Facts of Life: Stories

Facts of Life: Stories by Gary Soto

Bibliographic Information:

Soto, G. (2008). Facts of life: Stories. New York, NY: Graphia. ISBN 9780547577340

Summary:

Meet ten Hispanic youth all personally unique, especially in their stories. Each teen encounters troubling situations that make them question the boundaries of childhood. It is through these situations that they grow and come to know themselves. With which young adult will you connect and grow – Mickey, Ana, Rachael, or Ryan – to name a few?  

Critical Analysis:

Gary Soto has crafted ten unique stories with which young adults in today’s society can easily relate. Soto has managed in a matter of pages to create intimate stories that make the reader wanting more. All of his characters are immediately likeable and the plots are engaging.

One of the beauties of Soto’s collection is that reluctant readers may pick and choose the stories they would like to enjoy without feeling the daunting pressure to read the entire book; however, it is very likely that Soto’s writing style and characters will grab the reader and encourage him/her to read each and every one.

In his work, Soto takes troubling typical teen topics and makes them accessible to his audience through his voice and humor. Each time you read Soto’s short stories, you’ll find something new that you may have missed the first reading through. Since his stories contain both male and female protagonists, all readers will be drawn to Gary Soto’s work. Be sure to pick up this collection of short stories for you’re certain to meet a new friend or two along the way.

Creative Activity:

Facts of Life: Your Story

After reading Soto’s short story collection, Facts of Life reflect on a situation in which you have encountered a difficult situation or a troubling topic. Find a character in Gary Soto’s collection that could connect with your story. Craft your story with Soto’s writing style in mind. Share your story with others.

Faithful Friend

After you have written your story and identified a character from Gary Soto’s collection, write your new friend a letter explaining how you would have handled their situation in Facts of Life. Would you have done the same thing or taken the same course of action as Soto’s characters? Or would you have taken a different path? Why or why not? Be sure to explain this in your letter to your faithful friend. Remember just as you should not judge them for their actions or choices, Soto’s characters will not judge you.

Related Resources:

Collect and display other collections of short stories by Gary Soto, such as:

- Baseball in April by Gary Soto

Soto, G. (2000). Baseball in april. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN

         9780152025670

- Local News by Gary Soto

Soto, G. (2003). Local news. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN

          9780152046958

*After readers have felt success with Soto’s short stories, be sure to introduce your readers to his longer, lengthier novels.*

Visit Gary Soto’s Webpage – www.garysoto.com

“Gary Soto, the Art of Not Writing for Children, and the Public Shame Theater”

Bird, E. (2015). Gary soto, the art of not writing for children, and the public shame theater.

Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2015/06/03/gary-soto-the-art-of

not-writing-for-children-and-the-public-shame-theater/#_

-                    Read this interesting article concerning Gary Soto and the big toymaker Mattel and how this experience changed him. Soto states that he is no longer willing to write for young adults. The author makes a great point… How might things be different had this happened now?

Published Review:

Kirkus Review states that the stories in Facts of Life are 

“distinct, clearly drawn and immediate.”

Kirkus Review. (2008). Facts of life: stories. Retrieved from

          https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gary-soto/facts-of-life/

Be sure to pick up a copy of Facts of Life: Stories... there's certainly something here for every reader! 

~ Mandy :) 

*image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March 

by Cynthia Levinson

Bibliographic Information:

Levinson, C. (2015). We’ve got a job: The 1963 birmingham children’s march. Atlanta, GA:

Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 9781561458448

Summary:

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March follows the stories of four youth during the May 1963 protests held in Birmingham, AL. Meet Audrey Faye Hendricks, Washington Booker III, James W. Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter as they travel this tough journey and encounter punitive protests, strict segregation, audacious arrests, and promising people of the time, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Their stories are ones you won’t forget.

Critical Analysis:

Cynthia Levinson’s immediate lack of color and focus on black and white illustrations make the reader’s initial contact with this book powerful and engaging. Within the 180 pages, photographs dominate some page layouts, while other page layouts are dominated by text. This makes this book unique in that although it may initially appear as a children’s picture book, it certainly is not given the subject matter and amount of in depth text. In this case, this nonfiction piece demands both text and illustrations through photographs in order to accurately show and tell this historical event. They both add credibility.

Levinson’s lack of color also helps appeal to the historical accuracy of this informational text. The organization of the book is in timeline format following the stories of four children directly affected by the 1963 Children’s March. It is evident that much research and time was put into planning and creating this nonfiction work. When considering the elements that make an excellent nonfiction work, Levinson’s book completes them all. Levinson’s work is engaging and accurate in both illustrations and language, appropriately organized (chronologically) and documented, clear in presentation, contains specific supportive structures  (an index, abbreviation guide, maps, and factual sidebars), and interests young readers. This work is a beautiful example of the possibilities of nonfiction for our young adult readers. It is no wonder that We’ve Got a Job was a finalist for the 2013 Orbis Pictus Honor Books.

Creative Activity:

Conscientious Consideration

Imagine if you were Audrey Faye Hendricks, Washington Booker III, James W. Stewart, or Arnetta Streeter living in today’s society. How would you/they view the current race relations in the United States? Consider several important recent events including those of the five deaths of the Dallas police officers, the events in Ferguson, MO, and the case of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Have our race relations changed in the United States since 1963? Why or why not? What can we learn from these resilient, courageous youth of 1963?

Graffiti Wall

As you encounter important details and thought provoking pieces in We’ve Got a Job, post your ideas on the graffiti wall. You may wish to add additional information regarding the historical happenings in the 1960s and the influential leaders. This wall is meant to be a reflection of your learning and knowledge on the topic. Be creative… think graffiti!

