Last Summer with Maizon. NY: Puffin Books. ISBN: 0698119290.

PLOT SUMMARY
Eleven-year-old Margaret wishes that her summer never happened. On top of the stress of a possible separation from her best friend Maizon her father dies from a heart attack. Now with her father gone and her best friend off to a boarding school in Connecticut, Margaret faces a new stage in her life where she discovers news talents within herself.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jacqueline Woodson’s short novel Last Summer with Maizon is truly a charming story of two African American friends during the summer that changes them both. The two girls learn things about themselves during the time that they mourn the death of Margaret’s father and when they are finally separated and out of their comfort zone in their neighborhood and school in Brooklyn, New York. Margaret and Maizon declare themselves as twins; however, they are quite different. Maizon is the bolder of the two. She is smart and is has won a scholarship to a boarding school out of state. Margaret in comparison is the quieter of the two; however, she is equally as smart even though she did not know it until Maizon was physically gone and Margaret was not being overshadowed.

The narrative is written in the third-person; however, Woodson provides a personal window into Margaret’s thoughts and feelings such as the loneliness that she feels when Maizon is gone and she has no one she knows in school as well as the feelings of Maizon when she tells her friend of the racism that she experienced while at Blue Hill. The short chapters read simple and clear despite the emotions that fill the pages.

There are subtle cultural markers seen within the story. The one that is seen is in the description of Margaret and Maizon’s hair. Maizon’s hair is in a short Afro while Margaret’s hair is long and is the envy of Maizon. There is also presence of a culture other than the African American culture. Maizon’s grandmother is Cheyenne Indian and tells stories to the girls about what it was like living on the reservation. There is also hints of racism seen in parts of the books. The first is seen in the story told by Maizon’s grandmother. When she was young and living in Colorado, she takes her African American boyfriend to meet her best friend from the reservation who responded with “’You can’t marry him. He’s a black man.’ I knew that there had come a point where I still called this girl my friend but we didn’t even know each other. Because I loved your grandfather and saw him as someone I loved. But she saw him as black and refused to know him” (p.52). Maizon experiences the second experience of racism while she was away at Blue Hill. All the girls hated her because she was “black and smart” (p.113).

Though there are subtle cultural markers of the African American culture within Woodson’s novel it does not subtract from this wonderful work as it only exhibits that stories such as this are just like the stories that can be seen in other cultures but still exhibit the cultural elements. This is a title that readers will enjoy reading as with the two other books in this trilogy.

REVIEWS
BEVERLEY FAHEY (CHILDREN’S LITERATURE)
For eleven-year-old Margaret the summer that should have been a time of youthful exuberance--sharing secrets and time with her best friend Maizon in their Brooklyn neighborhood--instead delivered two devastating blows. The first was the sudden death of her beloved father and the second was news that Maizon had been accepted to the prestigious Blue Hill boarding school in Connecticut. Margaret's grief over these losses, coupled with her insecurities about going it alone cast a pall over the friendship. As Margaret struggles with doubt on her journey to self-discovery she has the love and support of a cast of strong female adults. It isn't until Margaret begins a new school year and with the help of a sympathetic teacher that she discovers her own inner strength. First published in 1990 Woodson's novel is deftly written and she explores, with honesty and simplicity, issues of racism, death, the elitism of private schools, and friendship is this coming of age story. Readers who wish to follow Maizon as she strives for acceptance should read Maizon at Blue Hill. 2002 (orig. 1990), Putnam Publishing Group, $16.99. Ages 10 to 14.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Gr 5-7-- When her best friend wins a scholarship to a boarding school for gifted students, Margaret is devastated. Then, in Maizon's absence, she discovers her own abilities, including success in the smartest class at school and winning a poetry contest. Still, when Maizon leaves the boarding school after only three months, Margaret, Maizon's grandmother, and the other adults in their Brooklyn neighborhood are glad to have her back. Woodson quickly establishes the strong ties between the two girls and paints a vivid picture of the supporting characters and their surroundings. However, once Maizon goes away to school, the focus of the story blurs. Because Maizon neither writes nor calls, other characters speculate that she is finding the work too difficult because she's not the brightest student anymore. Surprisingly, the 11 year old's decision to leave is made without any adult input. Later, readers receive only a brief explanation when Maizon comments that many of the girls hated her because she was smart and black. Margaret's growth is conveyed through only two brief episodes at school, yet this is a major development in the story. While readers will certainly be drawn into the book by the warmth and tenderness generated by the characters, as well as the descriptive images of cinnamon-scented kitchens and distant trains in the twilight, the narrative gaps may leave them wondering just what happened and why, and whose story this is meant to be. --Susan Schuller, Milwaukee Public Library

