This week we read books from the following categories:
Graphic Novels
Often Censored/challenged books
I'll be sharing about these two: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale and Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison.
Hale, S. (2008). Rapunzel's Revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
I was not a big fan of graphic novels before this unit, but I've grown to love them! Rapunzel's Revenge is a fun twist on the classic fairy tale. Rapunzel finds out when she's about 12 that she was stolen from her mother when she was a baby - Mother Gothel has held her captive in her lush villa while Rapunzel's real mother has been slaving away in the mining town outside the villa walls. Rapunzel also learns that Mother Gothel had her father killed for stealing rapunzel leaves from Mother Gothel's garden (thus, her name) before she was born. When Rapunzel confronts Mother Gothel, she is banished to a high tree in the forest - the tree provides food in abundance, and Rapunzel's hair and nails grow super long, but she is miserable. When her hair finally gets long enough to lasso a nearby tree, Rapunzel escapes. She teams up with a boy named Jack and vows to find her real mother and expose the evil deeds of Mother Gothel. Her braid swinging, kick-boxing, independent streak is very entertaining and really shakes up what we used to "know" about this character!
The Hales (husband, wife, and unrelated illustrator) have done a great job with this alternate-fairy tale! Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor comes out when the text is read along side the illustrations - simply reading the words would not give this full view, so even though some critics assert that kids like these books because they don't have to "think" when they read them, I'd argue that they "think" more since they're absorbing both illustration and text to "create" the story. This one would be appropriate for middle or high school and would even be good as a teacher-led, or small-group read aloud for younger grades.
Following are reviews from Kirkus and Through the Looking Glass:
RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE (reviewed on August 1, 2008)
A beloved fairy tale gets a glossy graphic-novel makeover, reworked in a fanciful Old West setting. Rapunzel lives an idyllic life in Mother Gothel’s verdant villa until she dares question her about what lies beyond the outer wall. Her curiosity leads her to uncover the shocking truth about her past, resulting in her subsequent isolation in a faraway tower. Propelled by her strong desire to see Gothel brought to justice for her misdeeds, she escapes and embarks upon a journey to seek the truth. Along the way, she meets up with Jack (of beanstalk fame) and faces enemies of epic proportions, including sea serpents and a pack of murderous coyotes. The Hales apply a new twist (or three) to the classic tale, creating a strong, sassy, braid-whipping character who waits for no prince. Nathan Hale’s art, stylistically reminiscent of a picture book, provides a snazzy counterpoint to the folksy text. A dash of typical fairy-tale romance, a strong sense of social justice and a spunky heroine make this a standout choice for younger teens. (Graphic fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59990-070-4
Page count: 144pp
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Rapunzel's Revenge
Shannon Hale , Dean Hale
Illustrator: Nathan Hale
Graphic Novel
For ages 10 and up
Bloomsbury, 1995 ISBN: 978-1599902883
For as long as she can remember Rapunzel has lived a charmed life with Mother in a beautiful villa. As she gets older she begins to wonder what might be on the other side of the villa's high garden walls, and though she is told not to try to look over them, Rapunzel's curious spirit will not let her be. So one day she finds away to get over the wall and past Mother's guards, and what she sees dismays her. There is desolation and misery all around. Not only that, but Rapunzel meets a ragged beaten down woman who turns out to be her real mother. Apparently the woman Rapunzel calls mother is a witch called Gothel, who holds the people who live on the land around her villa in her cruel magical grip.Illustrator: Nathan Hale
Graphic Novel
For ages 10 and up
Bloomsbury, 1995 ISBN: 978-1599902883
Once Rapunzel knows who she really is she refuses to be pliant any longer, and Gotha has her imprisoned in a huge magical tree far away. Rapunzel grows into a young woman, and her red hair also grows until it is so long that Rapunzel is able to use her braids to escape her prison. Though she has nothing with her other than her courage, her wits, and her considerable fighting skills, Rapunzel decides that she must do what she can to free her mother. And so her adventures begin in earnest.
This clever and compelling take on the Rapunzel fairy tale is sure to delight readers who have a fondness for graphic novels, high adventure, the Wild West, romance, and magic. The tale is often funny, and it is interesting to see how the characters evolve. Not only that, but characters from other fairy tales and tall tales also make an appearance in the story. With her pluck and her superlative fighting abilities, Rapunzel is the kind of girl everyone can admire.
This is an interesting new avenue for Shannon Hale, who brought us Enna Burning and Princess Academy, and it is her first collaboration with her husband Dean Hale on a major project.
