The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Ryan, C. (2009). The forest of hands and teeth. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Fantasy Week!  I normally like reading fantasy.  Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy are some of my favorite books!  Yes.  I even liked the Twilight series.  The movies ruined those books…they’re a joke now.  Indeed, they sound like they’d be ridiculous, and they’re not great literature by any stretch of the imagination.  What they did offer was a fun read over which I could then bond with my students.  But I digress… Unfortunately, The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first book that I’ve blogged on for this class that I really just didn’t like all that much.  It wasn’t terrible, and it had a few pretty good moments, but it just didn’t grab me. 

The plot follows our protagonist Mary as she deals with life in her oppressive post-apocalyptic society, surrounded by fences that are the only barrier between the village’s inhabitants and “The Unconsecrated” in “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” beyond.  Like every teenager, she feels trapped literally and figuratively.  She yearns to discover what lies outside her village and to see the ocean that her mother had visited when she was a girl…before “The Return.”  Mary is betrothed to a boy named Harry but she’s in love with his brother Travis who’s betrothed to Mary’s best friend the beautiful Cass who’s in love with Harry.  Got that?  Yeah.  It’s high school drama wrapped up in dystopian fantasy.  Every girl’s dream!  Her father was among the first to be infected when the virus first hit, and she knows he is somewhere in the forest behind the fence. 

Mary’s mother, in one of the few exciting moments in the novel, eventually becomes infected (after having possibly located her infected husband by searching from her side of the fence day in and day out) and is sent off to “live” (be undead searching for brains?) in the forest.  This inciting incident sets off a series of events that unfortunately just sort of spin around for a while.  The plot never really reaches a climax.  Mary ends up living in the Sisterhood and being generally defiant for a while but, at some point, the fence surrounding the village is compromised and “The Unconsecrated” (zombies) attack!  Mary and her band of merry friends set off into the forest protected by fences hoping to get her to her dream destination…the ocean.    In their travels, they find another village like theirs, and then zombies attack there, too.  Lots of people die...well…become undead, and it just gets out of control.  If you do choose to read this book along with its prequels and sequels, I won’t tell you the end.  Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend that you do read it.

The novel is loaded with Biblical allusions that are, unfortunately, never explained.  For example, the protagonist’s name is Mary as an obvious reference to the Virgin Mary, and the dystopian village she and the other characters live in following a virus epidemic (“The Return”) is controlled by a “Sisterhood” of women who live in what seems to be similar to a medieval convent and the “Guardians” who patrol the border between the village and the dangerous forest beyond.  They have an ancient text full of secrets to which only the Sisterhood has access, but we never really learn anything about this book.  Additionally, the virus causes people to become zombies, only they’re not called zombies; they’re “The Unconsecrated.”   (On a side note: why is it that zombies never seem to be called zombies anymore?  On The Walking Dead, they’re “Walkers.”  In this book, they’re “The Unconsecrated.”)  

I chose The Forest of Hands and Teeth because it was one of the selections for the faculty book club at school this year.  I thought surely our Media Center ladies wouldn’t have chosen a bad one!  Well, they didn’t really like it all that much either.  Perhaps if the plot had followed a more understandable arc and if some of the minor characters that were introduced then thrown away had actually served to progress the plot, it may have been palatable.  My biggest problem, however, was the lack of explanation of the allusions.  I understand that, as a reader, I need to be able to make the connections on my own, but no information was provided at all.  Throw me a bone, here!  While The Forest of Hands and Teeth certainly fits the genre of Modern Fantasy (it deals with the supernatural and the author is able to create a setting and characters that are believable to the point that I was able to empathize with their plight and envision their reality), it just was not a great read.  Because of these reasons, I’d probably use this book as an example in class of how NOT to write a book.  I might ask my students how they might rewrite some of the passages to make them more interesting or coherent. 

BIG QUESTION: The character of Gabrielle seems to be pivotal to Mary’s motivation to explore the world outside of her village in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but the reader doesn’t get enough information to understand why Mary is so fascinated by her.  What details would you add to Gabrielle’s characterization to make her come alive for the reader?  How would you help the reader to empathize with Mary’s interest in her?          

