Book 3: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

 By Judy Blume

Summary

This is a book about a young girl named Margaret Simon who moves with her mother and father from the city and into a middle class neighborhood in the suburbs. She is an only child whose parents were raised in different religions: one Jewish and the other Christian. Margaret's parents do not attend any religious services and Margaret is expected to make up her own mind when she grows up. Still, Margaret often thinks about God, and in her mind, discusses many of her life's issues and worries with God. For Margaret, talking to God was a way to relieve some frustrations of family life, school, relationships and real worry about how her body is going to grow and change. One constant in the book is Margaret's wonder about when she will begin to menstruate. She does not want to be the last among her friends to begin menstruation.

Margaret makes friends with Nancy Wheeler who lives down the street and is in the same 6th grade class. While Margaret tries hard to fit in, she often emulates Nancy and believes all that Nancy tells her, even to the point of alienating another girl in the class, Laura. When the class is given an assignment to do a project about something meaningful in their lives, Margaret decides to write about religion. She attends services with her Jewish grandmother, Methodist services with one of her friends, and even tries to make confession at a Catholic church. Yet, Margaret remains confused as to where God is, unable to feel his presence in any of those places.

Impressions

Judy Blume is a writer that portrays very real life experiences for a young girl growing up. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" explains how a young girl might talk to God as if to a friend or a powerful confidant: here are my problems, can you help me figure out how to fix them? Religion can often be a touchy subject for adults, yet many do not realize how religion may play an important role in a young persons' life. Teens and pre-teens often do not know how to vocalize their problems and may not know where to turn to find the answers. Sometimes, just finding a good listener can help. In this book, Margaret speaks to God in her mind, and He usually seems to be a good listener. Young girls will find this book interesting because the story may reflect many experiences they have. Some girls may turn to this book because they may not be able to discuss some of their very personal concerns with their own parents. Sometimes home relationships may not be ideal, and parents may not know how to communicate effectively with their child, so rather than talking about growing up issues, parents may merely give commands that are not heeded by the child. This book is one that a girl who cannot talk with a parent may find some guidance or solace for their worries. The book portrays a young girl learning to cope with boys at school, building new relationships with other girls, learning how to assert independence at home, finding the courage to shop for a bra, and learning to prepare for menstruation. Judy Blume touches on many sensitive subjects in her book sometimes with laughter and sometimes with heartbreak. I found this to be an excellent book, and even at my age, I enjoyed the reading, Judy Blume has become one of my favorite authors.

Use In The Library

I would use this book as part of a "favorite author week" library program. I would gather several of her books for a table display with colorful posters that indicate some of the topics that she discusses in her books. I would use Wordle.com and create word pictures of the issues that many pre-teens find embarrassing to vocalize. I would cut out these word pictures and hang them in a mobile above the display so students will get an idea of what the books are about without having to ask.

Reviews

New York Amsterdam News

"The first time I read this book, I was in the fifth grade. I read it with interest and excitement because the sixth grade was still ahead of me and I found the characters and events that took place to be alluring. As an adult, I regard it with more nostalgia because I'm now looking back on that pre-teen period of time. One thing remains the same: I love this book now as much as I did then! Judy Blume beautifully intertwines Margaret's prayers to God with events taking place in her life, and it was great watching Margaret grow into her own person through self-discovery by the end of the story." (C.J., 2006, p. 16).

New York Times Book Review

"In 'Are You There, God?' Margaret feels left out because all her friends belong to either a church or a synagogue (Margaret is half Jewish); she tries to find a religion for herself, visiting as many houses of worship as possible in a year. No other popular book for children credits them with thinking seriously about organized religion." (Mark, 1997, p. 44).

References

Blume, J. (2011). Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. First Ember edition. New York:
     Random House Inc.

C. J. J. (2009). Go Get a Book in Your Hand! CJ's Pre-Teens: The Journey of Self-
      Discovery.  New York Amsterdam News, 100(27), 16. Retrieved from   
      http://www.amsterdamnews.com/

Mark, O. (1997). Children's books essay: Why Judy Blume Endures. New York Times 
      Book Review, 44.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html

Book 2: Frog And Toad Together

By Arnold Lobel

Summary

This is a book about two friends, Frog and Toad, and their adventures together. Each of the five short stories describe a predicament of some kind. On each page there are illustrations that help the reader visualize the story. In A List, Toad describes what he will do during the day, but when he loses his list, he becomes confused and unable to continue his day's plan. In The Garden, Toad attempts to grow a garden just like Frog's, but has difficulty understanding how. At first, he shouts at his seeds, then he reads a story, he sings, he reads a poem, and he plays music for his garden. Finally, after falling asleep from exhaustion, he is awakened by Frog who shows his friend how the seeds have begun to sprout. In the Cookies, Frog and Toad learn about will power. In their attempts to try not to eat all the cookies that Toad has made, the two friends try different ways to keep their will power strong. Eventually, Frog calls the birds to come and eat them. In Dragons and Giants, the two friends are impressed with a story of bravery that they read together. In order to prove to themselves that they too are brave, they go on an adventure. They are confronted by a snake, experience an avalanche, and a hawk tries to catch them. Each time the friends run away from their situations, they shout, "I am not afraid". In The Dream, Toad's is able to do amazing feats like playing the piano, dancing, and balancing on a high wire. While Toad is at first quite happy with his dream, he becomes worried that Frog seems to be shrinking. When Frog comes by to wake up his friend, Toad is so appreciative of his friend that they eat a big breakfast and spend a long day together.

