Whale Rider

Caro, Niki (Director). Whale Rider. (DVD). New Market Films, 2002. Running time 101 min.


Plot Summary
Paikea's birth is never remembered fondly because it was also the death of her twin brother and her mother. Paikea's grandfather had been counting on his grandson to be the new leader of the Maori tribe. Her grandfather forms a cultural school to teach the boys how to be leaders. Then he will select a leader for the tribe. On the first day of lessons, Paikea shows up, but her grandfather turns her away saying that only boys can study. Nonetheless, Paikea gets other members of the tribe to teach her things and she studies hard. While Paikea's grandmother and uncle can see that Paikea is a natural leader and devoted to the tribe, her grandfather refuses to acknowledge her. Paikea calls to the whales for help, but in the end, the whales washed ashore need the help of the tribe.

Critical evaluation
Just like real life, none of the characters are as simple as they seem. Even the grandfather, Koro, is deeply conflicted. He is distraught that his own son doesn't want to lead the son and rests his hopes on the grandson he may never have. Despite his resentment and frustration, Koro forms a bond with his granddaughter, who clearly adores him. Koro is downright mean to Paikea in his words, but his actions are more mixed. For example, he gives her a ride to school every day while the other kids ride the bus. Paikea is equally conflicted knowing that she doesn't deserve her grandfather's anger, but forgiving the anger just the same. The depth of the characters makes this film so touching.

Readers Annotations
Paikea comes from a long line of chiefs. Every first born son of a first born son has lead the Maori people. But the chief has no grandson, he only has Paikea- a granddaughter. Despite her grandfather's disapproval, Paikea studies to be a leader and to make her people proud.

Information About the Director
Niki Caro was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She recently finished the movie The Vitner's Luck,although it has not been released in the United States.

Genre
Realistic fiction

Curriculum Ties
none

Booktalking Ideas
Paikea's dreams for her tribe


Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8+
Rated PG-13 for language and brief drug references

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
none

Why Film Included
 After watching lots of fantasy and animated films, I wanted to see a realistic films that was nonetheless appropriate for tweens.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004. ISBN: 0-399-23861-1.

Plot Summary

Moose's father is a mechanic and guard at Alcatraz, so Moose's family lives on the island. Moose befriends the other guards' children, including Piiper who needs Moose's help with a crazy scheme. She's going to charge their classmates to have their laundry done on the island. Imagine! Mob boss Al Capone washing your shirt. Meanwhile, Moose's sister Natalie was supposed to be attending a special school in San Francisco, but they sent her home. Natalie carries around a box of buttons that she counts whenever she gets anxious, which is a lot. It's one thing to be a special child, but to be a special adult is harder so Moose's mom keeps telling people that Natalie is ten. The whole reason for moving to Alcatraz was to help Natalie, but if she doesn't improve the whole move will have been for nothing.

Critical Evaluation

Al Capone Does My Shirts is set on Alcatraz Island in 1935 and Choldenko thoroughly researched life on the island for the families of guards. She even includes a well written source note at the end of the book. On the other hand, the character of Natalie is based on Choldenko's personal experience with her own sister. While Natalie is undiagnosed in the novel, she clearly has autism, as does Choldenko's sister. In the source note, Choldenko explains a little about current autism research. She also says, "Autism wasn't identified until 1943, a full eight years after this book takes place. Children with what we now call autism received many different diagnoses during the 1930s and were sometimes institutionalized." I would argue that during the 1930s, children with autism, especially autism as severe as Natalie's, were frequently institutionalized. Thus despite the historical setting, the characters' reaction to and treatment of Natalie is wholly modern. Nonetheless, Natalie's characterization is sympathetic, honest, and encouraging to modern readers who deal with autism.

Reader's Annotation

Every day, Moose and the other children who live on Alcatraz Island take the boat into San Francisco to go to school. There, they tell the other kids, "Al Capone does my shirts," which is true. Famous mob boss Al Capone works in the laundry at the prison. But the kids have never seen him, yet.

About the Author

Gennifer Choldenko is the author of Notes From a Liar and Her Dog. She lives with her husband and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Genre

Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties

The 1930s.

Local History of San Francisco

Autism

Booktalking Ideas

Describe Natalie

Describe Piper's plan to do her classmate's laundry

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 4-6

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas

Newberry Honor Winner

Why book was included

A recent Newberry Honor Winner

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Adamson, Andrew. (Director). The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. (DVD). Disney, 2008. Running time 142 min.



Plot Summary
Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia and find that 1300 years has passed. Narnia has been invaded invaded by the Telmarines and the Narnians live in hiding. Prince Caspian is one of the Telmarines, and heir to the throne but fearing for his life, he has run away. Prince Caspian joins forces with the Narnians and promises that if they can help him become king of Telmarine he will give the Narnians back their kingdom.

Critical evaluation
As with many film adaptations of novels, too much is crammed into the movie. Even with a running time of two and a half hours, the characters are poorly developed. On the other hand, the plot is fairly simple. The movie has a strong Christian message, with Lucy frequently admonishing her siblings to have faith. The movie has high production quality and the acting is better than most children's films.

