American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

This interesting graphic novel takes three seemingly different stories and weaves them together in a story that shows the struggles of what it is like growing up in a country as a teenage immigrant and trying to fit in. The first story is a 500-year-old Chinese myth about the Monkey King. This arrogant monkey thinks that he is a god and learns humility and caring for others after getting knocked down. The second story is about a young Asian boy in love with a white girl, but afraid to ask her out. And the last is about a white boy that has to tolerate his cousin portrayed deliberately as a negative Asian immigrant stereotype. The three stories come together in an unlikely way that uses visual and print images to convey messages about immigrants, stereotypes, identity, bullies, and love. The author packs a lot into this book that only took me an hour to read.

Yang takes the Monkey King fable and presents a cocky monkey that tries to become immortal only to have the creator bury him under a mountain of rock. The god-like creator of human beings, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, is a mix of East and West religions, similar to the Christian God and the Taoist, Lao-Tsu. The Monkey King does not free himself until he learns to accept his identity and humble himself.

The second story is about an Asian boy that desperately wants to fit in with other students at school. He perms his hair and avoids the other Asian students until a new boy shows up from China. The Asian boy betrays their friendship and has to make amends. The third story is about a white boy with an Asian cousin who embarrasses him with his immigrant accent, looks, and behavior.

In comics and films, negative Asian stereotyped characters were often presented as wearing a type of sedge hat, having buck teeth, slanty eyes, and a ponytail. The "coolie", a derogatory term for a manual laborer, was usually the sidekick to the white hero. Yang's character is reminiscent of characters such as Chop-Chop, Yellow Peril, and Fu Manchu. Or maybe the immigrant Siamese Twins in Chip-n-Dale's Rescue Ranger with their bad accents are closer to the mark. Either way, I had no idea where Yang was going with the plot on this third story. The first two are about identity and trying to fit in but the third was offensive in its caricature. Yang creatively works this into the plot with a terrific ending - don't worry, I won't give it away. Another winner by the talented artist.

5 Smileys

Pax by Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen (Illustrations)

This story is bound to no particular time and place and reminds me of Aesop's fables with its moral at the end. A lack of setting is common in fables and allows readers to relate the moral to their own place or situation. Sara Pennypacker's book, "Pax," uses this technique. It is set in a place where humans are at war and the animals are victims as much as the people. When Aesop was in Greece he used the fable to voice his opinions that were leveled against those in power. Here the fable is leveled at adults in authoritative positions or that control children. Several characters reveal the choices they make in life; whether they choose right from wrong and recognize when to take a stand against a person or institution. While I found the start hard to get into, I did get engrossed once the character, Vola, was introduced and the book's style became clear. This is definitely original and Pennypacker has great sentence fluency. Her turn of phrase and word choice shows an author that knows her craft. The rich layers of meaning will lead to many discussions.

Twelve-year-old Peter is forced by his dad to abandon his pet fox when his dad enlists in the war. The two are on their way to grandpa's house who is going to care for Peter while his dad is gone. Once Peter arrives, he runs away determined to retrieve his fox whom he has had for five years just after his mother died. The three-hundred mile journey to retrieve the fox is full of obstacles. Peter gets help from a woman, Vola, who has abandoned the world after serving in a war twenty years earlier that left her with post-traumatic stress disorder. The voices alternate between Peter and Pax, his fox.

The lack of setting and slow character build-up made me slog through the beginning. I didn't really figure out that I should be reading it as a fable until page 66 when the gray fox makes comments about humans being careless in war and destroying animals in the process. It is also a coming-of-age book as Peter loses his childhood innocence making decisions on his own and contemplating the effects of deceit internally and with Vola. They discover the difficulty of facing the truth about themselves. The author shows the adults as being "war-sick" and destructive toward animals and humans. Peter's dad abandons him just like Peter abandoned his fox.

