Module 6 Book Reviews

KING AND KING

a. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

de Haan, Linda and Stern Nijland. 2000. KING AND KING. Berkley: Tricycle Press. ISBN: 1582460612

b. PLOT SUMMARY

The queen has decided that it is time for her son, the prince, to marry. Although, he states that he has never really fancied princesses, his mother brings unmarried princesses from near and far to win his heart. Instead of the princesses winning his love, a brother of one of the princesses catches his eye, and the two princes live happily ever after.

c. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The genre of KING AND KING is fiction. The illustrations are created by both drawings and collage. Vivid colors and quirky pictures help bring this tale to life.

CHARACTERS

The main characters in the story are the prince, the queen, and his page. Later in the story we meet the prince’s and the page’s future love interests. The queen was a robust woman that wore her gray hair pulled back in a bun or straight down her back. She did not hesitate to tell her son, the prince, exactly what she wanted. She informed him, “You’re getting married and that’s all there is to it.”

The princesses that she summoned from around the world came in all shapes and sizes. The Princess Aria from Austria was a large woman with curly red hair piled high on her head and sang powerful operas. Whereas Princess Dolly from Texas was a petite woman with long red hair that loved to perform magic acts. The princess from Greenland wore her solid green outfit and her dark brown hair in pigtails. Princess Rahjmashputtin from Mumbai stood too tall and elegant in her lovely brown dress, but did not like the prince’s comment about her long arms. The final princess with fair skin and long blond hair seemed to please the queen; however, the prince had eyes for her brother.

The men in the story: the two princes and the page had similar body shapes and height. The page seemed to be bald and the prince of the castle had very short hair. The new prince had a goatee had long locks of hair cut just below his ears. The page wore a blue and gold uniform throughout the story, and the princes wore colorful clothes.

THEMES

One main theme in the story is royalty: queens, kings, princesses, and princes. The queen was tired of ruling and felt it was the prince’s duty to marry and become the king. “The queen had ruled for many long years and she was tired of it. She had made up her mind that the prince would marry and become queen before the end of the summer.” The end of the story conveys the queen’s and the prince’s happy endings: “The two princes are known as King and King, the queen finally has some time for herself.”

Another theme in the story is homosexuality. In the beginning of the story, the reader is told that the prince does not fancy princesses. The queen lectures the prince demanding that it is his time to marry. He finally agrees, but states, “Very well, Mother, I’ll marry. I must say, though, I’ve never cared much for princesses.”

STRENGTHS

This story presents a topic that is not commonly found in children’s literature, in a light hearted way. The prince simply is not interested in princesses. Consequently, his heart stirs when he meets the prince of his dreams. I thought that the story was fairy tale like, yet the authors were safe to put a heart over the two princes’ months as they kissed. This story did not didactically preach the rights of homosexually, yet it lightheartedly introduced the theme to children.

WEAKNESSES

I liked the fact that the queen called princesses from every “castle, alcazar, and palazzo near and far.” However, I was disappointed that the skin colors of the princesses were not diverse. Four of the five princesses had fair skin. The authors could have better represented woman by making Dolly, from Texas, an African American or another race.

PERSONAL OPINION

I thought the story was a fairy tale with a unique ending. I was glad that the public library had this story. My young daughter did not question the ending. As a parent, I feel that as she is able to understand certain topics, then we will discuss them at that time.

d. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jul. 1, 2002 (Vol. 98, No. 21))
Here's a winning Dutch import for parents looking for an original tale with a gay slant. The queen, tired of ruling, decides it's time for her son to marry and assume the throne. The prince reluctantly agrees, "I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses." The queen arranges for a parade of princesses to meet her son, but the prince doesn't feel any sparks until the final candidate shows up with her brother. The two princes fall in love, marry, and rule the kingdom together. The text is brief and lighthearted, and it presents the gay relationship with matter-of-fact ease. But it's the illustrations that really shine. Whimsical, textured collages mix beautiful papers, fabrics, and bright paint in scenes that show the bossy queen, the wildly imagined town, the eclectic princesses, the wedding, and finally, a kiss between the two starry-eyed princes. Adults will know what's coming early in the story, but many kids won't. They'll simply like the fun artwork and the final twist on conventions. For another picture book with a gay theme, see Michael Cart's Focus on Harvey Fierstein's The Sissy Duckling [BKL Je 1 & 15 02]. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2002, Tricycle, $14.95. Gr. PreS-2.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 3))
Move over, Princess Smartypants: this Dutch import arrives to take top honors in the fairytale-fracturing department. When the pushy queen of a small, unnamed country decides it's high time for her son, the prince, to settle down and marry a princess so she can retire, he exhibits some reluctance-"I've never cared much for princesses"-but she eventually wears him down. There follows a seemingly endless parade of eligible princesses, but the prince is unmoved until Princess Madeleine shows up with her brother, Prince Lee, and, "It was love at first sight. / 'What a wonderful prince!' " The prince and Prince Lee are duly wed, "And everyone lives happily ever after." The exuberant mixed-media illustrations have a distinctly European flair, employing vivid colors in bold combinations, and the line-and-color human figures have a childlike, almost primitive look. The prince himself looks rather like Mr. Gumpy with a crown; Prince Lee is a dashing chap with a goatee and an earring. Taken all together, the illustrations work wonderfully with the text to make its statement with no apologies whatsoever. After the wedding (at which the queen sheds a sentimental "tear or two"), the newlyweds gaze at each other over their monumental purple-and-pink cake, which, of course, is topped with two tiny princes. On the final, wordless page, the happy couple smooch, the actual meeting of lips chastely fig-leafed by a bright red heart. Indeed a book whose time has come, this is no pusillanimous bibliotherapy; it is, rather, a joyful celebration that at the same time firmly challenges the assumptions established and perpetuated by the entire canon of children's picture books. Hurrah to newcomers de Haan and Nijland and to the publisher for bringing them to an American audience. 2002, Tricycle, $14.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 7. Starred Review. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2002)
In this mischievous twist on a familiar motif, a bachelor prince finds something lacking with each princess his mother draws to his attention until the last candidate brings along her cute brother. Silly but affectionate collage illustrations match the text for whimsical irreverence. Missing the political point, the young audience will probably come to the conclusion that this prince likes boys better than girls, which, of course, he does. Category: Picture Books. 2002, Tricycle, 32pp, $14.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

e. CONNECTIONS

Children that enjoyed this book may want to read more about the King and King in the authors’ sequel. The story follows the two kings as they take a honeymoon to the jungle and bring home a special surprise.

de Haan, Linda and Stern Nijland. 2004. KING AND KING AND FAMILY. Berkley: Tricycle Press. ISBN: 1582461139.

Activities

Children in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District can use the databases Facts for Learning and World Book Kids to discover facts about royalty. They could compare the duties of a King to the duties of a president. The students could answer the writing prompt, “If you could choose to be a queen or king or a president which one would you choose and why?”
Culture Grams is another website that would provide children with accurate information about the different places where the various princesses came from.



MOSES GOES TO A CONCERT

a. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

Millman, Isaac. 1998. MOSES GOES TO A CONCERT. New York: Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 0374350671

b. PLOT SUMMARY

Moses enjoys playing the drums. He feels the vibrations although he cannot hear the sounds. Moses goes to a concert with his class. The students use balloons to feel the vibrations of the music. Afterwards, the percussionist talks to the group and explains how she plays the instruments without being able to hear the music with her ears.

c. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The genre of MOSES GOES TO A CONCERT is fiction. However, the author’s note at the beginning of the story includes factual information about American Sign Language (ASL). Below the author’s note, arrows and symbols explain how to read the ASL diagrams that are interspersed throughout the story.

CHARACTERS

The main characters in the story are Moses, his parents, his teacher, his classmates, and the percussionist. Moses’ teacher is dressed in a suit, the boys are dressed in T-shirts or collared shirts with shorts or pants, and the girls are wearing dresses.

The children vary in race and skin tone. They appear to be African American, Caucasian, Latino, and Asian. Their skin tones range from white to various shades of brown. The teacher, a little girl, and three boys including Harry wear eye glasses. The percussionist dressed in long black pants, pink socks, and a pink vest.

Both the little girls and little boys have short hair. However, the color and texture of their hair varies. A young African American girl wears her hair in short, stylish straight braids. Another blond haired girl wears her hair in low pigtails. The boys’ hair styles vary in texture (straight or curly) and color: black, red, brown, and blond. The percussionist wears her long red hair down around her shoulders.