CONNECTIONS
*Read the Jacqueline Woodson’s continuing stories of Margaret and Maizon: Maizon at Blue Hill and Between Madison and Palmetto.

African American: Black Cowboy, Wild Horses: A True Story

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lester, Julius. 1998. Black Cowboy, Wild Horses: A True Story. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. NY: Dial Books. ISBN: 0803717873.

PLOT SUMMARY
Bob Lemmons, a former slave now cowboy on a ranch, has the special ability to track animals. He will follow the animals. On the hunt for wild horses, Bob and his black stallion Warrior follow the horse tracks for days until he is finally accepted as one of their own and is able to become leader of the herd and brings them back to the corrals at the ranch.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Through the well crafted Black Cowboy, Wild Horse: A True Story author Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney have introduced young readers to one of the Old West’s legendary cowboy Bob Lemmons and his ability to become a horse in order to corral the wild horses on the western plains. Lester’s text is poetically rich and full of metaphors that describe the scenery of the open plains that Lemmons travels through as he follows the mustangs, “The sky was curved as if it were a lap on which the earth lay napping like a curled cat” (p. 2) as well as the cool patience that Lemmons exude as he calmly follows the horses. The narrative is also full of action, which is especially seen when Lemmons and his horse Warrior fight the stallion leader of the wild horses. Not only does Lester tell the story in action but also the personal descriptions of both the human and animal characters in the story.

Pinkney’s illustrations both compliments and visually continues telling the story of Bob Lemmons. In double-page spreads the illustrations fills the book with wonderfully detailed watercolors. The depictions of the horses and the plains are beautifully accurate. In particular the part when Lemmons has become the leader of the herd and is now the “sky and plains and grass and river and horse” and the illustrations shows the wild horses following the cowboy across the plains and in the sky are billowing clouds that have the faint images of wild horses. Pickney’s artwork also presents the readers with various points of views in order to truly show the beauty of the horses in movement and the land that Lemmons roamed.

Though this book is about an African American cowboy that is known in America’s Wild West history, there is a very limited number of cultural markers present in the entire book. The only mention of the African American culture is when the narrative explains that “Bob had been a slave and never learned to read words” (p.5). The illustrations are the only other cultural marker that presents a depiction of Lemmons with chocolate brown skin and short curly hair. Though this could be considered a weakness in the book one must take into consideration that story is not about Lemmons himself but how he became one of the wild horses in order to bring them back to the ranch were he worked.

With the combination of Lester’s detailed and poetic narrative and Pinkey’s beautifully detailed and executed illustrations readers are able to catch a glimpse into the life of a legendary cowboy from America’s history.

