And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

I just finished reading And Tango Makes Three. I thought this book was a cute book. 

The illustrations, by Henry Cole, are absolutely beautiful. 

I can see why this book would be considered controversial. It is the story of a small penguin family at the zoo. Tango, the baby penguin, is the first penguin at the zoo with two daddies.

I can also see the positive side of this book. This would be a good way to explain or introduce a child to homosexuality. Although, our beliefs do not always align with the beliefs of others, we still have to love those individuals. This book could be used as a gateway to teach tolerance and many other character education traits that are important. Many students in our school systems are growing up with two mommies or two daddies. It is now much more common for children to live a life like Tango. So as times change, we have to change with them. 

While this book is controversial, it is often still included in several public and elementary libraries. 

Historical Fiction and Informational Text

Historical fiction and informational text are two important components to teaching history effectively. Using historical fiction often helps students be able to relate to the material easier. The book Future Slave by Pandra Seluvanov  is a fictional book about slavery. Although it is fictional, it is realistic and would provide an opportunity for students to understand slavery from the viewpoint of a teenager. Using informational text is a great way to reinforce reading skills while teaching students history. Informational text can be used in any phase of the lesson. I personally, think it  works great as an extension of the lesson. I love to have a broad topic selected, and allow students to find a nonfiction book under that topic umbrella and venture out to research on their own. 

Here's the link to Future Slave by Pandra Seluvanov

At this time, it is only available as a Kindle edition.

(http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Pandra%20Selivanov&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank)

Man of Steel v. The Giver

If you have not read The Giver and plan to- stop reading now.

If you have not seen Man of Steel and plan to- stop reading now. 

I watched the new Superman movie tonight... and as I was watching it, I thought of The Giver. Now, it's been a while since I read The Giver, and I'm not a huge Superman guru- so be patient. 

Without going into too much detail...

In the movie, Kal is given a choice to save his "people" or save Earth. The planet Kal was born on, Krypton, reminds me of the world described in The Giver. On Krypton, babies are born with a predetermined destiny, or purpose for their planet. Just as Jonas was chosen to be the Receiver of Memory. In the book, Jonas is given a choice- to change the world. In the movie, Kal is given the same choice. 

I just found it interesting that two seemingly unrelated pieces could be so similar. 

A year ago, none of this would have crossed my mind- I guess some of this Library Media stuff is sinking in after all! :) 

Challenged Books

According to ALA:

A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported. We estimate that for every reported challenge, four or five remain unreported. Therefore, we do not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges.

A book can be challenged, but not banned. Challenging a book is just attempting to remove the book from the collection.

Here's the Top Ten of 2012 List:

Out of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

Some of the books on this list, in my opinion, should be challenged. When Fifty Shades of Grey was published, I must admit, I began reading it. It seemed like everywhere I went the book was being promoted in some form. I began reading this book, and had to stop. I attend a very relaxed Baptist church, yet my preacher still felt so strongly about this book that he preached an entire sermon about it. I heard several ladies talking about buying a Kindle- just to read this book. They were too ashamed for anyone to see them physically holding the book. As a general rule of thumb- if you're too ashamed to hold the book, you probably shouldn't be reading it! I think this book offers women an escape, and that is why it is so appealing to them.

Other books, such as the Captain Underpants series, seem okay to me. There comes a point in a child's life, that they have to know right from wrong. It is the job of parents and other adults, to instill values in the children. All of my life, I knew right from wrong, and I never let a book influence my choices in a negative way.

I think it is SO IMPORTANT that parents or guardians be involved in their child's reading interests. As a parent, if you do not feel comfortable with your child reading a book, you need to do what you feel is right. On the other hand, at some point, that child will have to make decisions for themselves.

Again, all of this is a matter of opinion. Each family's values and beliefs will influence they way they feel about this topic.

Edwards Award Winning Author- S.E. Hinton

I chose S.E. Hinton from the list of Edwards Award Winning Authors because I love her work! I love the realistic approach that she takes. I think she provides students with literature that they can relate to and love. I also found it exciting that she was the first recipient of the award! 

Directly from www.ala.org: 

Susan Eloise Hinton is the first recipient of the YASD/ SLJ Author Achievement Award. This award was created to honor an author whose work has been taken to heart by young adults over a period of years, providing an "authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives." S.E. Hinton's books have shown, over the past twenty-one years, the "lasting ability to speak to the young adult experience, to help reader to become more aware of themselves and of the world around them."

In presenting this award to S.E. Hinton for The Outsiders; That Was Then This Is Now; Rumble Fish and Tex, the Young Adult Services Division recognizes that these books provide a window through which young adults can view their world. In them a young adult may explore the need for independence and simultaneously the need for loyalty and belonging, the need to care for others, and the need to be cared for by them.

In recognition of her outstanding contribution to literature for young adults, we present the first Young Adult Services Division/School Library Journal Author Achievement Award to S.E. Hinton.

Author Study

I have spent several hours studying three exceptional authors! Below are some of the most popular books by these authors! Eric Carle typically writes and illustrates children's picture books. Kate DiCamillo writes children's fictional literature, usually easy chapter books or novels. Both of their books often focus around animals, a love of most children. S.E. Hinton is a different type of writer. Although she writes books geared for young adults, some of her books have been banned from school. She writes from a realistic point of view and that is sometimes frowned upon. Her books do not always end with a "happy ending."
I have read books by all of these authors and find them all three to be phenomenal!

Eric Carle

Kate DiCamillo

S.E. Hinton