Impressions

This is a good story for early elementary school children. The artwork is expressive of the story, although a little dark for my tastes. The author, illustrator uses shades of dark greens and browns, that do not really attract the reader. The topics for each short story are interesting for young readers. The underlying themes of friendships and daily adventures can keep a young child interested in the story.  The stories are based on common activities that most children can relate to: making a list, planting seeds, eating cookies, being afraid, and having a dream. Short enough that young readers do not struggle to finish the reading, yet interesting enough for kids to want to read it, it is easy to see why Arnold Lobel's easy readers are considered classic books.  Young readers see familiar themes and gain a feeling of accomplishment in reading a book for the first time. Each story uses emotion that young children can relate to: frustration, worry, determination, and fear. I think this book is a fine first independent reader for a school library.

Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews:  "Five more wise and wonderful stories to reaffirm the happy truth that Frog and Toad Are Friends. Again the lovely illustrations in soft green and brown depict the pair with affectionate humor as Frog and Toad test their will power on a bowl of cookies or their shaky bravery on a snake, or wait with anxious solicitation for Toad's seeds to grow. The first story, which begins with Toad waking up and making a list of "things to do today," sets a mood of anticipation that is never disappointed; the last adds unpretentious depth with Toad's dream of his own acclaimed theatrical performance while his larger friend, seated in the audience, becomes smaller and smaller and finally vanishes altogether. Toad's alarm at this point and his relief on waking up to find that Frog is still there and "his own right size" ends the beautifully handled episode on a note of enlarged affirmation" (April, 1972).

Use in The Library

I would use this book as part of a "friendship" week in the library. Books of varied reading levels about all kinds of friendships, from animals to humans can be put out on display. Students can share a story about what they do for fun with their best friends. The librarian can make little friendship bookmarks to give to students who share their stories. Students can each make up a sentence that defines what a best friend is, and the librarian can help them combine their sentences onto a poster to put on display in the library.

References

Lobel, A. (1971). Frog and Toad Together. New York. Scholastic Inc.

Kirkus Review. (1972, April 1) [Review of the book Frog and Toad together.
     Arnold Lobel].  Retrieved      

     from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arnold-lobel/frog-and-toad-together/

Book 1: On The Night You Were Born

By Nancy Tillman

Summary

This is a book that was written for very young children. The author emphasizes the uniqueness of the child and the special identity of the child's name. Each page of verse has a facing page of artwork by the author. In each page of art, the moon is always there, either with a smiling face, found behind the early morning clouds, or in the reflection on the water. Musical notes are also found in every page of artwork by the author. The musical notes are meant to be the child's name which is whispered by the wind and the rain. Animals dance to the music that is the child's name. All the animals and the elements of nature celebrate the child's birth.

Impressions

This book is not necessarily written for children to learn how to read. It was written for adults to read to their children and teaches parents how to tell children about the night they were born and how special they are. The verse is simple and the facing art helps to graphically portray the verse. Because the story is about a child's birth at night, the scenes are primarily night scenes. I think the artwork is a little too dark, which might not be attractive to little children. Adults may use this book to teach a child how unique they are, how special their birth was, and how important their name is. All of this, of course teaches the child that they are loved and cherished.

Reviews

Gillian Engberg (2006), in her review for Booklist, says that "the computer-generated, collage artwork is sometimes blurry, and some of the compositions lack clear, dramatic shapes and figures that will pull a young audience" (p. 55). Carolyn Janssen (2007) says that adults would find this book worth sharing with a child and "the dark blue night skies make a beautiful and dramatic setting for this special night. The painterly art and poetic quality of the text make this an attractive book" (p. 187). Although it is agreed that adults would appreciate the book's central theme of a child's special place in the world,

Engberg's (2006) review points out that some elements of the book may be difficult for a young child to understand. "In addition, children may miss the symbolism in the images: musical notes meant to represent the sound of a child's name, for example" (p. 55).

Use in a library setting

Since this book was written for very young children, I think it can be used in an elementary school library setting for a story time read aloud. Children can listen to the story first and then the librarian can return to the beginning to talk about the pictures and the meaning each picture has to the written verse on the facing page. Children can discuss how the moon is always smiling and how the animals sway to the music that is the child's name.

References

Engberg, G. (2006). On the night you were born. Booklist, 103(7), 55.  Retrieved from

       http://www.ala.org/offices/publishing/booklist/

Janssen, C. (2007). On the night you were born. School Library Journal, 53(3), 186-187.

       Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/

Tillman, N. (2006). On the night you were born. New York: Feiwel & Friends.