REVIEWS
BOOKLIST
Ages 5^-9. One of every three cowboys who helped tame the Wild West was either Mexican or black. This is the true story of one of the latter, Bob Lemmons. In language rich with simile and metaphor, Lester's account focuses on the former slave's uncanny tracking abilities as he trails a herd of mustangs as well as his mission to tame the wild horses and lead them back to the corral. Pinkney's earth-colored gouache and watercolor paintings add the look of the Texas plains to Lester's account and capture the energy of the horses as they gallop across sweeping, double-page spreads. Lester and Pinkney's manifest love and respect for the West and cowboys of color, whose contributions have been too long overlooked, distinguish their latest collaboration. Michael Cart

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Grade 2-4APinkney and Lester add a picture-book chapter to the lore of this nation's "true West" with the retelling of a story of a wild horse hunt by the black cowboy Bob Lemmons. He and his stallion, Warrior, wander on the prairie until they find the tracks of the animals they seek. Bob then spends days in a very slow approach to the herd. Horse and rider finally join the herd and are accepted by the wild horses, until at last Bob challenges the lead stallion for control. On Warrior's back, he fights the stallion, defeats him, and then leads the animals into captivity in the ranch corral. Throughout, both text and pictures emphasize the blending of all life. The linkages between the cowboy, the animals, and the natural world are so strong that lines separating them are blurred. Lester and Pinkney's stated aims were to recast their childhood love of cowboys and the Old West with more recent historical research into the contributions of men of color, both black and Hispanic. They have done that, and achieved something else as well: youngsters will reflect on the relationships between humans and other animals. Pinkney's pictures were never better, making it all the more unfortunate that text boxes cover some of the action. Lester's overuse of metaphor is also a drawback. Still, this book will inspire heavy-duty thinking on the part of young readers.ARuth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX Copyright 1998

CONNECTIONS *Read more about African American cowboys with books like Bill Picket: Rodeo-Ridin’ Cowboy by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illus. by Brian Pinkey.
*Read more books by Julius Lester: John Henry (illus. by Jerry Pinkney) and Sam and the Tigers: A Retelling of ‘Little Black Sambo (illus. by Jerry Pinkney).
*Read more books illustrated by Jerry Pinkney: The Patchwork Quilt (written by Valerie Flournoy) and The Talking Eggs (written by Robert D. San Souci)

International: Secret Letters from 0 to 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Morgenstern, Susie. 1998. Secret Letters from 0 to 10. Trans. by Gill Rosner. NY: Viking. ISBN: 0670880078.

* 1999 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honor Book *
* Winner of the French le Prix Totem Award, the equivalent of the U.S. Newbery Award *



PLOT SUMMARY
Ten-year-old Ernest Morlaisse has spent his entire life in a mundane schedule. Everyday he went to school, ate the same food, did his homework early, and spent the evening with his aged grandmother who lives in the past and hardly spoke to anyone. No television. No phone. No outings. He wears old-fashioned clothes that, besides his exceptional knowledge and his handsome looks, make him standout at school in the wrong way. Then one day, a vibrant new classmate named Victoria arrives and brings him into her family of two parents and thirteen brothers where there is food other than soup, chocolate, television, phones, and the world beyond his grandmother’s house. Now with life beginning to growing within himself, Ernest’s curiosity, about his father who had disappeared the day after he was born, continues to build until one day he writes and sends a letter to a man with the same name and receives hundreds in return.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Morgenstern’s Secret Letters from 0 to 10, originally published in France in 1996 and translated to English by Gill Rosner, is a refreshing story about young boy who’s structured life begins to bend and shift as his is introduced to the world outside his grandmother’s home, with the assistance of his new friend, and about what has happened to his father since he had disappeared Ernest was a day old. The plot is well constructed. It illustrates perfectly Ernest’s transformation from a sheltered life to one where he exposed to the world and to the story of what happened to his father. Each chapter is named after one of the characters within story that plays a significant part of in helping or effecting Ernest’s life.

The characters in the novel are wonderfully well developed and have their own individual personality that sets them apart. Ernest, who is a sweet, polite, kind, and smart boy; however, because his grandmother hardly speaks, even to him, as does Germaine, an old friend of Grandmother who cooks and also helped raise him. At the beginning of the novel, he follows the same routine day and day out with little thought. He does not speak unless he is spoken too and never asked a question. However, as the novel continues he changes to becoming curious, speaking and asking questions as he tries to uncover the secrets of his family and especially of his father.