Readers Annotations
Although it has only been a year in London, more than 1300 years have passed in Narnia. The Narnians have been driven into hiding and the Telmarines rule the land. Prince Caspian, in order to secure his place as King of Telmarine, joins forces with the Narnians in an epic battle.

Information About the Author
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is based on the novel by C.S. Lewis. It was directed by Andrew Adamson. His previous works include Shrek, Shrek 2, and The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe.

Genre
Fantasy

Curriculum Ties
none

Booktalking Ideas
Why Prince Caspian ran away


Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 4-10

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
None


Why Movie was Included
I enjoyed the first film and wanted to see the second.

The Fattening Hut

Collins, Pat Lowry. The Fattening Hut. Houghton Mifflin, 2003. ISBN: 0-618-30955-1.

Plot Summary

Helen is in the fattening hut behind her father's house. The women in her tribe bring her several meals a day and all Helen has to do is eat the food and stay in the hut so that she gets heavy and curvy like a woman. Then she will be married. While in the hut, Helen hears about a ceremony called cutting. Her older sister vaguely answers some questions but the procedure isn't clear. Helen is afraid and she doesn't want to be married. She would rather be like her aunt- unmarried, living outside of the village. So Helen escapes, but she is pursued.

Critical Evaluation

Collin's novel admirably tackles a difficult subject- female genital mutilation, which is sometimes called female circumcision. However, she approaches the topic too obtusely. It wasn't until I read the author's afterword that I was sure that the "cutting" referred to in the text was FGM. The young adults who are the book's primary audience will probably be even more confused. Also, by inventing her own culture for the setting of the book rather than writing factually about a single culture, Collins' moral and political message loses footing against practitioners of FGM. This is not an argument for cultural relativism, but given the likely objections I wonder why Collins didn't chose to tell the tale of one of the women she mentions in the afterword. The true tale of a woman who left her own culture because she abhorred its practices would have been a stronger message. On the other hand, the vagueness of the story and the fact that she doesn't criticize any group in particular will make it harder for groups to take offense. It is not worth sacrificing the story to avoid criticism.

Subject matter aside, the book is well written. Helen's escape through the jungle is exciting for all of the details and the poetic form of the book is interesting, if only for its uniqueness.

Reader's Annotation

Helen is in the fattening hut, eating so that she will be voluptuous- with the body of a woman and ready for marriage. If that isn't bad enough she learns of a tradition called cutting that all of the women seem to know about but no one wants to talk about. The only woman who never went into the hut is Helen's aunt, who now lives alone, outside of the village. Given the choices, what would you choose?

About the Author

Pat Lowry Collins was raised in Hollywood CA. She went to USC and earned a Bachelor's in English. She now lives in New England with her husband. They have five grown children. She currently teaches creative writing at Lesley University.

Genre

Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties

Novels in verse

Cultural relativism

FGM

Booktalking Ideas

Every day that Helen waits in the hut is one day closer to the cutting, but what choice does she have?

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 6-8

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas

The subject of The Fattening Hut is female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision. Some say that the practice is an honored cultural tradition equivalent to male circumcision. Others describe the practice as mutilation. It is a controversial subject, for sure. However, the practice is only alluded to, allowing readers to image a practice that is disturbing but unspecific. Teachers and parents may choose to explain further as they see fit. Furthermore, the subject is relevant to this age group as the procedure is often done at puberty.

Why book was Included

Recommended by a classmate

Chasing Vermeer

Balliet, Blue. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. Chasing Vermeer. Scholastic, 2004. ISBN: 0-439-372941.

Plot Summary

Petra and Calder are not afraid to see the truth. They are beginning to see coincidences and when a Vermeer painting goes missing, those coincidences gain significance. An international art thief has stolen the painting to send a message. Inconsistencies in the paintings make the thief think that some of Vermeer's 35 works are fakes. Soon the whole world is talking about it, and Petra and Calder are following the trail of coincidences to find the missing painting. The trail is leading back to their Chicago neighborhood, to their sixth grade teacher and the strange old lady who lives down the street. Now the race is on. Can Petra and Calder unravel the mystery before it's too late?

Critical Evaluation

Chasing Vermeer is fabulous. It's a high stakes art theft meets Encyclopedia Brown. Mixed into the story are all sorts of puzzles. Pentominoes (a geometry puzzle like tangrams) figure prominently in the plot, as does the number 12. There are also word puzzles, secret codes, and a clue hidden in the illustrations. These brain teasers get the reader involved, even if the reader can't sneak into the university library at night. Besides the fun (and challenging) puzzles, the plot moves quickly with lots of twists and turns. Also, the value of the stolen painting makes the case important, so the whole world is watching. The character's excitement is believable.

Reader's Annotation

Coincidence? Sixth graders Petra and Calder don't think so. Willing to see the truth that's right in front of them, the pair sets out to solve an international art crime that even the FBI can't crack.

