Module 10/ August 8-11/ Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Bibliographic Citation: Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. New York: Graphix,

Summary: Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. One night after Girl Scouts, she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth in the process. Thus begins a long and frustrating dental journal with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached.  All these dental problems affect how Raina feels about herself and her appearance until she finally discovers who she really is and finds out what true friendship means.

Reviews: “Gr 5 Up--When she was in sixth grade, Telgemeier tripped while running and lost her two front teeth. In the years that followed, she went through a torturous series of dental surgeries and repairs, the trauma of which was mirrored by the social struggles she experienced during her adolescence. A minor complaint is that there is no mention of when all of this took place, and readers may be puzzled by seeming anachronisms such as old-school Nintendo games. Telgemeier's full-color artwork is confident and light, and her storytelling is appropriately paced. This straightforward and entertaining autobiographical comic is sure to please.” Davey, D. P. (2010). Smile. School Library Journal, 56(3), 186. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

“The dental case that Telgemeier documents in this graphic memoir was extreme: a random accident led to front tooth loss when she was 12, and over the next several years, she suffered through surgery, implants, headgear, false teeth, and a rearrangement of her remaining incisors. Accompanying the physical treatment came social rough spots with friends, while puberty delivered another set of curveballs with crushes, maturing bodies, and changing family expectations and judgments. Both adults and kids— including various dental professionals and younger siblings—are vividly and rapidly portrayed, giving quick access to the memoirist’s world. Telgemeier’s storytelling and full-color cartoony images form a story that will cheer and inspire any middle-schooler dealing with orthodontia. At the same time, she shows how her early career choice as an animator took root during this difficult period—offering yet another gentle reminder that things have turned out fine for the author and can for her readers as well.” Goldsmith, F. (2009). Smile. Booklist, 106(8), 37-38. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

 Personal Impressions: I’ve had my own share of dental problems so I felt I could relate rather well to this story. Of course, I personally haven’t had any teeth knocked out but I’ve dealt with braces (twice) and headgear. This is another story about growing up and just wanting to be accepted. The graphics are fun and the story is one many teens can relate to. The story also has some funny moments that make you smile. The twists and turns that the author had to deal with is almost enough to make you want to give up if you were her and yet she took it in stride. It’s almost hard to believe that this all happened to one person.

Suggestions for Use: This is a great novel for teens. It is a great book for discussing individuality and accepting yourself for who you are as well as what it means to be a true friend. I would also recommend this to any teen that recently got braces as a way to cheer them up and make them feel better. They may think they have it bad until they read this novel.  

Module 10/August 8-11/Maus: a survivor’s tale and Maus II: a survivor’s tale by Art Spiegelman

Bibliographic Citation: Spiegelman, Art. (1986). Maus: a survivor’s tale.: my father bleeds history. New York: Pantheon Books. 

Spielgeman, Art. (1991). Maus II: a survivor’s tale: and here my troubles began. New York: Pantheon Books.

Summary: This is a two volume biography of Vladek Spiegelman, Art’s father, who was a Polish Jew and a Holocaust survivor.  The stories alternate between Vladek’s descriptions of Poland before and during World War II and his life in Rego Park in New York City.  Part 1 introduces Vladek Speigelman and his life up until the gates of Auschwitz. Part 2 explains Vladek’s life in Auschwitz and after the war was over.

Reviews:  “Gr 9 Up --These Pulitzer Prize-winning books use the seemingly innocent art form of the comic strip to underscore the horror and depravity of the Jewish Holocaust as well as examine Spiegelman's tenuous relationship with his father, a survivor of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. To great effect, the artist symbolically uses cats to characterize the Nazis who imprison and annihilate the Jewish "mice." A powerful companion to any World War II curriculum.”  Fazioli, C. (2003). Maus: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History/Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began (Book). School Library Journal, 49(11), 84. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

“YA- Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story.” Keeler, R. G. (1987). Maus (Book Review). School Library Journal, 33(9), 124. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

                                                         

“Art Spiegelman has done it again. He has managed to take the simplest of art forms, the cartoon, and use to it to delineate complex and subtle relationships and themes. In his first work, Maus--recent winner of a special Pulitzer Prize -- Spiegelman outlined his father Vladek's harrowing experiences during the Holocaust. The entire book is done in cartoon format with the Jews portrayed as mice and the Nazis as predatory cats. In Maus 11, Spiegelman continues his father's story, but focuses also on his own personal need to establish a relationship with his father, who is an emotionally suffocating, physically aging, consummate user of guilt. Indeed, guilt plays a prominent role in this story- Vladek's guilt at having survived the camps, Spiegelman's guilt about his inability to care for his father the way he thinks he should, and the guilt they both share over the suicide of Anja, Spiegelman's mother. This is truly a story about survivors, survivors of wars, both mental and physical. Spiegelman never shrinks from his painfully difficult mix of emotions. The story is as haunting as the plaintive eyes of the mice on the book's cover. This is an important story for everyone to read; it gives insight not only into the experience of the Holocaust itself, but also into its far-reaching effects on the generation to follow. By using the medium of the cartoon, Spiegelman has offered those insights to readers who might not normally be exposed to them. In so doing, he has raised both the history of the Holocaust and the art form of the cartoon to heights they have not known before. Highly Recommended.(*)

(*) should be included in all collections.” Romm, D. (1992). Reviews: Nonfiction [Review of the book Maus II: a survivor’s tale; my father bleeds history. Book Report, 11(2), 56. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Personal Impressions: My older brother passed these  graphic novels on to me, knowing that I plan to be a youth librarian and need the expose to a variety of books. I was pleased when I saw them on the Reading List. I chose to include both books in this blog post because I felt I can’t talk about one without the other. Together both volumes tell the tragedy and horror of the Holocaust and the struggles and hardships one survivor had to endure. It’s hard to even imagine what people had to go through. I thought the author’s idea to turn the characters into animals gives the reader a fresh perspective on the events that took place. In the book, the Jews are mice, the Nazi’s are cats, and the Americans are dogs.  It’s a horribly tragic story on a horrific event.

Suggestions for Use:  These novels are a great addition to a collection of books on the Holocaust.  The graphic novelization gives a whole new perspective on such event and is one way to interest readers who might not otherwise be interested in such topics.