Jumanji

Van Allsburg, C. (1981). Jumanji. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

I seem to be sticking with the Chris Van Allsburg-book-made-into-movie theme this week, so I might as well go with it!  After being enchanted by The Polar Express, I picked up Jumanji.  I have not seen the movie, so I came in with no preconceived notions.  Unfortunately, the book was ok.  Not bad.  Not great.  Just ok.  I think the theme is something to the effect of “You should finish what you start even if the going gets tough,” but, unlike the other picture books I've read over the last couple of weeks, it was less clear.      

The plot of the book follows a brother and sister who are left to their own devices when their parents go to the opera.  The opera.  The parents have invited some people to come over to the house after the opera (really?  The opera?), so they ask the children to “please keep the house neat.”  They’re kids…but, fine, we’ll go with it.  Naturally, they get bored keeping the house neat, so they decide to go to the park across the street to play.  At the park, they discover an abandoned game called “Jumanji” that is “fun for some but not for all.”  They take the game home and read the directions which stipulate that “’ONCE A GAME OF JUMANJI IS STARTED IT WILL NOT BE OVER UNTIL ONE PLAYER REACHES THE GOLDEN CITY.’”  (The caps are in the book, I’m not yelling at you.)  These directions unfortunately prove to come true as each turn brings new “adventures” for the players – lions hunting the children, monkeys stealing food, a monsoon in the living room, and more.  They do eventually finish the game, but they did NOT keep the house neat!  What will their parents say when they return home from the opera with all of their friends who are undoubtedly TONS of fun?!  What will happen to the children?  Will they be sent to boarding school in Sweden as punishment for their childlike transgressions?  You’ll have to read the book to find out…   

As is always the case with Chris Van Allsburg’s books, his illustrations are beautiful.  In Jumanji, however, the illustrations are in black and white.  There is no note to indicate what media were used to create the drawings, but it looks to me like they are either pencil or charcoal.  With a jungle adventure game like Jumanji, I must say I would probably prefer color.  Perhaps, however, the monochromatic scheme requires readers to insert their own colors with their imaginations.  Regardless of my opinion on the color or lack thereof, the illustrations unequivocally complement the plot.  Without them, the story would very likely fall flat.  My favorite illustration is that of the rhinoceroses stampeding through the living room…I’m reminded of the proverbial bull in a china shop!   

I’ve been a little snarky, because I think the opera thing is funny. I realize that Van Allsburg is using this detail as a device to allow the reader to understand to what socio-economic status the characters belong. Knowing this information allowed me to create a vivid picture in my mind of the parents as well as the home in which this family resides. Overall, the book isn’t bad, but I don’t know that I’d put it at the top of my recommendation list for my sisters-in-law.

BIG QUESTION: Toward the end of the book, two new children pick up the game.  How do you think the adventure will turn out for them?  As a possible activity, students could write a sequel to Jumanji that follows the boys’ adventure.     

The Polar Express

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The polar express. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

I had never read The Polar Express. 

Now that you’ve had a chance to get over your disbelief, I’ll move on.  Yes, I had seen the movie, but, to be honest, I wasn’t as moved by it as perhaps I should have been according to pretty much everybody in the ENTIRE WORLD.  Perhaps it’s because I don’t have children of my own with whom I could share the wonderment of this magical tale.  Perhaps it’s because I’m an old fuddy-duddy who’s far removed from the whole Santa Claus thing. Perhaps it’s because it just seemed a little long.  And perhaps Hollywood just didn’t need to mess with the perfection that is this beautiful picture book, even if they did snag the loveable Tom Hanks to play the Conductor. I don’t know. 

This year, as their major Christmas gift, my in-laws took my husband’s brothers and their wives and young children to the Polar Express train ride in Indiana, and based on the stories we heard from their experience, it was truly magical.  So, when I saw The Polar Express as a possible reading option in our text, I chose it as one of my selections to read for a blog posting thinking that maybe I could figure out what I was missing.  Certainly everyone reading this post has already read this book, so a synopsis is probably unnecessary, but I’ll give it a whirl anyway... 