Peter's loss of innocence is shown from the fox's point of view. He tells the female fox, Bristle, about how Peter has become false-acting. He tossed a toy deceptively getting Pax to think they were playing a game but then drove off in the car. However, Pax makes a point to tell Bristle that Peter is not war-sick like the adults. He is not full of hate or anger  and wants to destroy, but can show love. Peter knows it was wrong to let Pax go like that and while he recognizes that his dad didn't give him a choice he feels guilty for not standing up to him and insisting Pax stay. He is trying to make it right.

Peter's point of view shows him learning to live without the fox and face his grief and guilt over losing his mother. Peter blames himself for an accident he had with his baseball bat the last time he saw his mom. This parallels Vola's story of grief and loss as well. "He was becoming foxless, something he'd hadn't been since he was seven years old." Losing Pax was like losing his mother all over again. He and Vola both help each other deal with their losses. 

There are many symbols in the book from the Phoenix to the marionettes to the names given the characters or words spoken. The wooden bat was the most powerful one for me with its imagery of hitting, acting as a crutch, bringing him joy in a sport, and made of wood like the marionettes. He and Vola are like Geppetto and Pinnochio in their carving shop. Much of the storyline follows the destructive path of anger and how it can be productive if directed in a proper way. Vola tries to help Peter understand the difference as he feels that all anger is destructive and tries to hide from his own true feelings rather than face it. The story has great character development along with symbolism even if the setting confused me.

Fables convey an idea indirectly rather than specifically and this is evident in the moral that is stated at the beginning, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," and the end, "Sometimes the apple rolls very far from the tree." The idiom means that children are like their parents. The moral is children do not have to be like their parents, as well as, shows that all humans can make a choice in their attitude. The men in Peter's life choose to be angry and undemonstrative. They choose to hit rather than hug. Peter consciously chooses to love and knows what it means at the end when he gives his pet freedom. The desire for freedom is universal and has fueled many wars. While I struggled a bit getting through this, it was worth it in the end.

5 Smileys

The Phantom Tollbooth (Essential Modern Classics) by Norton Juster, Diana Wynne Jones (Introduction)

"The Phantom Tollbooth" is about escaping boredom and enjoying the pursuit of knowledge. Milo is bored with everything around him and doesn't see the purpose in gaining knowledge. When a mysterious box appears with a toy car, map, and tollbooth, Milo is sent into the fantasy world of the Lands Beyond ruled by King Azaz in Dictionopolis, the city of words, and the Mathemagician in Digitopolis, the city of numbers, where he changes as each adventure exposes him to the joys of learning. 

On his journey Milo meets Tock, a dog with a clock in his body, and Humbug who wants to be smart and important but  has neither of those qualities. The two kings do not get along because one feels words are more important than numbers and vice versa. Their sisters, the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason, used to settle their disputes until they were banished to the Castle in the Air for telling the kings that both words and numbers are equally important. Milo goes on a quest to bring them back to the kings and establish peace throughout the realm.

While this is brilliantly written, I ironically lost my focus when Milo stops in Digitopolis, the city of numbers. Ironically, Norton Juster is poking fun at contemporary education by showing that words and numbers shouldn't be separate, but I've never liked math and even the funny wizard couldn't hold my attention. That's not to say that this is a heavy-handed moral story. It isn't. It is full of puns, word plays, and wit. I should probably be banished to the Land of Ignorance for my confession regarding numbers. Digitopolis is important in showing Milo's character arc as he realizes that while he doesn't understand math, through questions and answers he can find pleasure in learning mathematics and even trick the Mathemagician that rules there. 

The satire is clever with the Land of Ignorance showing creatures that can't reach their potential for various reasons. The villain, The Senses Taker, manages to take away the trios sense of purpose by asking them meaningless questions. The one sense he can't steal is laughter and that is how Milo learns to defeat him. Maria Nikolajeva writes about this book's use of emblematic characters who possess one trait and are flat. They differ from allegory in that they personify virtues, vices, and other human traits based on conventional signs versus allegory that requires more decoding by the reader. She says this type of writing stems for the Baroque tradition in art and literature. It reminded me of a long fable with many different morals imparted on each of Milo's adventures.

