Module 6- Book 3 Graphic Novel

1.Bibliography
Hale,Dean and Hale,Shannon. 2008.
Rapunzel's Revenge ill.by Nathan Hale.New York,NY:Bloomsbury.ISBN:9781599902883 (pbk.)

2.Plot Summary
A strong female heroine,Rapunzel spends her childhood in the golden cage of her guardian Mother Gothel's castle. As Rapunzel grows older, she becomes more inquisitive about her beginnings and shows signs of rebellion. Her guardian, the evil Mother Gothel, then punishes Rapunzel by locking her in a magic tree house for four years. Rapunzel eventually escapes and teams up with her new friend Jack to find her real family and travel through the fairy tale wild west as she uses her hair,now grown into long braids, as a fearsome lasso.

3.Critical Analysis

The background characters and story are interesting,the plot is fast-paced and entertaining,and the setting is an intriguing twist on the old west,but what really makes this graphic novel stand out is the main character of Rapunzel. She is no wan and helpless fairytale princess, who believes that "someday my prince will come." Instead, she is a resourceful, feisty and self-reliant action heroine, who is " wanted dead or alive for horse thieving,kidnapping,jail breaking and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended." With Rapunzel,the Hales have created an unforgettable and likeable character.

The writers are sometimes less succesful at creating interesting dialogue, because the banter between Rapunzel and her sidekick Jack can come across as stale as standard dialogue from a predictable old "buddy" movie.

The superior artwork compensates for this flaw as the artist Nathan Hale succeeds in laying out the story panels in an uncluttered way with some very dramatic panoramic scenes taking up an entire page. Hale's cinematic style is perfect suited for conveying movement in the fast paced action scenes where Rapunzel whips out her long hair and uses it as a weapon.Hale also skillfully uses a varied palette of lush greens to portray the emerald green treehouse where Rapunzel is imprisoned as well as a dull range of brownish yellows to mimick the colors of the western desert.

4.Review Excerpts

School Library Journal
"The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive."

Horn Book
"Newbies may not realize how particularly well-matched the Hales' gutsy tale is to its format, but this introduction -- with its high action quotient, immediate sensory thrills, and wisecracking heroes -- should win many converts."

5.Connections

Readers who enjoy reimagined fairy tales with gutsy heroines will want to read these books:
Levine,Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted ISBN:0060275103
Minters,Frances.Sleepless Beauty ISBN:0670870331

Module 6- Book 2 Michael Printz YA Award Winner.

1. Bibliography
Marchetta,Melina.Jellicoe Road.2008.New York,NY: HarperTeen.ISBN:0061431834

2.Plot Summary
Three factions of teens, the Townies,the Cadets,and the Jellicoe students,led by their morose housemaster,Taylor Markham, plot and strategize endless and confusing war games in the Australian outback.


3.Critical Analysis
Dense,unnecesarily difficult,and utterly inaccesible,this novel will prove rewarding to only the most determined and experienced teen and adult readers. This cryptic and baffling book is possibly miscategorized as a teen novel because the complexity and structure of the novel make it better suited for college students and academic study.

4.Review Excerpts

Booklist
"The complexity of the backstory will be offputting to younger readers, but those who stick it out will find rewards in the heartbreaking twists of Marchetta’s saga."

School Library Journal
"While the novel might put off casual readers, patient, thoughtful teens will remain to extract clues from the interwoven scraps of Hannah's narrative."


5.Connections

Recommended for the most advanced students only, this book has little to draw in and capture the attention of most young adults.
However, teens who finished this novel might enjoy other difficult books about adolescent societies such as:
Golding,William.Lord of the Flies ISBN:0140283331.
Knowles,John. A Separate Peace. ISBN:0743253973

In addition,the gifted student who enjoys the experimental structure of this book might also delve into the works of Proust, Melville and Faulkner.

Module 6 Book 1 Newbery Award Winner

1.Bibliography
Gaiman,Neal.2008.The Graveyard Book.
New York,NY:Harper Collins.ISBN:978-0060530921

2.Plot Summary

A merciless killer slaughters a sleeping family,but neglects to kill a toddler sleeping upstairs in the crib. Instead,this toddler escapes into a nearby graveyard, where he is adopted by its ghostly inhabitants .Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a husband and wife buried in the cemetery, take him in and call him Nobody. "Bod",as he is later known,lives his life within the confines of the graveyard surrounded by nurturing spirits and comes of age.


3.Critical Analysis
The very dramatic opening scenes of this fantasy novel will grab readers immediately. However,the long-lasting lure of this book will stem from the fact that main character Nobody"Bod"Owens, as a living child among the dead, understands what it means to be different. Children who feel lonely and outcast will relate to his character.

Readers will also wish that they had friends like the wise, kind- hearted Silas, the flirtatious,likeable Liza Hempstock,as well as parents like the nurturing but fretful Mr. and Mrs.Owens. Children will also be enchanted by the graveyard setting. The graveyard,with its many ghostly children and other inhabitants, always seems believable because Gaiman applies a consistent internal logic to the rules of this shadowy world.In addition to the scenes in the comforting and enchanting graveyard,the novel contains other memorable scenes such as the Dance Macabrary. The communal Dance Macabray , a dance that the living and the dead share for one night,is described with memorable musical flourishes and haunting verses.

The Graveyard Book also works very effectively as an allegory for adolescence.Eventually "Bod"must come of age and leave the comforting confines of the graveyard for the real world.

However, there is one glaring weakness in the plot. The villain Jack's motivation seems weak;His ultimate motivation seems like an afterhtought.It does not
seem like a strong enough motivation to cause the murder of an entire family.

The illustrations by Dave McKean also seem unecessary and fail to make a lasting impression.

4. Connections
Readers who enjoyed the connections between a fantasy society and the real world in Gaiman's novel might like books by Terry Pratchett.
Pratchett,Terry.Bromeliad Trilogy. ISBN: 9780060094935

Older children, who are fascinated by the idea of a live boy raised by ghosts, will enjoy:
Ibbotson,Eva. The Haunting of Granite Falls. ISBN:9780525471929