EntertainerandtheDybbuk_Cover

This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms.  I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links.  I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk
by:  Sid Fleischman

Summary: A struggling American ventriloquist in post-World War II Europe is possessed by the mischievous spirit of a young Jewish boy killed in the Holocaust. (Includes author’s note which details the murder of over one million children by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s.)

Author Web Site: http://sidfleischman.com

Related Resources:  Children During the Holocaust

Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam
Online exhibits, Photos, and Information about Anne Frank and her World-Famous Diary including a 3-D Tour of Anne’s Hiding Place (The Secret Annex)

Holocaust Cybrary @ remember.org
Powerful Art by Children and Survivors as well as a Virtual Tour of Auschwitz

Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust:  Children
Produced by the FL Center for Instructional Technology (Lots of Web Resources for Teaching About the Holocaust and Children)

United States Holocaust Museum:  Anne Frank
Informational Articles, Photos, and Web Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  Children During the Holocaust
Informational Articles, Photos, Videos, and Web Links

Related Resources:  Vaudeville

American Studies @ The University of Virginia:  Vaudeville
Information about Vaudeville Performers, Audio, and Video Footage from Actual Performances, and Web Links

Library of Congress’ American Memory:  American Variety Stage
Collection of Materials About American Variety Stage from 1870-1920 Including Theater Bills, Photos, Sound Recordings, and Video

Vaudeville:  A History
Short Articles About Vaudeville

Related Resources:  Ventriloquism

Ventriloquism During the Vaudeville Era
Historic Information and Photos of Ventriloquists  from 1900-1930

Ventriloquist Video (YouTube Version)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator Performance on Letterman
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Ventriloquist Video
(Version for Schools Who Cannot Access YouTube)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator on Letterman
This posting of the same video is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering.  Please view the video from the original source if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Related Resources:  War Crimes Prosecution

Famous War Trials:  Nuremberg Trials (Faculty Project of University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law)
Account of Trial, Chart of Defendants, Diagram of Courtroom, Transcripts and More in Easy to Read Format

Nuremberg Trials:  Wikipedia
Great Article with Lots of Photos and Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  War Crimes Trial
Information, Photos, Videos of Personal Narratives, Historical Film Footage and More

Read Aloud Recommendation:
Students love a good ghost story and this is no exception!  Teachers will find this to be a good read aloud to use as part of a study of the Holocaust and War Crimes Trials that followed World War II.

This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms.  I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links.  I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).

Saving the Griffin by :  Kristin Wolden Nitz

Summary: When eleven-year-old Kate and her younger brother Michael encounter a baby griffin in an Italian garden, they vow to help the creature find its way back home and to keep Griffo’s existence a secret.

Author Web Site:  http://www.kwnitz.com

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Behind the Scenes from the Author’s Blog:  http://kristinwoldennitz.wordpress.com/category/saving-the-griffin

Definition of Griffin:

A griffin is a legendary creature, usually represented in literature and art as having the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and occasionally a serpent’s tail. The griffin seems to have originated in the Middle East, as it is found in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. The Romans used the griffin merely for decorative purposes in friezes and on table legs, altars, and candelabra. The griffin motif appeared in early Christian times in the bestiaries, or beast allegories, of St. Basil and St. Ambrose. Stone replicas of griffins frequently served as gargoyles in the Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages. The griffin is still a familiar device in heraldry and is thought to represent strength and vigilance.

Citation
Griffin. (2009). Retrieved August 16, 2009, from
Discovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

Griffin Gargoyle Photos:

Credit:

Related Links:  Griffin (Mythical Creature)

KidzWorld:  Griffin

Mythical Creatures Coloring Pages

Related Links:  Florence, Italy

Guide to Italy (Photos and Video of Florence)

Related Links:  Sienna, Italy

Guide to Italy (Photos of Siena)

Video of Siena, Italy from GeoBeats

Related Links:  Basic Italian

Children’s Conversational Italian (Short Audio Files by Native Speakers)

Video of Top Local Italian Phrases from GeoBeats

Read Aloud Recommendation: Definitely!  This story has fantasy, adventure, and a hint of danger.

As a library media specialist in a public elementary school, I have always felt it was my duty to buy and promote the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King Illustrator, and state award winners and nominees in order to showcase some of the best books of year––even though I have had reservations about the kid appeal of some of the books. After all, part of my job is to help kids discover literary gems. However, despite my best efforts, every year a portion of these books eventually become “shelf-squatters” as my attention becomes focused elsewhere and the kids naturally gravitate toward more commercial, mainstream books (which I also purchase as my budget allows).

When considering books for the school library collection, the library media specialist must make tough decisions regarding the major award winners. It is very difficult for me to be objective about award books because in most cases, I find the chosen books to be so worthy of recognition. However, my young patrons do not always agree. After all, in most cases a committee of adults select the award winners based on specific criteria. (With the Georgia Book Award process, students select the winner from a list of nominees by voting for their favorite.) I have found that adults judge literary merit using a set of criteria that is very different from the criteria that children use to decide what is appealing to them. I have also found that even though adults may find a book to be of great literary merit, if kids find the book to be unappealing, it will not be read (no matter how many awards adults have bestowed upon it). That is this the case with this year’s Newbery winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. It is an excellent choice, but it doesn’t have much kid appeal. It will never have the same popularity as some of the winners (such as the 1999 winner, Holes). In fact, I will have to work really hard to promote the book, or it will seldom be checked out. While I realize that is part of my job, it does illustrate my point. So what is the solution? Maintain the current course, or steer more into the mainstream?

Motherhood has really been the catalyst for the clarification of my thoughts on the struggle of literary vs. mainstream. I have found with my own child, now a busy toddler, that I have to appeal to his interests in order to keep him reading. That doesn’t mean that my little one hasn’t succumbed to the charm of Caldecott winner Where the Wild Things Are and classics like Goodnight Moon. It just means that when something is holding his attention (currently Thomas the Tank Engine), I have to seize the moment. Therefore, I have learned to balance the award winning and classic with the kid appealing. I have come to realize that I may never get my little one to listen to Snowy Day. It just doesn’t appeal to him. (And let’s face it, my son, who hates to travel, has never seen snow where we live––in south Georgia.) That doesn’t mean that I won’t keep trying. It just means that if I want to keep him reading, I have to keep his interests in mind when purchasing new books. It’s all about balance.

I read one of the classics to him every day, though not always an award winner. Tonight, it might be Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (which he loves after I convinced him to give it a try). After that, he can choose. He usually chooses a Thomas story like Catch Me, Catch Me! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, Go, Train, Go!, or Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, a Cars story like Driving Buddies (Step into Reading), or a Dora or Diego story like Diego’s Wolf Pup Rescue . As long as we are reading together every night, I have stopped obsessing so much about what we are reading.

There is a wonderful article on this topic at http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/LIBRARY/qual_vs_pop.html. An extensive review of literature on this topic shows that readers of commercial/mainstream literature are the most prolific readers and are more likely to to continue their reading development at a higher rate than those who do not read popular literature. Researchers also found that popular literature can be a bridge to higher quality literature. While I already knew this from experience––both academic and maternal, I have to say that I like being able to back up my own thoughts with research.

In conclusion, I will always pursue and purchase the best in children’s literature. However, I am going to be much more careful about balancing the award winning with the popular literature that students crave. After all, as a librarian and as a mother, I have to serve the needs of my patrons and keep them reading!

Here are a couple of my son’s current favorites as mentioned above: