Text 4- Out of the Dust

It's not very often that a book written in verse tugs at one's heart strings or makes one value familial relationships like Out of the Dust does. Karen Hesse does not shield young readers from the harsh realities of living in a place where the weather dictates the course of one child's life and how life can change from day to day.

Billy Jo is a young girl; an only child. Her parents have tried several times to have more children but each time the baby miscarried and her family was left with another disappointment. Joyously the news spreads that  Billy Jo's mama is pregnant and this time every one believes the baby is going to live. They have gotten further along with this pregnancy than any of the others and twelve year old Billy Jo can't wait to meet her new brother.

One day, Mama decides to use the bucket of water next to the stove to cook breakfast. However, it is not a bucket of water, it is  pail of kerosene. The kerosene spreads all over mama and she turns into a pillar of flames. Shortly after, Billy Jo's mama dies. The baby is delivered but he too dies. The book continues with Billy Jo and her father trying to survive from day to day in the midst of greiving and in the midst of dust storms that have destroyed their crops, and taken their very desire to continue on.

The Accident

I got
burned
bad.

Daddy
put a pail of kerosene
next to the stove
and Ma,
fixing breakfast,
thinking the pail was
filled with water,
lifted it,
to make Daddy's coffee...
The flaming oil
splashed
onto her apron,
and Ma,
suddenly Ma,
was a column of fire...

Ma
got
burned
bad

July 1934

During this fire, Billy Jo's hands got caught on fire as well, as she tried to put the flames out on her mother. The burns effect her confidence, she no longer plays the piano which her ma taught her how to do so well. She deals with the pain of her hands... and her heart. Pa doesn't know how to relate to her. The book has shadows of Billy Jo and her father finding their way back to one another.  The reader has to get to the end to discover if they ever do especially since the dust storms threathen their lives everyday. Will they ever get a decent rain?

Brillantly written, Karen Hesse helps young readers to think deeply and soberly about hardships. This scenario is very realistic and could happen to any family, although the book takes place in the 1930's.

Teachers could use this book to aid with talks about the United States post-Depression. I also think it could be used to aid in teaching Science for upper elementary school students. How were children and families affected by the dust storms? What causes dust storms? Where are they most likely to occur? This story makes the study and investigation of weather relevant and applicable to everyday life and circumstances.

Text 3- Zorgamazoo

Here is a story that's stranger than strange

Before we begin you may want to arrange 

a blanket,

a cushion,

a comfortable seat,

and maybe some cocoa and something to eat.

Unlike any other novel written completely in verse, Zorgamazoo is a wacky, luny story of a young girl named Katrina Katrell who runs away from home (because guardian wants to have her brain removed, of course). Katrina meets lovable non-adventerous Morty the Zorgle who wants nothing more than a  quiet life. His hopes of a quiet life are dashed when all of the country zorgles of Zorgamazoo go missing. Katrina and Morty set out to find out what happen to the zorgles. Are they still alive? Will they ever be returned to their beloved Zorgamazoo? This novel follows Katrina and Morty as they discover the answer to these questions and more?

Robert Paul Weston takes the cake with this zany tale of imaginary fantastic beasts and places. As an adult I found it difficult to this novel of 283 pages down.  The way it is written is nothing short of unique and grabs the readers attention the whole way through. One of the special feautures of Zorgamazoo is that there are entire pages that are dedicated to one or just a few words to give emphasis to what is happening in the story.

So if you've no time for the whimiscal things

for pirates and gadgets and creatures and kings

if you spurn the fantastic to never return,

then

PUT

THIS

BOOK

DOWN...

for it's not your concern.

I like that the book has themes that are a bit scary; at times it reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Katrina Katrell runs away from her guardian that wants to give her a lobotomy, she lands on the turf of a local gang, she runs away from mechanical bugs, she brings free from a prison, and escapes other dreadful circumstances just in the nick of time (all with Morty's help, of course).

Older elementary school learners will find this book extremely entertaining. It also expands students' vocabulary since there are many words that they do not use in everyday speech.

      "Dear sir,"

       he recited, beginning to read

       the document's pompous, punctilious screed

      "On behalf of the Bureau of Heroes and Quests,

       we acknowledge your deed, which plainly attests

      to your selflessness, bravery, vigor and verve,

      as well as your steely, unwavering nerve.