Nathan Hale's rich, expressive, and colorful illustrations perfectly compliment the exciting and unpredictable text.
http://lookingglassreview.com/books/rapunzels-revenge
Rennison, L. (2000). Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
If you need a good laugh, read this book! Georgia is a teenager in England who owns a huge cat named Angus (he likes to stalk the neighbor's poodle and eats just about anything he finds, including his leash), has a little sister who pees in her bed and has poop explosions at the public school, has boy-obsessed friends, and has fallen in love with a boy named Robbie whom she lovingly refers to as The Sex God. This is like the teenage version of the Bridget Jones' series - very British and very funny! Some readers may be offended that Georgia and her friends frequently worry that they will become lesbians since they are having such bad luck with boys, but when they confess that they really don't even know what the word means or what lesbians "do", it becomes clear that it's just word they toss around (much like creep, weirdo, square, or a zillion other teenage terms from over the years) without any offensive/mean feelings behind it (those emotions are usually behind the term tosser - you can check out Georgia's glossary if you're not familiar with that one!). Basically, this is just a humorous look at the life (and thought processes) of a teenage girl as she tries to navigate through that awkward time known as puberty.
I would recommend this for either middle school or high school readers. Some parents may find some of the terms offensive, but taken as a whole, the book is meant to be light hearted and funny, so if it were challenged, my guess is suggesting a full read would halt the challenge process. There's a lot of opportunity for conversations about boy-girl relationships, talking about what being a lesbian really means, and the ups and downs of friendships. There's also a lot that could be discussed in regard to family dynamics. Fun read!
Here are some reviews from Through the Looking Glass and School Library Journal:
Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Georgia Nicolson has a pretty normal life. She goes to school, she has a best friend, her parents are an embarrassment, and she thinks her teachers are on the planet to make her life a misery. Pretty normal teenage stuff. Of course, Georgia does have her own quirky personal crises going on. She thinks she is ugly and that her nose is too big. Her little sister sometimes pees in Georgia’s bed, and Georgia has humiliated herself by dressing up as a stuffed olive for a costume party. In addition, there is Angus, Georgia’s wildcat that terrorizes the neighbor’s poodle. No one really knows what to do with him.Georgia stumbles along worrying about the first day of school, her looks, and other teenage preoccupations. Then everything gets a lot more complicated. It begins when Georgia’s friend Jas falls for Tom, a boy who works at a local shop. Georgia goes to the shop with Jas one day – so that Jas can ‘accidentally’ run into Tom - and she meets Tom’s brother, a “Sex God” who makes Georgia feel weak at the knees. Suddenly Georgia’s deficiencies in the looks department and her lack of experience with boys become a huge problem. Trying to win the Sex God is now one of the most important things in Georgia’s life.
Georgia starts taking kissing lessons, and she tries to find ways to make herself more alluring. She spies on the girl the Sex God is going out with, and she dreams about what it would be like to be the Sex God’s girlfriend. Will Georgia’s dreams come true, or will she have to settle for being a nun?
In this hilarious book, we get to meet an English teenager who is, like most teenagers, utterly wrapped up in her own world. To Georgia, her problems with the Sex God are the most important thing ever. The whole world should be aware of the trials and tribulations that she has to deal with.
Louise Rennison has written Georgia’s story in the form of diary entries, and readers will have a hard time keeping a straight face as they follow Georgia’s triumphs and misadventures. Anyone who wonders what goes on in a teenagers head will get the shock of their life when they read about this irreverent, droll, and utterly loveable girl.
Gr 7-9-Georgia Nicolson, 14, is bursting with angst and attitude, and nothing is safe from her candid view of the dull life that surrounds her. She is fixated on her breasts (or lack of) and obsessed with boys. British slang (glossary provided) adds edgy charm to this hilarious book. Audio version available from Recorded Books.
RENNISON, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. HarperCollins. 2000. Tr $15.99. ISBN 0-06-028814-0; PLB $16.89. ISBN 0-06-028871-X; pap. $6.99. ISBN 0-06-447227-2.
Gr 7-9–The “confessions of Georgia Nicolson” include plenty of laughable situations involving disappearing eyebrows, a stuffed olive costume, and other catastrophes in the life of an unusual 14-year-old girl. But it’s Georgia’s frenetic, yet witty narration that elicits the best moments, as she ruminates on boys, death, parents, self-improvement, cats, yoga, and countless other topics. Her self-centered dramatics are fun because she describes them honestly and with fresh language peppered with slang and often unintended irony. Audio version available from Recorded Books.
Compiled by Steven Engelfried -- School Library Journal, 06/01/2005
These are both really fun books and would be great additions to library/classroom lessons. Rapunzel's Revenge is both a graphic novel and an alternate interpretation of a fairy tale, so it has multiple tie-ins. The Hale's also wrote a follow up - Calamity Jack, so there's a draw for boys there too.
Georgia's adventures are just beginning in Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging - Rennison has created a whole Georgia series, and has recently released the first book (Withering Tights) of a new series. So, these would be great to promote series books. They'd also be a great option for promoting British authors and/or stories about teenagers in England - reading literature about kids from other countries is a great way to get kids to understand that feeling, emotions, problems, etc. are universal, not unique to America.
