JIM HENSON: THE GUY WHO PLAYED WITH PUPPETS

Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played With Puppets.

By Kathleen Krull

Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Published by Random House

Copyright © 2011

“Can you tell me how to get… to Sesame Street.” There are very few children in America who have never encountered Sesame Street or other odd looking puppets. And this is due in part to the vision and artistry of Jim Henson.

“The Guy Who Played with Puppets” is a simple biography of Jim Henson the man who helped bring puppets to the mainstream and keep them there. So many of us begin our you lives with the likes of Big Bird and Elmo on Sesame Street and we reveled in the silly humor of the Muppets, who are still going strong. Jim Henson was a visionary who even helped bring “Jedi Master Yoda” to life in the original Star Wars Trilogy. Jim Henson truly was a visionary, and his legacy still lives on as many of his creations are still going strong.

This book is a great introduction to Jim Henson. It also provides a list of written sources and websites where students can find out more about creative genius.

THE COMPLETE MAUS

The Complete Maus

(25^th Anniversary Edition)

By Art Spiegelman

Published by Pantheon Books

Copyright © 2011

Review by Anthony Kendrick

So, many people believe that graphic novels and comic books aren’t real literature, and that at most they are a low form of art and entertainment. Those people have not read “MAUS”. I have finally read this much acclaimed graphic novel and I found it to be one the most compelling and absorbing true stories of the Holocaust that I have ever read.

Maus tells the biographical and autobiographical story of Vladek, Anja, and Art Spiegelman. Vladek and Anja were Jews who lived in Poland at the beginning of World War II and they saw the horrors of German treatment of Jews throughout German occupied Europe. Against all odds they lived to tell the tale. Art is Vladek’s and Anja’s son and in addition to his parent’s story he shows and describes a little of how his parent’s ordeal effected his life and choices. What really makes this story unique is how the story is told graphically. The stark black and white drawings work perfectly with the equally blunt and depressing subject matter. Also you won’t ever forget who is who as each person is characterized as an animal based on their nationality; which is why the book is called Maus, because our main characters are Jewish and are portrayed as mice. These characterizations have connections to historic propaganda.

I found this book riveting for its honesty and accessibility.  Using this artistic form really opens up the holocaust to people who otherwise wouldn’t read a book about the subject. He also portrays it in such a way that you still feel the gravity of the event without being overcome by it. This is the perfect book to engage students (and adults alike) in the history of the holocaust. This is a five star book!

I Am Malala

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

By Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Published by Little, Brown and Company

Copyright © 2013

Review by Anthony Kendrick

Imagine a world where millions of children do not get an education because of poverty, greed, war, ignorance, or prejudice. We aren’t talking about the middle ages; we are talking about 2014. There are Fifty-seven million children (p. 312) today who cannot go to primary school. So many youth today take the opportunity for education for granted, but be assured if it were taken away from you, you would miss it.

Malala Yousafzai comes from a country where the education record is terrible. Many children she saw everyday could not go to school because they had to contribute to their families who lived in poverty. Many could not go to school because the Pakistani politicians who promised new roads, electricity, hospitals, and schools for rural villages never followed through on their promises. And many could not go to school because Muslim Extremists known as the Taliban mislead, and often force, the public into believing that girls should not go to school.

Malala is lucky though, in a land where sons are valued above daughters she has a father who loves her immensely and wants her to be as free as any son. He wants to make sure that she has an education. Malala loves learning and thinks that every boy and girl deserves the opportunity to go to school. By word and deed her father taught her to use her voice to help others, so that is what she did. 

At a very young age Malala was a very vocal advocate for the right to an education. This eventually led to her being targeted by the Taliban who finally followed through on their threats and tried to kill her.

“I Am Malala” chronicles how she got to that point in her life, and how she refuses to let her tragedy and her fear quiet her. While she is critical of many groups from the U.S. to her own people. She never comes off as vengeful and hate filled. Malala story is terrible and sad, but it is a story of hope, because there are people, especially young people, who care about others and want to make a difference.

This is a great story for many American students to read; students who don’t know just how good they have it. While we have many troubles in the American education system having the right to go to school is not one of them. Yet, there are people who are still fighting for this right even on threat of their life. 

By reading this book my eyes were opened a little more to what life is like in many parts of the Middle East, what the common view of western nations is, and how the U.S. in particular played a negative role in the production of these feelings. I also learned a lot more about Islamic teachings and how it is being twisted for corrupt ends. Of course it should be noted that politics and religion has been twisted for corrupt ends for a long time in nearly every nation.

While it is a bit choppy in it's content, overall I highly recommend this book. And whatever thoughts you glean from it at the least see it as a cultural study and gain appreciation for the rights that we take for granted.

LITTLE WHITE DUCK: A CHILDHOOD IN CHINA

By Na Liu
Illustrated by Andres Vera Martinez
Published by Graphic Universe
Copyright © 2012
Review by Anthony Kendrick

What was your childhood like? How does your childhood compare to your parents or you’re your grandparents childhood? Have you ever asked them about their life?

Na Liu was born in Communist China in the 1970’s at the end of the Cultural Revolution. This was a time of great turmoil but also great change, the China of that time was very insular, but it would slowly open up to the rest of the world. Na tells 8 stories from her childhood to share with others what it was like for a child in China then, and how it compares to her parents and grandparents childhoods.

This book was, and was not, what I expected. I expected to see a dilapidated conformist environment, and this I did. That being the case I expected Na to tell me how horrible it was there and to rail against the Chinese government, but she didn’t. With the help of her husband and illustrator, Andres, she describes not just the pains but the joys of childhood in China. She actually points out how much better her childhood was as compared to previous generations and as compared to children in other parts of her country.

At the end of the book Na and Andre also provide some helpful components: a Chinese words glossary, a timeline of significant dates in Chinese History, Na Liu’s brief biography, translations of some Chinese characters, and the map of China and Hubei Province.

I found this book to be enlightening, enjoyable, and educational. It should appeal to 5th -8th graders or any reader interested in Chinese history and mythology.