About the Author

Blue Balliet grew up in New York City. Then she moved to Nantucket where she wrote a collection of Nantucket ghost stories. She met and married her husband in Nantucket. They then moved to Chicago and Balliet taught third grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, just like the character in Chasing Vermeer.

Genre

Mystery

Curriculum Ties

Could accompany a unit on pentaminoes.

Could be used to teach art. Students could look at Vermeer paintings, or another artist.

Booktalking Ideas

Is a theft for noble reasons okay? Explain the thief's motives for stealing the painting.

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 5-7

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas

None

Why Book was Included

Recommended by a classmate

Wall-E (Motion Picture)

Stanton, Andrew. (Director). Wall-E. (DVD). Walt Disney, 2008. Running time 98 min.


Plot Summary
Wall-E is a robot designed to deal with Earth's growing trash problem. When all of the inhabitants of Earth leave on a space cruise, Wall-E is left behind to clean things up. One day, a spaceship brings a robot named EVE, whose mission is to search for signs of plant life on Earth. Wall-E falls in love with EVE, but EVE is devoted to her mission. Wall-E and EVE deliver the plant specimen to the space colony and the capitan of the ship is excited to return to Earth. The ship's autopilot refuses to give up control of the ship so a battle ensues.

Critical evaluation
As usual, Disney Pixar has created a film with production quality beyond what is normally seen in family films. Since Wall-E doesn't talk besides some robotic grunts and beeps, his scenes are narrated by an original orchestral score. Wall-E is a sympathetic character, lonely yet curious. His companion EVE is less sympathetic, since she is so bound by her duty, but her transformation is admirable. The captain of the ship is one of the best characters of the film. Although he is an adult, and the captain of the ship his lack of life experiences makes him childlike. Overall, a good presentation and a good message.

Readers Annotations
The citizens of Earth have been sent on a little space vacation while the robots clean up the planet. 700 years later, Wall-E is all by himself, cleaning and wishing for a friend. Along comes EVE, who leads Wall-E to the humans' spaceship. The arrival of the robots jars the humans awake and they must decide what to do next.

Information About the Director
Andrew Stanton has worked as a writer, director, producer and voice actor. He is employed by Pixar and directed Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life in addition to Wall-E.

Genre
Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties
Climate change, responsibility for the Earth

Booktalking Ideas
Wall-E has been all alone for hundreds of years and now he has a friend!

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades K-6
(Rated G)

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
none

Why Movie Included
Tweens, especially those with younger siblings, will enjoy many of Pixar's films.

Civilization Revolution

Meier, Sid. Civilization Revolution. Video Game. Praxis, 2008. Available on PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and XBox360.



Plot Summary
Civilization Revolution is a turn based game similar to Risk in which players move characters round a map and build units. Players may chose their civilization or the computer can randomly assign one. Different civilizations have different strengths. Start by founding a city, then set to building units. Use warriors to defend, explore or attack neighboring civilizations. At home, build a granary, a library or if you have the technology, a bank. Meanwhile, your scientists are working on new technology. You can chose what they focus on and their discoveries determine what you can build.

There are four different ways to win: domination, where you capture all enemy capitals; culture where you meet 20 different cultural milestones and build the UN; economic, where you aquire 20,000 pieces of gold and build the world bank; or technological, which is a space race. Different technologies are geared towards achieving different types of victory. But beware, even if you're not focusing on a domination victory, you'll still need military technology to defend your cities.


Critical evaluation
Civilization is a challenging strategy game that requires advance planning and multi-tasking. It's a game that can be played again and again, winning different ways and a different levels of difficulty. Unlike previous versions of Civilization, Civilization Revolution is simpler. There are less types of military units and less options for upgrading units. The game is also much shorter, which is a big improvement. Now, the game can be won in a matter of hours, rather than days. New gamers will have an easy time learning how the game works, especially if they start on the easiest level, which also serves as a tutorial. Unfortunately, this version of Civilization doesn't allow you to play against other people in your home, although it does allow multi-player gaming over the system network.

Readers Annotations
If you were the leader of a civilization, what kind of civilization would you be? Would you build up armies and crush your opponents, or would you build a culture so great that they would voluntarily join you? Maybe you would focus on technology and race into space. It's your civilization: it's your choice.

Information About the Creator

Sidney Meier is a programmer and videogame developer. He is also one of the founders of Praxis games, for which he serves as creative director. Besides Civilization, he has designed the games Pirates! and Railroad Tycoons. He currently lives in Maryland with his wife and son.

Genre
Turn based strategy

Curriculum Ties
Each civilization has a special attribute based on their culture. For example, the Spanish can build Conquistador units, which no other civilization can build. Information about these units and other elements of the game can be found in the "civilopedia".

Booktalking Ideas
How would you choose to rule the world?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 5+ (Rated E for Everyone, but the game is a little complicated for younger kids)
Strongly recommended for teens and adults too!

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
If you play for a domination victory, the game is focused on military domination.

However, the military domination teaches strategy, thinking ahead, and resource allocation. The three other forms of victory focus on other aspects of civilization.

Why Game Included
One of my favorite games.