REVIEW: Bridge to Terabithia

Let's get this out of the way right now: yes, Bridge to Terabithia is sad. Pen and Em knew something bad happens because they caught me sobbing at the kitchen table, the book conspicuously open in front of me.

The sad part happens in chapter ten, so don't let your kids start reading chapter ten unless there's time for them to at least finish chapter eleven as well before you make them set the table for dinner. Some tweens may need a hug or assistance processing their emotions. The kids in our book club range in age from nine to thirteen; only one member opted to not read this month's selection because of the emotional intensity.

The book club kids had mixed feelings about Bridge to Terabithia. There were several thumbs-sideways and a pair of one-up-one-down thumbs, but nobody gave it a complete thumbs-down.

The Scholastic discussion questions are here and though I didn't use it, the literature unit from Glencoe looks solid. As we talked, I asked the kids: What are the things Jess wants at the beginning of the novel? Their answers were quick, pointed. Jess wants to:

• be the fastest runner in his grade
• have someone encourage and appreciate his art
• be close to his dad and 
• have a friend.

Then I asked them: Does he have any of these things when the novel ends? They agreed that Jess gets everything he wants at some point in the novel, but doesn't get to keep it all. Those things he does get to keep come at a very high price. We talked about the torrent of emotions Jess wrestles with including--as Henri pointed out--his anger toward Leslie. Why does Jess deal with his feelings the way he does, from lashing out at others, to destroying gifts, to ultimately throwing open the gates of Terabithia? Which of the adults in Jess's life are able to help him through his grief and how can we tell those efforts resonate with Jess?

And now, the question adults tend to ask: Is Bridge to Terabithia appropriate for tweens? The nine kids in my living room said Yes. Yes, it was sad. Yes, it hit them like a punch in the gut. Max commented that even though he had to sit with it for a while--even though his first thought was it was all a dream and Jess was going to wake up--it wasn't something he couldn't handle. Norah pointed out that Jess recognizes Leslie's greatest gift to him and chooses to honor her by passing her gift on. By building the bridge.

Banned Books Week, Belated

Last week was Banned Books Week, and though I was down with a head cold which rendered me mostly incapable of rational thought, I did read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. 

Persepolis was challenged then banned from the middle school curriculum in Chicago Public School system earlier this year. From everything I read, high school teachers were still allowed to teach it. Last Sunday, as the book lay on my kitchen counter, with crisp corners and an uncracked spine, I thought, I can understand parents of seventh graders wanting to reassurance about the contents of a heavy book before their kids read it, but by high school, kids need to know this stuff. Whatever "this stuff" was, I didn't precisely know. I hadn't read the book yet. 

Now that I have, I can say the thing that struck me most, is that Satrapi is about my age. What does that mean, exactly? 

It means that Satrapi begins her story with the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when she was ten years old. My daughters are ten years old.

It means that in 1984, when I was swooning over the members of Duran Duran, Satrapi was fending for herself in an Austrian Catholic boarding school. And that while I was whining about having to read The Odyssey in verse and writing poetry instead of paying attention during AP American History, Satrapi was devouring essays by Freud, probably in German.

Most of all, it means that there was barely a two-page spread in Persepolis that didn't teach me something, and that in spite of the semester of Middle Eastern history I opted for in college, I know next to nothing. How does something like that happen? I'm still flipping back and forth in the book and Googling events and places to make sure I have the timeline straight for the fifteen years Satrapi chronicles.

I'm not sure if I should feel ashamed of or grateful for my sheltered upbringing. What I am sure about is that most seventh grade kids can handle the contents of Persepolis. Are violence and torture depicted? Yes. Much more than violence, though, Satrapi depicts her struggle to understand, to belong and to thrive on her own terms. What teenager can't identify with those desires?

I see no reason why our middle school students shouldn't read it, discuss it, and let it seep into their psyches. I've already decided to include Persepolis in the history curriculum for Pen and Em when we cycle back around to modern history. They'll probably be in the seventh grade.

What about you? What did you read for Banned Books Week? And what do you not know?

REVIEW: Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

I'll admit, I was surprised at the bite in Carl Hiaasen's Chomp, probably because this is the first of his books I've ever read. (ducks barrage of paperbacks) Don't get me wrong: this book is hilarious, and will have your children chanting eee-ka-laro! and affecting Australian accents. They may also beg for eclairs. Amidst all the hijinks, though, Chomp deals with some serious issues, including adult responsibility foisted upon too-young shoulders, concern for animals and the environment around us, and child abuse. It's Hiaasen's use of humor that enables him to include such weighty subjects, but Chomp is far from preachy. In fact, Hiaasen never delves too deeply, instead leaving enough room for readers to ponder the topics as the story progresses.

The novel begins with Wahoo Cray accepting a job on behalf of his animal-wrangler father, who is laid up with lingering headaches from an iguana-inflicted concussion. Wahoo's plan is to work the job alongside his father, stepping in just enough to make it look like his dad, Mickey, is fit for wrangling. Add a buffoonish Hollywood "survivalist," an abused teenage girl, a terrified bat, a thunderstorm in the Florida Everglades, and try to keep up. Better yet, try to put the book down: Penelope kept reading ahead and Emma stayed up until eleven one night to finish it.

You can find an excellent free educator's guide here at the Random House site. There are also lesson plans available for purchase on the sites Teachers Pay Teachers and BookRags but I've only seen the previews so I cannot vouch for the quality of the full units.

I put on an episode of Man Against Wild so my daughters could get a better idea of the type of show Hiaasen mocks, but we could hardly hear the episode over our own laughter. We also did a little research about the Florida Everglades and watched some videos of airboats to get a feel for how they worked and sounded. Those things are loud!

The kids' verdict? All ten kids in the book club enjoyed Chomp tremendously, though Emma and her friend Jade* both felt it started slow, the pace picking up only when Derek Badger arrives in his motor coach. 

*a pseudonym