Victoria de Montardent has a strong personality, which is almost a necessity for being the only girl in a family of thirteen brothers and parents who work for Foreign Affairs. From the moment she took a seat at Ernest’s desk at school she clasped onto him and preceded make him her friend (whether he liked it not), which in turn begins his transformation. Even though their personalities and how they live are quite different and almost complete opposites, Victoria soon appears as the perfect companion for Ernest as perfectly seen in her response to the notes left on her and Ernest’ desk by all the girls in their class that “love” Ernest and have told her to stay away, “I love Ernest. That’s all there is to it. And what’s more, I understand him, and I want him to be happy. We’re getting married in thirteen years, eight months, and three days. This is an invitation to our wedding” (Morgenstern, p. 35).

The story is set in France and has several cultural markers. The first and perhaps most noticeable marker is the names of the characters, especially their last names: Ernest Morlaisse, Victoria de Mortandent, Germaine, and Precious (Ernest’s grandmother). Another marker is the description of the neighborhood in which Ernest and Victoria lives. Down the street from Ernest’s house is a lovely neighborhood garden and street cafes, which is quite characteristic of France. Finally, the third marker that exudes the essence of a French culture is the presence of food, which a famous staple in the culture. Before Victoria befriended him, Ernest’s diet consisted toast and marmalade for breakfast and soup for lunch and dinner. However, thanks to Victoria, Ernest finally eats chocolate, chocolate-filled croissants, Couscous, and much more.

Though the details are faint and not entirely the focus of the plot, Secret Letters from 0 to 10 presents a refreshing story that exudes the essence of coming from another country and culture that both simpler and yet, like any well-written novel from of any other culture, the story is universal. Author Morgenstern, a native of New Jersey who has lived in France for more than thirty years, and translator Gill Rosner’s, also of France, collaboration has resulted in a wonderfully unique story in a subtle setting of another culture that is well-deserving of its honors and awards.

REVIEWS
BOOKLIST
Gr. 4^-7. Poor, 10-year-old Ernest Morlaisse: his mother died at his birth, his father deserted him one day later, and he is being brought up in a dreary, protected household by a grim, elderly grandmother, who rarely utters more than a few words and never smiles. Ernest's days are so structured they are completely devoid of joy and surprise, and the only mysteries life holds are the whereabouts of his father and the contents of a coded letter his grandfather sent just before he was killed in World War II. The arrival of Victoria de Montardent changes all that. Outgoing Victoria and her 13 vivacious brothers bulldoze Ernest into exploring life outside dull, familiar boundaries and help him experience the sensations and wonderment of love, loss, curiosity, pain, and joy. Morgenstern chronicles the awakening of Ernest's "sleepy old heart" through a wryly humorous narrative, presenting life's simple joys with such appreciation that events like going to the movies or answering the telephone seem as new to the reader as they do to a bemused Ernest. Quirky characters, heightening suspense, and hilarious situations are deftly combined in this tender novel, smoothly translated from the French, which examines a few of the large and small ways people affect one another. The richly rewarding happy ending will have kids begging for a sequel. Kathleen Squires.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Grade 5-7-Winner of the French equivalent of the Newbery medal, this novel portrays the poignant journey of a young boy who learns to enjoy life, express his love for others and, at the same time, learn to love himself. Ten-year-old Ernest Morlaisse leads a quiet, uneventful life. He comes home from school, eats the same snack each day, and does his homework. He lives with his elderly grandmother who hardly speaks to him, especially about his dead mother and the father who deserted him when he was one day old. All this changes when a new girl, Victoria de Montardent, comes on the scene. For her, it's love at first sight. "We're getting married in thirteen years, eight months and three days" she tells him at one point. Her exuberance and joie de vivre captivate Ernest. Victoria and her 13 brothers befriend him, and he slowly begins to find joy in experiencing new things and encouraging his grandmother to leave her self-made prison behind. He also finds the courage to search for his father. The translation from the French is only noticeable because of a certain formality and precision in language that is not usually found in books for this age group. This formality lends considerable charm to the telling but requires a more thoughtful reader. Morgenstern has created extremely well-drawn, distinct, and sometimes quirky characters with eloquent dialogue. Since this is a quiet novel, it may need to be pushed. However, readers will not soon forget Victoria de Montardent and the journey Ernest takes to embrace life.
Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc

