The pull of the ocean

Mourlevat , Jean-Claude. Translated from the French by Y. Maudet. 2006. The pull of the ocean (L'enfant ocean in French). New York : Delacorte Press.

Plot Summary
A rural France setting, a quest to reach the ocean, and a group of seven brothers, as three sets of twins plus small mute brother, Yann. This story is simple, beautiful and poetic. Yann is understood by his brothers as being intuitive and able to communicate although he lacks speech. The parents feel he is stupid that is why he doesn't speak. The book follows the journey of these seven brothers running away from their parents in the middle of the night, because Yann talks them into it. Throughout the book, the reason for them leaving is unclear and its hinted that perhaps Yann overheard the father mentioning that he would kill them (but was really referring to the new litter of kittens just born in the barn). They run away to the ocean and eventually end up confined in a beach home holding onto to life and each other. The conclusion finds them reaching out to their parents for help, however Yann follows his heart not his brothers.

Critical Analysis
This book had some fantastic qualities that made it shine and clearly major reasons why it won the ALA Batchelder Award and the Prix Sorcieres, the prestigious French award. It highlights unique qualities of twins, poor children in rural France, and the complex emotions of runaway children. The story is loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale, Tom Thumb by Charles Perrault. Yann is extremely small, however not nearly as small as a thumb in Tom Thumb's case. Several versions of the tale include the mother and father with three sets of twins, and a small brother that is often referred as stupid or mute. Most of the more common versions of Tom Thumb however, have his character being an only child brought to a barren couple by King Arthur's Merlin the Wizard. The character of Tom is often courageous, adventurous and clever, but not particularly intuitive, intelligent or mute.

Each chapter shares a different voice, not only the boys and their parents, but also people they encounter. The author caters the narrative to each of these voices by using appropriate vernacular and references. The method is effective enabling the reader to experience the same situations among the different characters involved while still allowing the story to flow forward in a constant manner. The entire journey has depth from this method as well, giving the reader insight into not only what the boys were feeling and doing, but how they were being perceived by each other and others they encountered. Only slight reference is made to the country of origin, France. More attention is made to the rural aspect and the poverty and wealth of the people and family.

Review excerpts
"Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly real and the make-believe, with the latter tipping the balance as this effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale comes to a close." - Publishers Weekly

"A well-crafted mystery awaits anyone reading this fabled jigsaw puzzle." - Robyn Gioia, School Library Journal

Reviews accessed at http://www.amazon.com/Pull-Ocean-Jean-Claude-Mourlevat/dp/0385733488/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4603087-1901504?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181692674&sr=8-1

Connections

Various versions of Charles Perrault's Tom Thumb exist
Mayer, Marianna. 2001. The Adventures of Tom Thumb. New York: SeaStar Books.
Another version available online at http://http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault08.html

Hesse, Karen. 2001. Witness. New York: Scholastic Press.
This book was written in the same method with different characters voicing their perspective of the situation. You could create a lesson about composing stories in this "patchwork quilt" manner. One situation as seen by many different eyes. The writer needs to be especially conscious of using appropriate language, perspective (based on personal experiences), and relationships based on each character's chapter.

Neufeld, John. 1996. Gaps in stone walls. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
This book includes a main character who is also mute, that runs away after being suspected of murder on Martha's Vineyard. You could include this book with Pull when creating a lesson discussing the emotions of runaway children, as well as those who struggle to communicate without speech.

Linnea's Windowsill Garden

Bjork, Christina and Lena Anderson. 1978. Linnea’s Windowsill Garden. Stockholm: R&S Books.

Plot Summary

Linnea is not only the name of a flower, but also the name of Bjork and Anderson’s green-thumbed main character. In Linnea’s Windowsill Garden we learn all of the creative ways that an “asphalt flower” can grow plants in a city apartment. This fantastic adventure follows approximately 10 year old Linnea, a young girl who grows plants from simple kitchen ingredients (citrus seeds, split peas, carrot tops), using basic house items (newspaper, bottles, glass jars and baskets) and amateur horticulturist techniques. Linnea gets her ideas from a retired gardener friend, Mr. Bloom, who wears a vest and slippers, and reads the paper while Linnea sits on his couch in her apron with bare feet up.

Critical Analysis

The authors use Linnea as an instrument for introducing creative ways a young city kid can garden. They present concepts in horticulture science (germinating seeds, as well as technical terms like stamen and stigmas), introduce vegetable & fruit-from-plant connections, and environmental science basics of solar energy, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll processes. The illustrations and conversations between the two characters provide an accessible format delighting readers age 6 to 60. This is one of the reasons why I first picked this book at a used book store nearly ten years ago. I gave me clever ideas on how to grow kitchen plants from the food I already had in my fruit baskets. I learned a recipe for garden-cress cheese, how to grow a mini-terrarium, how to identify basic problems and treatments and when to replant my root-bound spider plants.