Milo is able to bring peace to the kingdoms because he is able to take responsibility for his education by addressing his ignorance through experiences that involve asking questions and seeking answers. When Milo returns to the tollbooth he discovers that he must let other children use it. However, rather than be disappointed, he is excited to learn about the world around him. This moral tale will either delight you or bore you which is sort of funny as it is addressing the concept of boredom in education. Either way, I can see why it is a classic. A brilliant work.

5 Smileys

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman

Isabel is the best bunjitsu bunny in her school.  She may appear like a cute little thing, but don't be fooled. She'll high kick and outsmart anyone. Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny is an early reader with a unique mix of 12 fable-like tales and martial arts. I have never come across anything quite like it. The bunny's skills come from an ancient Japanese martial art called, jujitsu, that teaches self-defense while building individual awareness and self-confidence. It does not rely on strength or weapons, but hand-to-hand combat and technique. Each chapter has a moral that the reader has to figure out along with Isabel who is is either practicing jujitsu techniques or in a contest or combatant setting. The humorous illustrations show a bunch of pirates sinking in a boat as Isabel outwits them to her brother accidentally pole-vaulting himself several miles away. The cartoonish characters and situations make for great fun.

The first chapter has Isabel thinking creatively when faced with a problem. The reader gets dumped into the middle of the story with not much setup. Short like a fable and designed to impart wisdom, it looks at issues children deal with or is funny. At the start, the pack of martial art student-bunnies are trying to use their strength and varied jujitsu moves to break down a door. The last move is a good laugh as they try the "running bunjitsu head butt!" at which point Isabel opens the door and lets them in. She ditched the group in the middle of their efforts and climbed through a window into the locked room. Not only does this show the lesson to not rely on strength, which is a teaching of jujitsu, but it shows creative problem-solving.

The next chapter has pirates underestimating Isabel's bunny power as they try to bully her into giving them her boat. She overthrows them all using several different jujitsu moves and watches them sink in her boat. The twist on the Tortoise and the Hare fable has the moral that winning comes from envisioning yourself victorious and having positive self-talk. Other lessons are on how to avoid a fight, practice hard to improve skills, and face your worries. In an ironic twist, Isabel plays hide-and-seek with her friends but is so good at "disappearing," they can't find her. Bored she lets herself be easily found the next time they play. When her friend confronts her, she replies, "Its more fun to be found by friends than lost by friends." Young readers love books on friendship and will be able to relate to this message. I oftentimes find fables somewhat terse and too short, but that isn't the case here. While I did think the first two chapters were abrupt (as I usually feel with fables), John Himmelman does a terrific job with craft and I slipped into the action-packed storyline and illustrations quickly.

Another short chapter has a metaphor of an angry wave that can be applied to something upsetting in life. Bunjitsu bunny discovers that anger is best dealt with by not fighting it but letting it run its course. At first she fights the wave, but later rides it and learns to have fun. She is learning to control her emotions and build confidence in herself. Again, young readers are trying to control their emotions, as well as, make friends and gain confidence as they grow older. These messages are cleverly hidden as the reader enjoys the surface story. This book could also be used with older students that struggle to find depth in novels. One could simplify the concept with the short chapters.

Perhaps bunjitsu bunny is really more like judo which was invented by a man that learned jujitsu and then created his own moves. Here, the bunny creates her own fables mixing in martial arts. At the end when a boulder crushes her flower garden, she responds by turning it into a rock garden. Flexibility and adapting to changes is another jujitsu skill that any person can apply to different situations in life. Kids should love the simple black, white, and red illustrations, fun storyline, messages with some depth. Because it is for younger it might require an adult explanation. A good read aloud with your child or class.