The story is told in first person from the point-of-view of a young boy nearing the age of no longer believing in Santa Claus.  Some of his friends are already sharing their cynicism.  On Christmas Eve, he is whisked away to the North Pole on a magical train named "The Polar Express" that pulls up right in front of his house.  When the train arrives at its destination, all the children on board hope to be the first to request a gift from Santa Claus, and our narrator is selected.  Rather than asking for a football or a “Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time” (Clark, 1983) the boy asks only for a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh.  Santa gladly grants the child’s humble request, cuts a bell from a reindeer’s harness, and hands it to the boy.  Once they’re aboard the train, the children ask to see the boy’s gift, but, because of an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction (a hole in the pocket of his pajamas), he discovers that it has gone missing, creating an element of suspense for the reader.  Heartbroken, the boy returns home and opens his gifts under the tree the next morning…  Will he ever find the bell?  You’ll just have to read the book to find out the ending that you most likely already know.  (Read the book…the movie is a bit of overkill in my humble opinion.)

Chris Van Allsburg both wrote and illustrated The Polar Express.  He creates somewhat realistic settings with a touch of magic with his words and artwork.  Each page comes alive with movement and color.  I particularly love the illustrations of the interior of the train.  Each character is endowed with a life and personality.  Even though the pictures are still, I can just see the children excitedly chattering and squirreling around the train car while chefs and waiters cheerfully serve hot chocolate (not even worrying about whether the kids will knock over the huge urn and cups!).  The North Pole is a vibrant hub of Christmas activity, and the boy’s home is warm and loving.  What is exceptionally lovely is that, while every page contains huge illustrations that complement the text, the last page contains only one small rendering of a silver jingle bell and a short paragraph that illustrates the theme of the book simply urging readers to keep the spirit of childhood, the belief in Santa Claus, and the beauty of Christmas alive even as reality and strains of life may pull us down.  It made me tear up just a little bit!

Would I recommend The Polar Express?  Heck yes I would!  Millions of readers can’t be wrong.  This is the kind of book that makes me look forward to having children and starting a special tradition of reading it on Christmas Eve.  While infants wouldn’t have a clue what’s going on, I know that even my 3-year-old-niece sits still for this one, so I might try starting reading this one to a two-year-old (TRY being the operative word) and continue until they stop hearing the sweet sound of Santa’s silver bell…which is hopefully never.

BIG Question: How does Chris Van Allsburg create suspense throughout The Polar Express?     

Works Cited

Clark, B. (Director). (1983). A christmas story [Film]. Los Angeles: MGM.     

A Good Day

Henkes, K. (2007). A good day. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Kevin Henkes’s delightful picture book  for very young children A Good Day follows a series of colorful animal characters (a little yellow bird, a little brown squirrel, a little orange fox, and a little white dog) and a little girl through what begins as a bad day, as defined by a string of unfortunate events, but that turns “good” when good fortune comes their way.  In contrast to Lilly’s Big Day’s slightly more complicated word choice and sentence structure and more elaborate plot, A Good Day’s large typeface and extremely simple word choice and sentence structure make the book perfect for adults to read to toddlers.   Nearly every page where text appears contains only one short sentence, and even the illustrations are drawn to contain a large depiction of each of the animals and the little girl in their uncomplicated settings.  Colors are bold, and lines are thick, but Henkes manages to capture the emotions of each moment. 

I explained in the blog below for Lilly’s Big Day why I chose these books by Kevin Henkes and found this one to be an interesting one to use as a comparison piece.  While Lilly’s Big Day had a more complex plot and matching illustrations that would work well for young elementary-age students (K-2), A Good Day was clearly written to appeal to slightly younger eyes.  Because the animals are all different colors, the book not only teaches the lesson that even the worst day can turn out to be “a good day” with a little change in perspective, but it also teaches children colors and helps them learn to decode the words that correspond with the color.  It can appeal to many ages, so I will recommend this book to my sister-in-law as one that she could read with 3 year-old.  Perhaps, her oldest daughter, a six-year-old, might even be able to read it to her little sister!  It might be a fun sister bonding experience. 

While A Good Day is a great book for young children to read and learn from, it was a tough one to think of a way that I might be able to use it in my Pre-AP Sophomore English class…maybe I could use it to demonstrate the basic simple sentence then ask students to elaborate on the sentence, adding more and more detail to make it more complex for an older audience.  Such musings lead to my BIG QUESTION…Using the illustration on the facing page as inspiration, how can you make the sentence about the little yellow bird’s misfortune more complex by adding descriptive words and phrases?

