Review of Professional Resource

Stevenson, Deborah. Reaching for Sun (Review). Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books - Volume 60, Number 7, March 2007, 314.

I found a review by Deborah Stevenson on Reaching for Sun, one of the books in my final text set. In her review, Stevenson says, "The plot and the characters are largely predictable, and the writing is sometimes overwrought-poems often succumb to the cliche of using their conclusions as dramatic and dramatic emotional punchlines, and the phraseology is occasionally strained or puzzling." Although I do agree with these descriptions of the book, I don't necessarily believe that they are a negative aspect as I get from the tone of Stevenson's words. This is a story about a young teenage girl living with cerebral palsy, falling in love and trying to get out from under the hand of her mother. I remember how dramatic I was at that age, and I think the author was very aware at how dramatic she was making this young girls' thoughts. I think it would be a very difficult time in a young girls' life to grow up with this physical disability; it already is a difficult time without any kind of disability! As for the predictable plot and characters, I almost think that this is good for a children's book. Some children like that kind of stability in a book, and I think that the author did a great job with both character and plot development. Personally, there was one major part in the book that I did not even expect to happen.
One point of view that I did think was very interesting in this review was when Stevenson said, "It's an emotional story for all that, with a sensitive perspective on Josie's physical difference, a difference that she sees from the outside when her grandmother struggles with her own physical limitations." When I read this book, I did not even think that Josie's grandmother's physical limitations had any relation to Josie's physical limitations. I thought this was a really great connection and it made the book a lot more meaningful for me.

Click here for Stevenson's full review

Reflection on my Text Set

Working on this project with these three books significantly opened my eyes to cerebral palsy. Before this project and reading these books, I didn't know exactly what cerebral palsy was besides that it was some form of a physical disability. The books that I chose for my set gave me a mixture of view points from children living with cerebral palsy, and gave me both the informative and emotions side of the disability. Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair actually states what causes cerebral palsy and while I know that it was a very simple explanation, it got the point across to me, and it was definitely in a way that young children would understand. Reaching for the Sun and Nathan's Wish show emotional struggles and made my heart go out to these children while I was reading them, but left me with a positive feeling at the end. These books show the emotional struggles of living with this disability, but they also show the characters building confidence and loving who they are which is very important for young children to see. I think that it is important to see both the struggles and the accomplishments of living with a disability in order to get a well-rounded understanding of what it actually entails, and I think that this text set does just that.

I also liked how the authors of these books had experience with children with this disability and others, whether it was being a special education teacher, or working at a rehabilitation center for children with physical disabilities. Although these books weren't written completely from an insiders point of view, it is still a view that readers can trust. These authors have seen these struggles and understand what comes with having this physical disability, and I think that it is great that they wrote these books in order to educate children and make them aware that this is out there. It is also great that these books show the characters with cerebral palsy living close to normal lives. I think that some children are afraid to talk to other children with physical disabilities because they think for some reason that they are completely different than them, when really they are similar in more ways than a child might think.

I feel very comfortable putting these books into my classroom library. I think that they would reach a wide range of readers because they're three completely different genres: poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. From these books, I learned that it is very important to stress to students that people with physical disabilities are just like them in more ways like us in more ways than they might think. It is important to include these children in conversation and activities just like you would any other person; just because they might not be able to move around like we do does not mean that they cannot still participate in the activity in some way. These books contain reliable information and representations of living with cerebral palsy, and I think that they could have a very positive affect on young readers, making them more informed and accepting.

Book Review #3: "Reaching for Sun"

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. Reaching for Sun. New York, NY: Bloomsbury U.S.A Children's Books, 2007.

Reaching for Sun is a story written in poetry verses about a young girl named Josie. Josie allows readers to step into her personal thoughts about her life and her disability, cerebral palsy. Readers are taken through Josie's maturation process as she falls in love, deals with the "popular kids" in school, and stands up to her mother for the first time, as she travels through a year of personal growth, self acceptance, and confidence in a brighter future.

This book is very deep and personal, and shows the emotional side of living with cerebral palsy. The book is made up of a series of poems that tell this story, which helps readers connect with Josie on a more personal level. The poems serve as a way into her thoughts and feelings, and readers get to see just how she feels and what she is thinking through each experience.
The author uses a plant metaphor to mirror Josie's disability. I thought that this was a great way to make it a little easier for young readers to understand. The metaphor painted more of a tangible picture for children that they could refer back to throughout the book. In the poem titled "like me," Josie says:
"But this spring
half the branches wear no leaves,
claimed by disease or insects.
So the bulldozers tear it from the soil
with their terrible teeth
and splatter the leaves and limbs
like garbage.