5 Smileys

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

This is one of those books I think English teachers and adults will love, but I'm not so sure about younger kids. It won the 2011 Children's Book Council of Australia award and while it has a reading level for students at the end of 5th grade, most young readers won't be able to comprehend all that is going on. Shoot, I had problems figuring out all that was going on. The story unfolds with bits and pieces scattered like breadcrumbs so that you need to have some background knowledge to guess where the story takes place... and I guarantee... you won't know where the story is going or how it will end. By the time I figured out the setting, I was well into the chapters. That aside, this is a beautifully told story with rich metaphors and lyrical text. Sonya Hartnett is an amazing writer.

Night is personified as a black-clad horseman who uses the moon as a lantern casting its light on a village that has been decimated by war. Night is surprised to see two young boys walking in the rubble. The tone of this fable is set with Night as the narrator introducing a theatrical play against a grim background, shining a spotlight on the two major characters, Andrej and Tomas.

The boys meander through the destroyed village with Hartnett's text creating haunting images that assault the senses: "A flotilla of clouds as dense as battleships was unmoored by the gale, and, when the clouds coasted across the moon, the light of Night's lantern was quenched. Darkness was thrown over the village like a sorcerer's cloak: Andrej heard Tomas whimper, and felt him catch at his sleeve." The two scavenge for food in the village and find an abandoned zoo where the animals can talk. The boys not only have to feed themselves, but their baby sister whom they carry in a backpack and needs tending to as well. The boys read the words in the zoo sprawled over the animals cages that are in Czech. The author doesn't tell you the language is Czech... I just googled the words. This is your first clue to the setting. Several chapters later the wolf calls the boys, "Rom" and gypsy children, so now I know that the story is taking place in World War II when the Nazi's tried to exterminate the gypsies along with the Jews. Again, this isn't explained and you have to come with a certain amount of background knowledge. The Holocaust isn't taught until middle school so most 5th graders are not going to connect the dots.

The boys have animal characteristics and the animals have human characteristics. I thought the story slowed down in the parts where the animals were preaching about the evils of humans and zoos and war. This book doesn't build the story in a subtle way like The One and Only Ivan. No, it is more in-your-face and for the most part, one-sided. The strength of the story is in the style, tone, and symbolism; more-so than the narrative and heavy-handed themes delivered by the animals.

The violence involves Nazi's shooting children and adults, a train being blown up, animals being mistreated, and three siblings losing their parents. Andrej has to think like an adult in order to survive and while there are moments that show him as a kid, such as when the two pretend to be airplanes careening through the village, most of the time he is worrying about his two siblings. The story is propped against the harsh backdrop of war and the themes of freedom and war are filtered throughout with an abundance of symbolism and parallels between humans and animals. It is well-known that gypsies highly value freedom and choosing the main characters with that ethnicity makes the loss of freedom more poignant; plus, their nomadic existence is similar to the animals in the zoo who don't live in one place but cover territories when in the wild. Both the animals and the gypsies in this story have lost their freedom and while the animals physically enclosed behind bars, the gypsies are caged by prejudices and are enclosed by invisible iron bars. There is so much symbolism that I cannot cover it in a review. There is a good teacher's guide if you want to go more in-depth with Hartnett's writing.

The dream-like unfinished ending is different and has gotten mixed reviews. The author explains “Yes, I like leaving lots of frayed ends in my books. I write for people who like to think about what they’re reading, so I litter the books with falsehoods and unanswered questions and minor suggestions of major events. I really hate the idea that I must tell the reader everything in clunking detail. The reader is part of the experience that is a book, and I like the reader to have some input into the creation of the work – to decide what happens in the end, if need be. It’s why I never write sequels – the notion of hammering something out to utter flatness is ghastly to me. I will never tell a reader that the way they’ve read a book is wrong. Every thoughtful reading is a correct reading, as far as I can see”. See what I mean about her writing? Even her interview has terrific word choices and descriptions.

If you want to read this book, the middle school library has it. I won't be purchasing it for the lower school library. It is currently on the 1012 Carnegie Medal Shortlist.

Reading level: 5.7

4 out of 5 Smileys