Module 10-Graphic Novels/Censorship issues

Pirate Palooza

By Erik Craddock

2009, New York: Random House Children’s Books

Summary:

The story is about two animal friends, stone rabbit and Andy wolf. As they are wrestling they break the leg of a coffee table and end up trying to mend the leg using a cursed peg leg of a pirate that they found in a comic book store.  Inadvertently they bring Captain Barnacle Bob back to life. The rest of the story is trying to survive the pirate gang. Finally Moby Joe whale is summoned by the horn and eats pirate Bob up. Rabbit decides to use a vampire stake to mend his coffee table which Milton the comic book dealer nixes.

Impressions:

Graphic novels are a fast read. This book also has color pictures and larger speech bubbles that make it easier for younger readers to enjoy. Children, especially boys, would enjoy this action packed imaginary tale. I was surprised by this genre and came to enjoy it, and realize that it does offer some readers a different style. What is important is getting kids to read, and if this catches their interest, then more power to it. It is no different than reading the comic strips in the newspaper. Grades 2-5 would enjoy this novel.

  

Reviews:

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—This book will give those children who love the ridiculous just what they want: a zany, mile-a-minute graphic novel. When a living-room wrestling match results in a broken coffee-table leg, Stone Rabbit and his wolf friend, Andy, think they've found the perfect fix—a genuine pirate's peg leg… The bold illustrations are bursting at the seams with energy. Occasionally, quick changes in perspective require some extra effort from readers to follow the action, but many children will be delighted with the book's quick pace, cheeky dialogue, and pop-culture references.—Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 

artwork in Pirate Palooza is wonderful and I found easier to follow than BC Mambo. The storyline moves along at break-neck speed and is extremely entertaining. The coloring is quite wonderful and the vivid coloring jumps right off the page. Early Chapter readers, especially young boys, will really get a kick out of this book and series. Stone Rabbit is a highly likable character and readers will be cheering for him as he fights off the nasty pirates. Overall, Pirate Palooza is another great graphic novel that is full of intrigue and adventure. Kids will pick up a book like this and read it over and over, taking in not only the words, but all of the action until they have memorized the entire book. This is the perfect kind of book to give to an early chapter reader that is struggling with wanting to read.

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Graphic Novel / Adventure
Reviewed: 4/2/2010

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Retrieved from: http://www.readingreview.com/earlychapter/piratepalooza.html

Suggestions:

I can just see a pirate day theme to try and engage reluctant readers to try new things. The day could start off with a live book trailer done on the morning show. Have several actors act out a few pages from this book to draw kids into the plot. Then promote various pirate books to show variety in ability levels, different genres available, etc. 

The Storm in the Barn

By Matt Phelan

2009, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press

Summary:

Eleven year old Jack Clark lives on a farm in Kansas during the dust bowl. His older sister is ill will dust pneumonia, and the worry that he might have dust dementia is a possibility, especially since he is seeing things in the old abandoned Talbot barn. Jack’s feeling that he is useless to his family is compounded by the actions of the town bullies. He often goes into town and visits the General store where Ernie, trying to make Jack feel better, tells him stories about a boy named Jack that battles the King of the West Wind, The King of the Blizzards, and the two headed King of the Northeast Winds. Several times Jack has entered the Talbot barn and seen the misty, malevolent form to end up running away. Finally, he decides he must face his fears and do something for his family. He goes to the barn and battles the storm king to return the rain to the land.

      

Impressions:

Matt Phelan has created a story through the use of pictures that portrays the hopeless plight of farmers during the dust bowl years. The dull colors just add to the feeling that nothing is moving or changing, there is only the dust and wind. The author has captured so many emotions in the facial expressions: depression, anger, despair, and then relief, and hope. It is a darker novel not meant for young children but middle school children could read and find meaning in it.

    

Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly

Set during the 1930s, when Kansas farmers tried to survive during a terrible drought, this graphic novel for younger readers shows a boy discovering that he can save his family by bringing back the rain...What Jack does next won't surprise readers who've seen countless puny but plucky heroes in juvenile fiction. The big novelty here is the Dust Bowl setting, and Phelan's art emphasizes the swirling, billowing clouds of fine grit that obscure even nearby objects. Older readers might have appreciated more text to make up for the lack of visual clarity, but kids will identify with Jack and appreciate his success. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5-7-It is 1937 in Kansas, during the Dust Bowl, and 11-year-old Jack can barely remember a world with plentiful water and crops. Unable to help his father with a harvest that isn't there, and bullied by the other boys his age, he feels like a useless baby. …In the end, Phelan turns the Dust Bowl into another one of Ernie's Jack tales when the real Jack encounters the Storm King in an abandoned barn and finds out that he has been holding back the rain. The boy must then gather the strength to determine his own narrative, as well as his parched town's future. Children can read this as a work of historical fiction, a piece of folklore, a scary story, a graphic novel, or all four. Written with simple, direct language, it's an almost wordless book: the illustrations' shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book. –Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY END

Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/The-Storm-Barn-Matt-Phelan/dp/0763636185

Suggestions:

This story has several possibilities in how it could be utilized. Since the story won the Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction the book could be used as part of a display on award winning books. It could be used as an introduction to the graphic novel genre or it can be used as the beginning of an American history study on the Dust Bowl years.