CONNECTIONS *Read more books by Susie Morgenstern: Book of Coupons, Sixth Grade, and Three Days Off.
*Have the readers discuss the importance of friendship and communication.
*Have the readers discuss the difference and similarities between someone their age in France to themselves in the United States.
*Have the readers discuss the importance of letters within story and outside the story.
*To further tie in the French culture, have the readers participate in French traditions such as having an event where the readers can try the many delicious food from France like Crepes and Ratatouille.

International: The Thief Lord

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Funke, Cornelia. 2002. The Thief Lord. Trans. by Oliver Latsch. NY: Scholastics, Inc. ISBN: 9780439404372.

*Winner of the 2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award *

PLOT SUMMARY
When their mom dies and they learned that their snobby aunt was going to split them up twelve-year-old Prosper and five-year-old Bo run away from Hamsburg, Germany to the canals and ancient buildings of Venice, Italy that their mom had told them about. Now, living in an abandoned movie theater with three other orphaned children who are taken care of by a mysterious teenager who is called the Thief Lord. When the Thief Lord is hired by an equally mysterious man to steal a wooden wing that belongs to a magical merry-go-around that can change the age and physical appearance for all who rides it, Prosper and Bo and their friends’ lives change forever and for the better.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
German author Cornelia Funke’s love for this ancient Venetian city translates beautifully in this adventure, mystery and fantasy packed novel that, originally published in German and translated to English by Oliver Latsch, has been a great hit among young readers everywhere. Though it is quite complex with secondary storylines and there is handful of characters that all play a significant part within it, the plot is exciting and incorporates all the characteristics of the city it takes plan in.

Though they are Italian, or German in the case of Prosper and Bo, all the characters are they universal and can be relatable to any reader. Prosper is a smart and responsible twelve-year-old who cares for his little brother deeply and will do anything to make sure that he and Bo stay together. Bo is perhaps the very essence of Venice in his angelic-face that would match the faces of the beautiful artwork found in Italy. He looks up to his brother and sees a great hero in Scipio, the Thief Lord, and dreams to go on to one of his raids, even though he is only five years old.

Scipio, a.k.a. the Thief Lord, is the most complex character in the entire book, as he lives a doubled life. Though he claims and explains to the orphaned children he cares for and has sell his stolen loot, Scipio is actually the son of a rich doctor who owns the abandoned theater where the orphans lived. Despite being thirteen years old and being treated like a helpless child by father, Scipio very mature, as he was the one who brought the three orphan children Mosco, Riccio, and Hornet to the theater. When he appears to the children as the Thief Lord he wears high-healed boots, a black trench coat, and a black masquerade mask that are very reminiscent to the 18th century clothing that Italians and, especially, Venetians wore.

The city of Venice plays a huge and very important part in The Thief Lord. Having the story set in a city as ancient, mysterious, enchanting, and magical as this one. Venice is the perfect city to set a story of Funke’s combination of adventure, mystery and fantasy. Where else could one find a merry-go-round with fantastical creatures that can made a boy turn to a man and man to a boy?

The writing style that Funke used also utilized the beauty of Venice with descriptions of city and its surroundings, such as seen in the opening lines of book:

“The canals, gleaming in the sun, dappled the ancient brickwork with gold. But the wind was blowing ice-cold air from the sea, reminding the Venetians that winter was approaching. Even the air in the alleyways tasted of snow, and only the wings of the carved angels and dragons high up on the rooftops felt any real warmth from the pale sun” (p. 7).