Why can't they see
that half still blooms-
like me?
(Zimmer, 82)
I thought that this way a great way of saying that just because someone has a physical limitation does not mean that you should ignore the rest of them. Just because a person cannot move as well as others does not mean that they are broken and that they should be discarded completely.

Josie's newfound friend, Jordan, is a great model of an accepting friend. In the poem titled "the question," Jordan comes right out and asks questions like, "You have cerebral palsy, don't you?" and "How did you get it?" and "What's the hardest part?" When Josie answers that last question by saying, "Everyone thinking I'm retarded," Jordan responds with,
"But Josie,
you know tons of stuff! Anybody
who talks to you at school knows that.
(Zimmer 74-750)
People who have any disability don't necessarily want people to ignore it or pretend that it doesn't exist. Jordan shows readers that it's okay to ask questions, as long as they're appropriate, and take an interest in every aspect of their lives, even their disability. That is what builds a strong friendship.
I will include this book in my classroom library. I thought that it was honest, real, entertaining, full of heart, and inspirational.

The author of Reaching for Sun, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, started off her teaching career in special education. She has worked with high school students with autism and middle school students with learning and developmental disabilities. Zimmer got the idea for this book when she was a special education teacher working with students with multiple disabilities. In an interview about Reaching for Sun, she says, "Many of my students didn't realize they were different; they were kind of blessedly unaware. But I had a few students, like Josie, who knew they were on the outside of everything. These bright kids were stuck in bodies they felt betrayed them. I witnessed their daily courage and grace. I wanted to honor them in a story."
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer's homepage

Book Review #2: "Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy"

Lears, Laurie. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 2005.

Nathan's Wish is about a boy who wants to find some way he can help his neighbor, Miss Sandy, to repay her for all of the time she spends talking with him about the injured birds that she takes care of and involving him in the processes. However, what Nathan can do for Miss Sandy it very limited because he has cerebral palsy and can't walk very well. However, with a little inspiration from a Screech Owl named Fire with a broken wing, Nathan realizes that there are many things that he can still accomplish even with his disability to be helpful to Miss Sandy.

While Nathan's Wish is not meant to be informative, it is a somewhat inspirational read for insiders who have this disability. This story shows that just because there are some things that you can't do and can't participate in doesn't mean that you are less important or useless. I have noticed a common theme in books about disabilities of the character feeling "trapped." This is a big theme in this particular book with Nathan feeling like he is not free. This story shows that there are many other options for people with physical limitations, and that those children can still make a difference in this world.

Something that I didn't like about this book was the fact that it seemed to make readers think that Nathan was not accepting of his disability. I did not understand how the title of the book fit into the story until getting towards the middle of the story. The dialog goes like this:
"Poor fire, says Miss Sandy, "She wished so badly to be free."
I turn away so Miss Sandy won't see the tears slipping down my cheeks.
I know just how it feels to wish for something that can't come true. (Lears)
This seems to show that Nathan does not like himself and wishes to be different. I don't necessarily think that this is negative because I understand that children might have these thoughts, but it might have the wrong affect on outside readers, making them think that children with this disability are unhappy and sad all of the time and always wish that they were different.

Author Laurie Lears taught special education for seven years. She has written many other children's picture books about other disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, and stuttering. She has also written a children's picture book about adoption.

Book Review #1: "Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair"

Heelan, Jamee Riggio. Illustrated by Nicola Simmonds. Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, LTD, 2000.

Rolling Along: The Story of Taylor and His Wheelchair is a picture book made for lower elementary students. This book is narrated by a boy named Taylor who has cerebral palsy, and lives his life in a wheelchair. Taylor talks about his struggles in therapy with trying to learn how to walk with a walker and how frustrating it was. Taylor soon discovers, however, that he can accomplish many activities when using his new wheelchair.

The first word that came to mind when I finished reading through this book was 'inspirational.' It is very positive and shows determination and accomplishment of a boy going through struggles that come with having cerebral palsy. I also thought it was very informative. Not only would this book be a great read for a child who is also wheelchair bound to learn from and relate to, but it's a great way for outsiders to be able to see into the mind of a child who is experiencing this disability first hand, what they go through, and what they have to consider on a day to day basis. Taylor also describes cerebral palsy himself, making readers know that he is aware of his disability and he does not mind talking about aloud and sharing his difficult times. It is both informative and easy for inside readers to relate to, portraying a tone of confidence that could possibly be contagious.