Specifically, fourth and fifth graders would get the most of this book. I think it's perfect for a read aloud time. Also, teachers could use this book to complement the E.L.A unit on poetry. Students can also write their own wacky story in verse or create an alternative ending.



Text 2- Step Gently Out

Beautifully written in a poem form, each page of Step Gently Out has one or two lines beckoning you to pay close attention to the world around you. This colorful children's book with its live photography and large letters draws you into a quiet moment, where you focus only on the words on the page and the picture of the small creature that is displayed with each piece of the poem. I love books that transport you to different places! Step Gently Out does just that; it slows you  down and makes you pay attention to what nature's smallest creatures have to offer you. 

...be still

and watch

a single blade of grass.

An ant

climbs up

to look

around.

A honeybee flies past.

The language of the book is lyrical like a song and at the same time it is as quiet as a whisper. It seems to me it should be whispered when read aloud. You wouldn't want to scare the creatures away, now would you?

This book is fictional book but the creatures it portrays are real.  I think it would be best if read by and to 1st- 3rd graders (also a great bedtime book for toddlers). The language, albeit poetic, is very simple and easy to understanding. The pictures also make this text interdisciplinary in that a student could use it to observe insects. Moreover, in the back of the book there's a full description of every insect featured in the photos. The picture above, for example, features an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly. The description in the back of the book tells you the best places to look if you want to encounter damselflies.

I wonder: In what way can this book develop a child's ability to read literature?

I think this book would benefit children in a few ways

1. Students would be able to focus on new words and phrases, their spelling and meaning because there are so few words. The book has some abstract phrases but the words have pictures that elude to their meaning (i.e. The creatures shine with stardust). Students can draw pictures of what they believe the new words/phrases mean or explain it to a partner.
2. Students have an introduction to common insects they may have seen before but now they get to know their names and learn a little about them.
3. Lastly, students can write their own short poem stories based on pictures they may have drawn, magazine clippings they may have cut out, or photos from home they have brought. This exercise makes good use of the book and helps the students to put into action what they have read.

I believe using books like Step Gently Out in these ways will deepen student comprehension and improve their reading ability.

Text 1 Fiction in Verse- Blues Journey

   Blues, blues, blues; what do you mean to me

   Blues, blues, blues; what do you mean to me

   Are you my pain and misery or my sweet sweet company?

Imagine being in the deep south; think Lousiana (New Orleans preferably).

Imagine you're in a hot sticky room, stuffed wall to wall with people listening to the sweet sound of southern blues. The strings of a guitar are being plucked and strummed expertly by a blues player who lives and breathes this genre of music. While you're listening, you can't help but to lose yourself. You lose yourself in the simple story of the blues player, you lose yourself in the feelings of loss and love; hardships and relationships. You lose yourself in the struggle of a people.

Walter Dean Myers does a superb job introducing young readers to blues music using  Fiction in Verse. Each page of the text's features a pentatonic or a "blues" scale. The blues scale follows the normal pattern of African music which is a call and a response. In the blues, the singer makes the same call twice and then the blues singer responds to his own call.

                             I gave my woman money, I offered her my hand

                             Gave her all my money, said, "Baby, take my hand"

                             She smiled from here to Sunday, then spent it on another man!

                            (Now you know that's wrong!)

While reading this text you can almost hear the likes of B.B King playing Ole Lucille, his guitar, in the background. Blues Journey experiences young readers to the music, reading in verse, historical realities and phrases that are new. Another feature of the text is a thorough introduction explaining what are "the blues" and a glossary explaining unfamilar words that can be heard in blues music.

I think the text is unique and the picture spark interest and questions. Although, the book has some funny blues lyrics (like the second one posted), it also has haunting verses that may intrigue readers.

                            Strange fruit hanging, high in a big oak tree
                            Strange fruit hanging, high in a big oak tree
                            You can see what it did to Willie, can you see what it does to me?

This verse deals with the reality of lynching in the deep south that was practiced in places where the blues were sung and listened to. Through the music, black people expressed themselves and the oppression and injustices they faced- I guess why the music is called "the blues".

The text,I think, it is a light and short way of introducing heavy subject matter in History and Social Studies and it can be used to help students in the creation process of their own writing peices based on  American History.