Funke also used the actual Italian language several times, such as when Hornet calls Bo angelo – an angel, to add more essence of the culture to the story. Other wonderful features of The Thief Lord are a map that included names the famous landmarks and a glossary of the Italians words used in the book. The final feature is Funke’s own black and white pen sketches of architectural features found in the city that are seen at the beginning of each chapter. By adding a visual feature like these sketches the readers will get another glimpse of the fantastic city and enhances the greatness of The Thief Lord.

REVIEWS
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wacky characters bring energy to this translation of an entertaining German novel about thieving children, a disguise-obsessed detective and a magical merry-go-round. After their mother dies, 12-year-old Prosper and his brother, Bo, five, flee from Hamburg to Venice (an awful aunt plans to adopt only Bo). They live in an abandoned movie theater with several other street children under the care of the Thief Lord, a cocky youth who claims to rob "the city's most elegant houses." A mysterious man hires the Thief Lord to steal a wooden wing, which the kids later learn has broken off a long-lost merry-go-round said to make "adults out of children and children out of adults," but the plan alters when Victor, the detective Aunt Esther hired to track the brothers, discovers their camp and reveals that the Thief Lord is actually from a wealthy family. There are a lot of story lines to follow, and the pacing is sometimes off (readers may feel that Funke spends too little time on what happens when the children find the carousel, and too much on the ruse they pull on Prosper's aunt). But between kindhearted Victor and his collection of fake beards, the Thief Lord in his mask and high-heeled boots, and a rascally street kid who loves to steal, Prosper's new world abounds with colorful characters. The Venetian setting is ripe for mystery and the city's alleys and canals ratchet up the suspense in the chase scenes. Ages 9-12. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Grade 6-8-A popular German author makes a strong English-language debut with this tale of a group of orphaned and fugitive children trying to eke out a furtive existence on the watery "streets" of modern Venice. Funke brings together a large but not indigestible array of adults and children, several of whom, thanks to a bit of magic near the end, switch roles. To keep from being separated after their parents' death, young Prosper spirits his little brother Boniface to fabled Venice, which their mother had always described as a magical place. Quickly falling in with a trio of other orphans, presided over by Scipio, a masked lad who styles himself a master thief, the children become embroiled in a complex set of captures, escapes, squabbles, revelations, and subplots. At the end, they find not only an agreeable new home, but also literal proof of their city's magical reputation, for on a nearby island, an ancient, fragile carousel is found that can spin old people young, and vice versa. Funke delineates her characters and the changing textures of their relationships with masterful subtlety, as well as sometimes-puckish humor. It's a compelling tale, rich in ingenious twists, with a setting and cast that will linger in readers' memories. John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc

CONNECTIONS
*Read more books by Cornelia Funke: Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath, Pirate Girl and Dragon Rider
*Read books about Venice, Italy.
*What the 2006 film version of The Thief Lord and have the readers compare and contrast the film to the actual book.

International: Possum Magic

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fox, Mem. 1983. Possum Magic. Illus. by Julie Vivas. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. ISBN: 9780152632243.

PLOT SUMMARY
Deep in the Australian bush, Grandma Poss uses bush magic to change fellow animals different colors, sizes and even makes a dingo smile. To protect her from snakes, Grandma Poss made young possum Hush invisible. Hush had fun being invisible, but she soon wanted see herself again. However, Grandma Poss could not find the magic needed in any of her books. Finally, one night she realizes that it was “people food” instead of possum food that was needed to make Hush visible. Traveling all over Australia, the two possums find popular Australian food that will reverse the possum magic.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The combination of author Mem Fox’s text and illustrator Julie Vivas’ artwork truly makes Possum Magic a delightfully charming book. The narrative is kept to one paragraph per double-spread page that allows the colorful watercolor vignettes to further to tell the story. Viva's use of colors and methods of painting, such as splattering the paint to imitate the magic that Grandma Poss uses on the animals, is adds to the great effect that the give to the overall story. The depictions of all the animals and the sceneries are delightful and portray the personalities and emotions of the animals. In particular Grandma Poss and Hush are wonderful. Grandma Poss wears a purple apron with yellow stars, colorful striped slippers and a pair of glasses on her long nose. Children will love seeing how Hush is illustrated while invisible yet they can see her outline of her fuzzy body.