Lilly's Big Day

Henkes, K. (2006). Lilly’s big day. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

When Lilly’s teacher Mr. Slinger announces to his class that he will soon marry the school nurse, Ms. Shotwell, Lilly excitedly assumes she’ll be the flower girl.  Her dreams are dashed when Mr. Slinger informs her that his niece Ginger will be taking on that job, but, to make her feel better, he asks Lilly if she’d be willing to act as Ginger’s assistant.  Lilly somewhat reluctantly agrees.  At the wedding, an interesting turn of events occurs that places Lilly in an important role, but you’ll just have to read Lilly’s Big Day to find out what happens!

Henkes provides a writing style that is easy to read but not “dumbed down,” using words that might be familiar to early elementary school students.   He uses simple dialogue and parallel structure to draw his readers in whether they’re reading aloud or silently.  As a high school teacher, I don’t really know how much I could actually use this book in my classroom (my kids might be a tad insulted at first), but I might be able to use it to teach parallel structure – how to write it and to illustrate why it’s effective for readers of all ages.    

Complementing the text are the charming, cartoon-style watercolor and black pen illustrations for Lilly’s Big Day that are the creation of author Kevin Henkes.  As is the case with the definition of picture books, the illustrations do more than just reiterate the events of the plot.  They add to the plot of the story and flesh out the mouse characters through clever facial expressions, colorful settings, and additional dialogue within the pictures.  Some of my favorite moments occur when an unnamed little boy mouse in Lilly’s class reacts with, “Yuck!” when Mr. Slinger announces his engagement then remarks in a later illustration, “I’m never getting married.”  It’s little details like this that made this book so enjoyable to read.       

I have no children of my own and, as mentioned above, I teach high school, but, when I told my sisters-in-law that I was taking a course in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, they asked that I keep an eye out for books that they could share with their kids, my nieces and nephews.  In my selections of books, then, I have been on the lookout not only for young adult literature for my students but also for excellent children’s book ideas for them.  To be honest, the primary reason I chose to read this particular book is that it was mentioned in our text for the course and was one of several others listed by the same author and it fit the age-group of a few of my nieces and nephews.  I figured that, if this author had written so many books that had been recommended by people who know great children’s literature, he must be excellent!  I certainly was not disappointed, and I will most definitely share this book with the moms in my family for all the reasons above, but also because of its valuable themes of friendship, support, and understanding and grace when things don’t quite go your way.  Also, I wanted to read several books by the same author so that I could compare his style across different texts, as recommended on our course syllabus.  My next blog post will actually deal with another one of Kevin Henkes’s books.

BIG QUESTION for the little ones: When in your life have you had an experience that someone else got to do something that you wanted to do?  How did you handle it?  After reading Lilly’s Big Day, how might you handle it differently?

BIG QUESTION for older students: How do the illustrations add to the plot and characterization in Lilly’s Big Day?

Introduction

Hi everyone!  I’m Kate Hendrix (Katharine on the chat and discussion board, but no one actually calls me that). Before moving to Kentucky, I lived at the South Jersey shore and taught English, Theatre, and TV Broadcasting at Middle Township High School in Cape May County.  Oh, and it’s not THAT Jersey Shore…we actually know how to speak in South Jersey!  My husband is from Kentucky, so we moved here to our home in Rockcastle County a few years ago and got a Great Pyrenees puppy (Porter).  I’ve been teaching English, Theatre, and Humanities and directing the Fall Play and One Act Competition Team at Madison Central High School in Richmond, KY for 4 years.  In my 8 years of teaching, I’ve never actually taught the exact same load of classes.  This year, I had the pleasure of teaching Pre-AP English II in addition to my more familiar Intro to Theatre classes, and I hope I get to stick with it!  Never before have I encountered so many intelligent, motivated, and enjoyable students in one school year. 

As far as reading is concerned, I tend to choose to read “fluffy” books when I have the opportunity to select something to read for enjoyment.  As an English teacher, much of my time is spent previewing books for my classes.  My favorites are detective and/or legal dramas and historical fiction, but I’ve recently discovered The Hunger Games trilogy, departing completely from my usual preferences.

Outside of teaching and reading, I love cooking, travelling, participating in local theatre when I have a chance, and cheering for my Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies.  One of the conditions of moving away from the local Philadelphia TV market was that we would get NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV so I could watch my Eagles every Sunday!

I’m very much looking forward to discovering young adult literature to include in my high school curriculum, but I’d also like to find some great books for my students to read for fun.  If they don’t already enjoy reading, I’m hoping to find something that could reignite that spark!