A.J. Cattapan

This book used to be part of the reading curriculum at two of my previous schools. I enjoyed it for a couple reasons. First, it’s science fiction that takes place on Earth. No aliens, no spaceships. Just holophones and mile-high buildings you reach via hovercrafts. Second, it takes place in Africa (Zimbabwe, to be precise) and weaves some African folklore and culture into this futuristic setting. Most importantly, it’s about a boy who learns that he has more courage within him than he ever suspected, and I love stories where kids find the courage to be heroes.

Title: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm

Author: Nancy Farmer

Age group: Upper middle grade (Ages 11 and up)

Genre: Science Fiction

Synopsis: The year is 2194, and General Matsika has many enemies in Zimbabwe. His eldest son, thirteen-year-old Tendai, wants to earn his merit badge for exploring in order to become an Eagle Scout. However, General Matsika won’t let his children out of the protective confines of his home. Despite his father’s warnings, Tendai sneaks out of the house with his younger brother and sister in order to trek across the city and earn their merit badges. With little “street smarts,” the three soon find themselves kidnapped and working as slaves. Meanwhile, their mother sends out three mutant detectives (nicknamed Ear, Eye, and Arm for their special abilities) to find the children.

Does it pass the “Homeschool Mom Test“? Yes, unless you have problems with your children learning about African mythology and religious beliefs. (Note: I taught this book at parochial schools and never had a parent complain. I’d consider it akin to reading books with ancient Greek and Roman mythology.)

I had heard a lot about this book before I read it. Everyone seemed to love it. My reaction to the first few chapters was “Well, this is good, but is it really as great as everyone says?”

Then I got to the end of the book, and I understood why everyone had been raving. The twist at the end makes you want to go back and reread the whole back. Genius plotting!

Title: When You Reach Me

Author: Rebecca Stead

Genre: Mystery

Age group: Middle Grade (ages 9 and up)

Synopsis: It’s the late 1970s, and sixth grader Miranda is helping her mom prepare for her upcoming appearance on the TV show The $20,ooo Pyramid. Miranda’s life gets complicated when her best friend dumps her, the hidden apartment key gets stolen, and mysterious notes begin to appear. The notes accurately predict the future and carry a tone of impending doom. Can Miranda figure out what’s going on before it’s too late to stop the life-threatening event the notes prophesy?

Does it pass the “Homeschool Mom Test“? Yes. Miranda’s mom is a single parent, and although many moms may not agree with the diet Miranda gets away with, the author does a nice job of handling a single-parent who is dating.

Fun Fact: Because Miranda’s mom is preparing to win big on The $20,000 Pyramid, the chapters have titles similar to the categories on the game show, such as “Things You Find in a Box” and “Things That Go Missing.”

If you keep up with young adult literature at all, you’ve surely heard of Veronica Roth’s dystopian novel Divergent and its sequel Insurgent. Today I’ll give my usual book review, but then I’d like to discuss something that’s been rattling around in my brain since I first read Divergent this past summer; namely, how does the author’s religion (Christianity) play into this book and will it impact the final installment of this trilogy?

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Age group: YA (teens)

Genre: dystopian

Synopsis: In this futuristic version of Chicago, society is divided into five factions based on people’s personalities. The courageous belong to Dauntless; they protect the society from outsiders. The selfless belong to Abnegation; they are the leaders because they put others’ concerns before their own. The intelligent and studious belong to Erudite; they are the teachers and scholars. The honest (and we mean painfully honest) belong to Candor; they run the justice system. The peaceful, fun-loving folk belong to Amity; they do the farming outside the city walls.

At age 16, each member undergoes an aptitude test to decide which faction they are best suited for. Then they attend a ceremony during which they choose their faction. They can go with whatever the aptitude test told them or make their own choice. The catch? If the faction they choose is not the one they grew up in, then they leave their families forever.

Does it pass the “Home School Mom Test“? Maybe for teens. But honestly, I’ll know better when the final installment of the trilogy comes out.

Here’s the thing about this book–I think some moms will be unhappy about the violence in it, especially those moms who don’t want their kids reading The Hunger Games. I’m sure I’ll post aboutThe Hunger Games eventually, but for right now I’ll simply say that I have no problem with kids reading the series because the main character doesn’t want to kill anyone. She’s forced into a horrible situation in order to save her sister’s life. The book is at least partly about sacrifice. I’ll go so far as to say it might be deemed a Christ-like sacrifice (laying down one’s life for a friend), but I’ll save that for another post. 🙂

After readingDivergent, I was left a little put-off by the seemingly senseless violence. The kids in the Dauntless faction beat each other up for the sake of “moving up the ranks.” There’s no self-sacrifice involved. No great cause behind their punches.

However, there were a few mentions of prayer in the book, and we get the sense the main character (Tris) is trying to decide whether or not she believes in God.

When I got to the end of the book, I flipped to the acknowledgments and noticed that the first person Ms. Roth thanked was God, for giving us His Son. A quick internet search confirms that she makes no apologies about being a Christian. You can read a very thought-provoking post she wrote about Christianity and censorship with regard to tough topics here.