Aside from a picture of the linnea flower Swedish stamp from 1978, the authors make no mention of their country of origin or city where Linnea’s garden grows. Mr. Bloom and Linnea appear to have a teacher/student as well as neighbor/friend relationship as Linnea learns about different houseplant bugs and ways to get rid of them from the older friend.

Although the pencil drawings in black, white and green appear childlike, the page layout is more like a how-to pamphlet or gardening gazette than a children’s picture book. This book will not only appeal to young girls, but others as well because of the gardener Mr. Bloom’s gender and age. It also promotes, if subtly, having friendships with those of different generations that can teach and share common interests.

Review Excerpts

"For all her enthusiasm, Linnea is wise enough to have realistic expectationsflowers don't always bloom by the book, and every now and then there may be setbacks. But her zeal is infectious; readers will be looking around the house for seeds they can press into soil or coax into germination." - Publishers Weekly

"This is fun! Bjork offers a lively, chatty romp through indoor gardening with a grinning Linnea as guide, and a grandfatherly Mr. Bloom offering steady advice when needed." - School Library Journal

Connections

This book is a fantastic contributor to a classroom gardening lesson. Children can learn about community gardens, simple plant structures, and relationships with food and gardening friends in these other two books for the same age:

Stewart, Sarah. 1997. The Gardener. New York : Farrar Straus Giroux

Fleischman, Paul. 1997. Seedfolks. New York : HarperCollins.

Possum Magic

Fox, Mem. Illustrated by Julie Vivas. 1983. Possum Magic. Adelaide: Omnibus Books.

Plot Summary

Possum Magic delights readers with the tale of a young possum, Hush and her grandmother possum, Grandma Poss. The grandmother has magical abilities to alter the animals from their natural state into different colors, smaller, and whimsical versions of themselves. She performs her bush magic on Hush rendering her invisible to the other animals. Unhappy with her state, her Grandma Poss and Hush embark on a quest to find the cure for Hush’s invisibility. They adventure on bike to the far cities of the country experimenting with uniquely Australian cuisine for a cure eventually determining that a little of everything does the trick.

Critical Analysis

This was Fox’s attempt to write a “very Australian book”. Set in Australia, Fox introduces animals unique to the continent including wombats, kookoburras, dingoes, and emus. The rhyming whimsical tale is one a child who has never set foot in Australia can appreciate and enjoy.

The main characters are personified in dress (clothes, glasses, shoes) and actions (reading, brushing teeth, riding a bike, and watching a movie). The rest of the animals in the story are all seen in their natural animal ways (undressed, eating eucalyptus leaves, etc). The author’s intention seems to be more about highlighting Australian animals, food, and geography, then in an underlying message. Although, one can simply deduce that the young child finds that being invisible, or rather unnoticed by the other animals, is not as desirable as being seen.

The illustrations support simple verses on each page, with muted colors and a simple find-the-possum adventure for the very young. This book surely delights a child who has been to Australia or would simply like to learn a little about the food and animals. It is just as accessible for the young reader who likes to read stories of a journey, as those who have a bond with their grandmother, or simply enjoy tales about characters with tails. Recommended.

First published in 1983, Possum’s Magic gives a glimpse at the beginnings of the published authorship of Mem Fox. On her website http://www.memfox.net, we learn many interesting facts about the author. She was born in Melbourne, grew up in Zimbabwe and schooled in England. The daughter of missionary parents, she eventually married and returned to South Australia in 1970, where she resides today. Fox mentioned that one of the interesting aspects of publishing children’s books is the fact that the publishers most often select the illustrator, contrary to what most may think. The importance of allying an appropriate illustrator with an author’s verse cannot be overstated in picture book publications. Oftentimes, Fox’s illustrators are not Australian.

Review Excerpts

“Although the characters, locales, and vocabulary are thoroughly Australian, Possum Magic has universal appeal. Fox chooses her words carefully, making readers believe that certain foods just might be magical”. –Jeanette Larson, School Library Journal

Connections

Any unit or lesson introducing Australia would be strengthened by this (and several other Mem Fox picture books). For this lesson one could include other whimsical Aussie tales such as the classic Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie: their adventures wonderful by May Gibbs, the favorite Sometimes I like to curl up in a ball by Vicki Churchill or the ALA Notable Children’s Book Diary of a wombat by Jackie French.

For the Possum Magic history, a Q & A with the author, and Possum recipes of the Aussie foods mentioned in the story go to http://www.memfox.net/possum-magic.html.

Greetings

Reading is one of the main things I do. Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievable healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.

Nora Ephron I feel bad about my neck, and other thoughts on being a woman.