THEMES

Some themes in the story are American Sign Language, deaf, music, and percussionists. As a child reads this story, she is introduced to ASL. The easy to read pictures make the reader desire to stop and try the signs. The students learn about music and vibrations that can be felt through music as they learn how Harry is able to enjoy playing his drum. Harry “can’t hear the sounds he is making because he is deaf, but he feels the vibration of the drum through his hands. He has taken off his shoes so he can feel it through his feet, too.”

Students learn that deaf children can participate in activities that involve listening such as concerts. Yet, the deaf children use their sense of touch to feel the vibrations of the music. Mr. Daniels passes out balloons to the students and instructs them to hold the balloons in their lap, for, “They’ll help you feel the music.”

STRENGTHS

Children need to see that having a disability does not have to disable a person. Even though the female percussionist could not hear the cymbals and drums in a traditional way, she became a professional percussionist because she found another way to hear the music. Even though the main character in the story is a young boy, the female percussionist is a strong role model for both girls and boys.

PERSONAL OPINION

This book is a wonderful example of a positive story about a young child that had physical disability, yet he was not stopped from leading a happy, fulfilling life. The story also introduces an adult that did not let her deafness stop her from becoming a percussionist. I would like the actress, Marlee Matlin, to write a children’s book about her childhood. She has written other books about deaf children, but I think her life story is a fascinating one. I think she is an excellent role model for the deaf or hearing impaired community.

d. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Hazel Rochman (Booklist, April 15, 1998 (Vol. 94, No. 16))
This breakthrough picture book about a deaf child works so well that you wonder why there aren't lots more books like it. We do have nonfiction and bibliotherapy books about how to use American Sign Language (ASL), but this is a good story told in pictures and written English and also in ASL. Moses is deaf. When he plays on his drum, he can't hear the sounds, but he can feel the vibrations through his hands and through his bare feet. When he goes with his deaf classmates to a concert, they hold balloons in their laps to feel the vibrations. The percussionist in the orchestra is also deaf (she wears no shoes so that she can feel the vibrations through her stockinged feet), and after her wild, wonderful performance, she meets the deaf children, tells them her story (in ASL), and then allows them to try out all her instruments. With clear line-and-watercolor pictures, the precise hand shapes, movements, and facial expressions of ASL are a natural part of the story. Pictures at the bottom of the page show Moses signing the words, but when the percussionist tells her story, and when Moses tells his parents about his great time at the concert, the sign language is the action, and the written words are the captions. Deaf children will welcome this joyful story that talks, without condescension, about the fun they have. Hearing kids, too, will want to learn some of the sign language, and with the help of an adult, they can practice the hand alphabet shown at the back of the book. Category: For the Young. 1998, Farrar/Frances Foster, $16. Ages 5-9. Starred Review.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1998)
Millman's story, illustrated in delicate watercolors, ought to pop open a few young eyes (and perhaps some adult eyes as well). Moses and his school chums, all deaf, are off to a young people's concert. They take their seats up front, where a row of percussion instruments is arrayed between them and the orchestra. When the percussionist appears, she is in her stocking feet; she is deaf, and will feel the music through the floor, Moses's teacher hands out balloons that they will hold in their laps and that will help them feel the music. After the concert the percussionist, using sign language, gives the students a little inspirational talk, which Moses delivers to his parents later that evening. The power of Millman's book comes from the simple fact that he levels the playing field; of course deaf children go to concerts, but conveying how they enjoy music removes yet one more barrier between those who can hear and those who cannot. Moses also appears in inset boxes, signing comments aimed at readers and encouraging them to attempt signs. A few spreads are given over entirely to signed conversations, with effectively diagrammed hand movements and facial expressions. The final page illustrates the signed letters of the alphabet. 1998, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16.00. © 1998 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

e. CONNECTIONS

Children that would like to learn more about American Sign Language can go to the website ASL for Kids: http://library.thinkquest.org/5875/. The website includes information about ASL and what it is like to be deaf. It also teaches children to sign letters, numbers, and words. After the students practice with ASL, there is a section for fun and games such as guessing the animal.

Children might want to look at these websites to learn more about the author and his works: http://us.macmillan.com/author/isaacmillman# or http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/millman.html.

RELATED BOOKS

Children that enjoyed the main character of the story, Moses, may desire to read the other books about Moses by Isaac Millman.