This book does not focus on only the struggles that Taylor experiences in his wheelchair, however. This book also portrays Taylor as a normal boy, one who likes to eat chocolate ice cream, wrestle, and watch the Chicago Bulls play basketball, all with his brother, Tyler (Heelan). The illustrated bodies with the real life faces make Taylor a more personable and real character who is actually surviving through his disability day by day. I thought that this was a great example of making a seemingly inconvenient disability seem positive and sometimes even fun, and would be a great addition to a classroom library for both inside and outside readers. A child could learn a lot about cerebral palsy from this book, and that other children with this disability are more like them than they think; they just get around a little differently.

Author Jamee Riggio Heelan has a degree in occupational therapy. She works at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago with a focus on pediatric rehabilitation. She has written a few other children's books with the hope of educating others about childhood disabilities.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic

I kind of took this book to have one of the same themes as Project Mulberry, and that is to embrace who you are and learn more about yourself. However, unlike Julia in Project Mulberry, I felt like Justine's issue with self identity was more resolved. She embraced her religion and found out more about it on her own, and in the end the reader could tell that she was satisfied with her choice. I personally felt much more satisfied at the end of this book. I think one of the turning points for Justine is when she receives her grandmother's necklace. I was very surprised that she began to wear it so quickly, especially with her being so confused with what religion she was going to identify with. I think that wearing the necklace made her feel closer to her grandmother and that might even be ultimately makes her choose to explore and stay with the Jewish religion. She does decide to read more up on it and visit the Center for Jewish Understanding after she reads the letter that her Bubbe leaves her. Maybe it is a way to feel connected and closer to her Bubbe.
I do believe that she was struggling more with just religion in this book. She was dealing with the loss of a close family member, she was the middle child, she had physical self-confidence issues, she had her first major crush on a boy (to make it worse, her best friend's brother), not to mention she is about to enter a very confusing stage of life: adolescence. I think that young readers could relate to this book on many different levels, and that the discussion of religion is one of may things that the main character is dealing with.
We recently had a discussion in one of my classes about how to talk about religion with your children as parents. My professor said that his personal belief, the one that he is currently following with his children, is to make sure that they are educated about various types of religions including the one that you follow. He wasn't saying to carry out religious practices other than your own, but to just make sure they are educated. Bring the child up under your religion, but understand that when they become an adult, they might decide that this religion is not for them. He said that parents should be open to this and to not force religion upon their children. I agree with this now, but I honestly don't know how I would feel as a parent. It really did surprise me that Justine's mother was the one upset while her Bubbe was very open to the idea of her converting to Catholicism. Usually elders are very "stuck in their ways," as any like to put it. But I can understand why Justine's mother would be so upset, especially since her daughter is not even 13 yet and she is already making these decisions. I would be curious to see what others thought on this topic.

The Lambda Literary Foundation Award (LLFA)-Group Post

The purpose of the Lambda Literary Foundation Award (LLFA) is to "celebrate LGBT literature and provide resources for writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, and librarians - the whole literary community." From www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html

The selection criteria is as follows:
~Books are about LGBT categories
~Author does not have to be LGBT themselves, as long as their piece of literature includes something about LGBT. Perhaps even one character.
~There are 21 different categories that book nominations fall under
~Only the author or a publisher can nominate a book.

The selection committee includes the writers themselves, booksellers, librarians, teachers, book reviewers, journalists, and/or members of the literary community. It is also stated that editors and publishers or members of the Board of Trustees may serve as a judge.

The LLFA relies on support from the literary community to connect LGBT writers and readers. Personal donations and organizations also help to fund the award.

Our group could only find 4 young adult books that had won the award. However, not all of the books' main themes were LGBT. In "Eight Seconds" by Jean Ferris, the story is not at all about LGBT, it is about bull riders and the rodeo. However, it won the award because one of the characters is gay. The other young adult books we found were "Between Mom and Jo" by Julie Anne Peters, "Express of the World" by Sara Ryan, and "The Full Spectrum" edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell. "The Full Spectrum" is a compilation of short stories that are about LGBT.

Finally, the book "Boy Meets Boy" by David Levithan is also a winner of the LLFA!