Set deep in the brush then around the country to famous cities to try popular Australian food, the story wonderful illustrates the culture. The illustrations of the animals (dingoes, wombats, emus, koalas, and kangaroos), vegetation, food, though slightly abstract due to the medium of watercolor, are accurate in depiction. The food plays a vital role in the story as does the cities that Grandma Poss and Hush find them in. Through the book and with the food glossary and map at the end of the book, young readers will learn the names of cities Adelaide, Melbourne Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Hobert and associate the food and sweets Anzac biscuits, pumpkin scones, Monray, Minities, Vegemite, Pavlova and Lamington not only with the country but with the cities that Grandma Poss and Hush find them in.

Through a fun story of magic, travel, colorful illustrations, and a introduction of Australian food and cities, Possum Magic is a perfect addition to any home, school, and public library.

REVIEWS
BOOKLIST
Ages 5-7. This agreeable tale from down under is peppered with “Australia-isms,” but there is a zest to the story that transcends the language barrier (a brief glossary is provided at the conclusion). The stars of the story are two opossums, Hush and her grandmother. To keep hush safe, Grandma Poss turns Hush invisible, which is fine until the day Hush decides she’d like to see herself. Unfortunately, Grandma Poss doesn’t quite remember how to reverse the spell; she is only sure that it has something to do with “people food.” Eating Anzac biscuits in Adelaide and pumpkin scones in Brisban doesn’t work, but a vegemite sandwich causes Hush’s tail to appear while pavlova (meringue with fruits and whipped cream) and lamington (sponge cake) bring the rest of her body forth. A fully materialized Hush dances with Grandma, and every year on her birthday she makes a meal of the three foods that keep her visible. The art captures the experience of being invisible as an “unseen,” outlined Hush slides down a kangaroo’s back and is almost squashed by a koala. Vivas’ eminently likeable pictures, featuring soft watercolors that spill across the pages, are striking standouts against the expanse of the white backgrounds. Fun for individual readers or as a supplement to unites on Australia. An appended map traces Hush’s journeys around her continent. IC. Opossums Fiction / Animal Fiction / Australia Fiction [OCLC]. December 01, 1987.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
PreSchool-Grade 2 Grandma Poss uses bush magic to make Hush invisible, but when Hush wants to see herself again, Grandma can't remember which particular Australian food is needed to reverse the spell. Traveling around the continent in search of an antidote, Grandma and Hush sample Anzac biscuits, mornay, vegemite, and pavlova until the right delicacy is found. Although the characters, locales, and vocabulary are thoroughly Australian, Possum Magic has universal appeal. Fox chooses her words carefully, making readers believe that certain foods just might be magical. Vivas uses a variety of techniques, including splatter painting and washes to create full- and double-page watercolor illustrations which complement the text and will entrance readers. A perfect choice for storytimes, but also useful for curriculum enrichment, thanks to a simplified map and glossary. Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. December 01, 1987.

CONNECTIONS
*Read more books by Australian author Mem Fox like Hunwick’s Egg, Koala Lou, and Wombat Divine.
*Have the readers make and try the foods that Grandma Poss and Hush did in the book.

New Semester, New Reviews!

Greetings everyone! The Wielded Pen - Children's Corner is back for a whole new semester and set of reviews. Starting this August/September and ending December, the book reviews that you will be reading will be for my LS 5653.20 – Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adult. Please visit throughout the next four months to learn about the books about different cultures of our world!