Millman, Isaac. 2000. MOSES GOES TO A SCHOOL. New York: Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 0374350698.

Millman, Isaac. 2003. MOSES GOES TO THE CIRCUS. New York: Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 0374350647.

Millman, Isaac. 2004. MOSES SEES A PLAY. New York: Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 0374350663.

Children may enjoying reading a nonfiction story about a deaf boy that attends public school and communicates using American Sign Language, hearing aids, his other senses, his friends, and an interpreter.

Simmonds, Nicola. 2002. CAN YOU HEAR A RAINBOW?: THE STORY OF A DEAF BOY NAMED CHRIS. By Jamee Riggio Heelan. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers. ISBN: 1561452688.

ACTIVITIES

Children could use the websites and books from the library to practice ASL. The teacher could ask a person that knows ASL to come and teach the children different signs. Older students could record themselves signing using a flip camera, edit the video in Windows Media, and then import it into MS Photo Story. The students could write a story to go along with the video. The final, polished story could be added to the school’s library homepage for other students to read, watch, and enjoy.


HABIBI

a. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

Nye, Naomi Shihab.1997. HABIBI. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0689801491

b. PLOT SUMMARY

Liyana’s father moves their family from St. Louis to Jerusalem. She must adjust to her new life and new identity in Jerusalem. She struggles with getting to know her new relatives, understanding new languages, and learning different the customs of various citizens of Jerusalem.

c. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The genre of HABIBI is fiction. The illustration on the front cover depicts Liyana, her brother, and her Arabic grandmother, Sitti. Rafik, her brother, has short hair, and is wearing a plaid shirt over a T-shirt and jeans. Liyana is wearing a sweater over a white collared shirt and slacks. Grandmother Sitti is wearing a patterned skirt, a long shirt, cardigan, and had scarf. Jerusalem is shown in the background.

CHARACTERS

The main characters in the story are Liyana, her brother- Rafik, mother-Susan, and father- Dr. Kamal Abboud, “whom they called Poppy.” Once the family moved to Jerusalem, they spent time with their grandmother, Sitti. Liyana and Rafik made friends with Khaled and Nadine whom lived in a refugee camp all of their lives. Liyana also formed a friendship with a young Jewish boy named Omer. Omer, like Liyana, loved to roam the streets or as he stated, “Wander. Both inside and outside of my head.”

THEMES

A major theme of this book is the Jewish-Arab relations. The author gives us some history of the fighting between the Jews and Palestinians. When Liyana learns that Omer is Jewish, she shares with him some of the suffering of the Palestinians, and then she adds that she knows the Jewish people suffered too. Omer added, “It’s a bad history without a doubt…Nothing to be proud of.”

Cultural markers such as food and language were sprinkled throughout the book. Liyana ate falafels in warm pita bread. Liyana’s mother learned to make “lebne” by “straining yogurt through cheesecloth.” Liyana also learned to say Arabic phrases such as “Ana tyyib (I’m fine); Shway (a little bit); and Ana asif (I’m sorry).

Traditions were another prevalent theme in the story. In the beginning of the story, the family had a big feast in honor of Liyana’s family. Traditionally everyone eats off one platter, yet Poppy requested individual plates for his family since they were not accustomed to eating communally. Their relatives ate “hunks of baked lamb surrounded by rice and pine nuts” off a large tray, while they ate off mismatched chipped plates.

Omer explained the Jewish tradition of sitting “shiva” to Liyana. Shiva is “that time when the family doesn’t wear shoes or leave the house, when they cover all their mirrors.” Poppy disliked the outdated tradition about the visitor from the United States having to buy every woman in his family fabric to make a new dress. He also disapproved when everyone asked to borrow money. On their first visit to Sitti’s house, after they ate dinner with their relatives, everyone started asking Poppy for money. He stood up and declared, “When the talk gets to money, we get to rolling.” Toward the end of the story, as the family and friends were leaving Sitti’s house, Poppy exclaimed, “Today was quite an experience. Nineteen people asked me if they could borrow money.”

STRENGTHS

This story portrayed the struggles of both the Palestinians and the Jewish people through the eyes of Liyana’s family and friends. As the story unfolds, the reader learns about different foods that are eaten in Jerusalem such as olives, purple marinated turnips, baba ghanouj, hummus, hot flat breads, and baklava. Without reading a history book, the reader learns about the tension in Jerusalem. “In Jerusalem, so much anger floated around, echoed from fading graffiti, seeped out of cracks.”

PERSONAL OPINION

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was interesting that Liyana’s mother used to take her and Rafik to different Sunday schools: “Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Unity, and Unitarian.” To her parents, God was one “Big God.” He could not fit into the hearts of one particular group.

d. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Hazel Rochman (Booklist, September 15, 1997 (Vol. 94, No. 2))
What is it like to be young in Palestine today? That is the focus of this stirring docunovel, which breaks new ground in YA fiction. Liyana Abboud, 14, moves with her family from St. Louis to Jerusalem. For her physician father, it is going home to where he was born and educated. To Liyana, her younger brother, and her American mother, it is a huge upheaval. At first Liyana misses the U.S., can't speak the languages, and feels uncertain at school, "tipped between" the cultures. She is awkward with her bossy grandmother ("Sitti") and overwhelmed by her huge extended family when she visits their village on the West Bank. The military occupation is always there and the simmering conflict between Jew and Arab. In one horrifying scene, Israeli soldiers tear into Sitti's house and smash her bathroom. In a climactic episode, after a Palestinian bomb has injured civilians, the Israelis shoot an innocent boy in the leg, and Liyana's father is held in prison overnight. Yet it doesn't have to be that way. Liyana meets and loves a Jewish boy, and together they join the Jews and Arabs trying to make peace. Nye is an Arab American author and anthologist, and, as in her fine essay collection, Never in a Hurry (1996), she writes from a unique perspective, as the American newcomer/observer and as the displaced Palestinian in occupied territory. The story is steeped in detail about the place and cultures: food, geography, history, shopping, schools, languages, religions, etc. Just when you think it is obtrusive to have essays and journal entries thrust into the story, you get caught up in the ideas and the direct simplicity with which Nye speaks. She does try to cover too much--no book can tell the whole story of the Middle East--but this is a story that makes us "look both ways." Category: Older Readers. 1997, Simon & Schuster, $16. Gr. 6-10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1997)
Liyana Abboud, 14, and her family make a tremendous adjustment when they move to Jerusalem from St. Louis. All she and her younger brother, Rafik, know of their Palestinian father's culture come from his reminiscences of growing up and the fighting they see on television. In Jerusalem, she is the only "outsider" at an Armenian school; her easygoing father, Poppy, finds himself having to remind her--often against his own common sense--of rules for "appropriate" behavior; and snug shops replace supermarket shopping--the malls of her upbringing are unheard of. Worst of all, Poppy is jailed for getting in the middle of a dispute between Israeli soldiers and a teenage refugee. In her first novel, Nye (with Paul Janeczko, I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You, 1996, etc.) shows all of the charms and flaws of the old city through unique, short-story-like chapters and poetic language. The sights, sounds, and smells of Jerusalem drift through the pages and readers glean a sense of current Palestinian-Israeli relations and the region's troubled history. In the process, some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story--Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own. 1997, Simon & Schuster, $16.00. © 1997 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1997)
When Liyana Abboud is fourteen, her father decides that the time is right to move the family from St. Louis to his native Jerusalem. Inevitably, Arab-Israeli tensions enter into the story, but the message isn't preachy and remains almost secondary to the story of Liyana's search for her identity. The leisurely paced text contains poetic turns of phrase that accurately reflect Liyana's passion for words and language. Category: Fiction. 1997, Simon, 259pp.. Ages 14 to 18. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

e. CONNECTIONS

HABIBI won the following awards: Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winner 1998 Longer Book United States; Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature Winner 1998 United States; and Middle East Book Awards Winner 2000 Older Readers United States.

Young adults can read more about Jewish-Arab relations in the following book.

Clinton, Cathryn. 2002. A STONE IN MY HAND. Cambridge: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763613886.

Levine, Anna. 1999. RUNNING ON EGGS. Chicago: Front Street/Cricket Books. ISBN: 0812628756

Children might want to look at this website to learn more about the author: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/HarperChildrens/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=15255.

Activities

Students may read some of the Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry on the following website: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/174. Culture Grams is another website that would provide children with accurate information about Israel. Students could look for Jewish and Palestinian recipes online and try to cooks some of the food with their parents. They could bring their food to school and taste each others’ dishes.