Monster

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York: HarperCollins.





Monster is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2000 American Library Association Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, Corretta Scott King Award, also in 2000.  It  was also a 1999 National Book Award Finalist.  This book is recommended for young adults and reluctant readers.  This book is classified under Multicultural and Drama.



Have you ever wondered how it feels to go to prison?  Monster introduces us to the protagonist Steve Harmon, a sixteen year-old boy who ends up in prison awaiting a trial for felony in the 1st degree and murder with the possibility of 25 years to life in prison.  Myers writes this book from 1st person perspective.  In the book, Steve presents himself through 1st person perspective through screenplay and his journal entries.  In the first pages of the books we are introduced to drama terms such as FADE IN and VO (Voice Over).  Although this is a book, it is read throughout as a screenplay with bits of Steve's journal entries throughout.

Two themes stand out in this book and will make great discussions for your classes.  This first theme is introspection.  In the book, Steve is trying to figure out who he is and whether he really is a "Monster" like the prosecution called him.  He is writing his screenplay throughout the trial to try to make sense of his life and what brought him to this point in his life.  Good questions for your classes would be to ask them if they were to write a screenplay about their lives, what would it say?  You could also actually have them write a screenplay about their feelings while reading the book.

This leads to the second theme, peer pressure.  Steve is mainly in this situation because of the people he associated and hung out with.  Whether or not he was good friends with these three young men is not the issue in court.  The fact that they knew him and had a conversation with him, whether it was about basketball or the weather condems him with guilt by association.  Talk with your students about peer pressure and have them think about who they hang out with.  What would they do if they just made pleasant conversation with someone of questionable morals and ended up in jail?  How would they feel?  Why would you talk with someone who you know is associated with a gang or has been in jail?  What good would it do for you.

Monster is an interesting book about race, peer pressure, and morals.  There is a climax in the book.  What do you think it is?  Is Steve found guilty or not guilty?  Read the book to find out about his time in the courtroom, jail, and...guilty or not guilty!

Martin's Big Words

 Rappaport, D. (2001). Martin's big words.  New York: Hyperion Books for Children.




Martin's Big Words is a recipient of the 2002 Caldecott honor as well as the 2002 Coretta Scott King Honor.  Although recommended for ages 5-9, this book is really for everyone. The genre for this book is Multicultural Literacy.

 Martin's Big Words is the story of the life  Martin Luthur King, Jr.  The plot of this book is chronological and begins with Martin as a little boy seeing the signs, "White Only" and his feelings when he sees the signs.  The themes in this book are equality, justice, and love.  Children of all ages can learn from Martin's big words.

When reading this book to my son, we were able to have invaluable conversations about the "Big Words" in this book.  As you can see above and to the right, Rappaport makes the "Big Words" bigger and bolder than the other words.  Even by the first page, you can have in-depth discussions with your child and/or class about what these words mean.  How do the words "White Only" and "You are as good as anyone" make them feel.  Why are the feelings different?  In each page of this book, the "Big Words" will bring discussion about anti-slavery, love, justice, equality, an many more topics.
 

Illustrator Bryan Collier uses artistic media in the form of collage.  Throughout the book, Collier uses symbolism in subtle and unsubtle ways.  The picture on the left is an example of symbolism.  The four candles lit represent the four little girls who were killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist church.

Martin's Big Words not only gives memorable teaching moments about love, equity, and justice, but also learning opportunities for historical timelines as well.  At the end of this book, a historical overview of Martin Luther King's life is given.  It goes from the date of his birth (January 15, 1929) to the first time Dr. King's birthday is celebrated as a national holiday (January 15, 1986).