Related Resources:

Courage Has No Color:

The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers

by Tanya Lee Stone

Stone, T.L. (2013). Courage has no color: The true story of the triple nickles, america’s first

black paratroopers. New York, NY: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763665487

-       Another beautiful black and white nonfiction piece that demonstrates the breakdown of America’s segregated society and celebrates the courage of the oppressed. Readers who enjoyed We’ve Got a Job, will also enjoy the history of America’s first black paratroopers who fought in World War II against the Japanese.   

The Watsons Go To Birmingham

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis, C. P. (2013). The watsons go to birmingham. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780385382946

-       A fictional account of what it was like to be a young African American child during 1963 America. This proves to be a good connection to We’ve Got a Job and can allow a reader to act as a detective to uncover whether the trials and tribulations the Watson’s encountered are factual for the time.

“How the Children of Birmingham Changed the Civil-Rights Movement” by Lottie Joiner

Joiner, L. (2013). How the children of birmingham changed the civil-rights movement. The

Daily Beast.com. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/how-the-children-of birmingham-changed-the-civil-rights-movement.html

-       Share and discuss this article explaining the significance of the Children’s March. What connections and findings are factual in comparison to the information presented in Levinson’s We’ve Got a Job?

Video – Birmingham and the Children’s March provided by PBS.org

-       http://www.pbs.org/video/2365002209/

View this video regarding the Children’s March.

Published Reviews:

Publishers Weekly remarks that We’ve Got a Job contains 

“powerful period photos and topical sidebars [that] heighten the story’s impact.”

Publishers Weekly. (2012). We’ve got a job: The 1963 birmingham children’s march.

           Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56145-627-7

Kirkus Review states that We’ve Got a Job is

“a moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment.”

Kirkus Review. (2012). We’ve got a job. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book

reviews/cynthia-y-levinson/weve-got-job-1963-birmingham-childrens-march/

Take a trip back in history with four courageous youth!

~ Mandy

*cover image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com 

How I Live Now

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Bibliographic Information:

Rosoff, M. (2004). How i live now. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 9780449819609

Summary:

Elizabeth, also known as Daisy, lives alone with her father in a personal world already full of turmoil and hurt. Things cannot seem to get worse… That is until Daisy finds out that her father’s girlfriend is pregnant and has no intention of keeping Daisy around. During her ninth summer, Daisy is sent to England to live with her unfamiliar Aunt Penn and cousins. Times that seem to be somewhat comforting, peaceful, and intimate quickly turn her world once again upside-down as The Occupation take control. Will Daisy and her cousins make it through alive? Will Daisy find the peace she longs for again? Will she make it home?

Critical Analysis:

Meg Rosoff’s style and language immediately pull the reader in as Daisy introduces her story and sets the stage. Rosoff’s writing is straight forward and to the point, yet still containing the necessary details to create a realistic setting and events. She frequently utilizes capital letters to draw the reader’s attention to particularly important pieces and even CAPITALIZES all of the letters to stress importance and emotion. Interestingly enough in the first section of her novel, quotation marks are completely omitted from the writing, while in the second half after the end of the war, people besides Daisy begin to speak in quotations. This is an interesting technique that highlights Rosoff’s unique writing style.

While Rosoff’s chapters are typically short and to the point, the reader will find him or herself wanting to read just one more. This is critical to keep this fast paced novel moving forward and to keeping the reader engaged. Even though these chapters seem short, there is certainly no lack of detail as Rosoff describes the travels of the cousins, the events of the war, the horrific aftermath, and the final reunion of the family in this fantastic fiction work. The Occupation is never truly revealed to the reader, as one is left to imagine the enemy that is attacking their world. This omission of specifics leaves the possibilities of The Occupation completely open to the reader’s interpretation, which adds credit to it being a fantastic fictional work.

It is no wonder that Meg Rosoff earned the Printz Award for this first work. Her writing is compelling, embracing, and thrilling. How I Live Now is a beautiful piece that any young teen reader can connect with and enjoy.

Creative Activity:

War Effects

Research other real World Wars. Learn about the effects on the children. How did these children survive? Daisy contended that it was important to keep moving in order to stay safe. In Leon Leyson’s novel The Boy in the Wooden Box, Leon tried to remain invisible. What can we learn from the resilience of these children?

What’s in a Name?

Similar to John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Daisy does not like the name her father gives her at birth – Elizabeth. She feels that it is fit for a queen. So, instead she requests that others call her Daisy. Why is this significant? Flowers seem to show some symbolism through out the novel. What other names that could be considered symbols would be fitting for the characters in Meg Rosoff’s novel? Why?

If you could change your name to represent a symbol of you, what would you name yourself? Why?

Related Resources:

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Yancey, R. (2015). The fifth wave. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers. ISBN 9780142425831

-       Another beautiful novel of a war torn society over taken by the unknown. Readers who enjoyed How I Live Now, will certainly enjoy Yancey’s The Fifth Wave.  

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Leyson, L. (2013). The boy on the wooden box: How the impossible became possible … on

schindler’s list. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN

9781442497825

-       There are many parallels between Daisy’s story and Leon’s story in The Boy on the Wooden Box. Both stories are of survival in the most desperate times. Readers who enjoyed either will certainly love the other story of kid survival.

Published Reviews:

The Guardian remarks that How I Live Now is “an impressive novel about war, survival, and teenage love.”

The Guardian. (2013). How i live now by meg rosoff – review. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/01/review-how-i-live-now-meg-rosoff

Kirkus Review states that How I Live Now “offers a keen perspective on human courage and resilience.”

Kirkus Review. (2004). How i live now. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/meg-rosoff/how-i-live-now/

Be sure to check out How I Live Now! 

~ Mandy 

*book cover image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com*