I’ll be really honest: those few mentions of prayer and her acknowledgments page are the two things keeping me reading the series. (Yes, I bought the sequel the day it came out.)

You see, what I really want to know is what the main character is going to learn in this story–and boy, I hope she learns something. No, I’ll go further–I hope she learns that being courageous isn’t important unless you’re also selfless. The best heroes are courageous because they want to help others. Harry Potter may belong to the Hogwarts house most associated with courage (Gryffindor), but he’s also selfless, and that’s what makes him such a great hero. (Spoiler alert!) Harry is so selfless that he even saves one of his archenemies (Draco Malfoy) when he’s almost killed in a fire.

Actually, if I were writing the ending to the Divergent series, I’d want Tris to find value in all the factions. Each of them has their strengths and weaknesses. Each of them can make contributions to society, but they really need to work in harmony, not separated into smaller sects.

This past Friday, Ms. Roth wrote on her Tumblr account that she has just finished the first draft of the finale to this trilogy. She’ll be working on revisions soon. As she makes her changes, I wonder how much her faith will impact her writing. Christians don’t believe in fighting for the sake of fighting. Will Tris learn that her courage must be guided by her selflessness and her intelligence? Will she learn that there is value in finding peaceful ways like the members of Amity?

I have great expectations for this trilogy. If done right, it could have much of value to say to our young people. In order to do this, the violence portrayed in the first two books must prove to be of some value. There must be a great cause at stake, and the main character must learn when it is necessary to fight for the sake of others and when fighting is simply senseless or perhaps even downright selfish.

Here’s hoping (and praying) that as Ms. Roth finishes the trilogy, the truth of her faith guides her. No pressure, Ms. Roth. 😉  I look forward to the finale.

I was first introduced to Maniac Magee over ten years ago. A co-worker was reading it with the seventh graders. Since the book deals with prejudice, she decided to conduct a little experiment and asked me and the other teachers to help.

One day, about half the seventh grade was called down to the office. They were given red ribbons and told to wear them the next day (I can’t remember what excuse the kids were given for wearing them). Then, we teachers had to spend an entire school day treating the “ribbon kids” better than the non-ribbon kids without telling them why. Only the ribbon kids could answer questions in class. Only the ribbon kids could leave class for a drink of water or a bathroom break. Only the ribbon kids could sit in the front of the room.

Let me tell you, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my teaching career. Seriously, being prejudice is a lot of work! Of course, there were phone calls from parents and students protesting, but eventually I think they all got the point.

The great thing about this book is that it looks at prejudice through the eyes of a kid who doesn’t see any difference between people with different skin colors. There’s a lot of humor and some memorable characters in this book. The chapters are super short, so the reading flies by.

Title: Maniac Magee

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Age group: middle grade (ages 9-12)

Genre: contemporary fiction

Synopsis: Jeffrey Lionel Magee was forced to live with his aunt and uncle when his parents died in an accident. His aunt and uncle can’t stand each other and force Jeffrey to split his time between them. When he can longer take it, Jeffrey runs away to the town of Two Mills, a severely racially divided town. Randomly running back and forth between the East End and the West End, Jeffrey makes friends (and enemies) on both sides of the town divide. How he brings the two sides together is the stuff of legends.

Does it pass the “Home School Mom Test“? Yes. This is a beautiful book that opens the door to some wonderful conversation with kids.

If you like this book, be sure to check out more Jerry Spinelli books. He has a ton out there, and the kids love them.

In 2010, I had the chance to meet Jerry Spinelli at the International Reading Association conference. He signed a copy of Stargirl for my niece and a copy of  Maniac Magee for me. 🙂 The line to meet Mr. Spinelli was very long, but worth the wait!

I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Weeks when she visited one of my previous schools for an author visit. One particular part of her talk really made an impression on me. She was discussing rejection when she reached into her bag and pulled out a rolled-up tube of laminated paper. She held it up and declared that she’d saved every rejection letter she received before having her first book published. She released the rolled-up tube, and the string of rejection letters ran the entire length of the over-sized science lab. Kids’ jaws dropped. What a great demonstration of how we need to persevere!

Title: So B. It

Author: Sarah Weeks

Age group: middle grade (ages 9-12)

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Heidi lives with her mentally disabled mother but is mostly cared for by their agoraphobic neighbor. Heidi knows little of her past or her family. Her mother speaks very few words, most of which Heidi can understand. However, her mother uses the word “soof,” which has Heidi completely puzzled. Her desire to know more about her mother’s past and the meaning of the mysterious word leads Heidi on a cross-country journey to discover who she really is.

Does it pass the “Home School Mom Test“? Yes. I even bought it for my niece who is home-schooled. It’s been a few years since I read the whole book, but I can’t think of anything that would offend anyone. Mostly, it’s a really sweet book, and I’ve found that girls in particular really enjoy it.