Table of Contents Volume 36 Number 3 Summer 2009 Lori Atkins Goodson From the Editors 3 James Blasingame Call for Manuscripts 5 Eva Gold, Ruth Caillouet, Recovery of Self and Family in Sharon Creech’s The Barbara Holland, Wanderer: 6 and Tom Fick Literature as Equipment for Living Kara K. Keeling Dragon-Slayer vs. Dragon-Sayer: 13 Marsha M. Sprague Reimagining the Female Fantasy Heroine Vivian Yenika-Agbaw The Newbery Medal: Books about Africa 18 Lisa Kerr Frankenstein’s Children: 28 Ethics, Experimentation, and Free Will in Futuristic Young Adult Fiction Kerri L. Mathew I Love Your Book, but I Love My Version More: 35 Devon Christopher Adams Fanfiction in the English Language Arts Classroom Linda J. Rice Writing and Teaching Historical Fiction: 42 The Lantern of Learning with L. M. Elliott Bill Broz Memoir: Reading Life: The Professional Resource Connection 59 Jim Davis Lori Atkins Goodson Clip and File A1–A8 Melanie Hundley Scot Smith Carolina Dreams: 65 Kerry Madden and the Saga of the Weems Family of Maggie Valley Melanie D. Koss Young Adult Novels with Multiple Narrative Perspectives: 73 The Changing Nature of YA Literature Yolanda Hood Rac(e)ing into the Future: 81 Looking at Race in Recent Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels for Young Adults by Black Authors Hannah P. Gerber From the FPS to the RPG: 87 Using Video Games to Encourage Reading YAL Emily S. Meixner “Would you want to read that?”: 92 Using Book Passes to Open Up Secondary Classrooms to LGBTQ Young Adult Literature M. Jerry Weiss The Long Journey: The Publisher’s Connection 99 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 b1-2-TAR-Sum09.indd 1 6/6/09 10:56 AM Instructions for Authors T ◆ H ◆ E ALAN REVIEW ABOUT THE ALAN REVIEW. The ALAN Review is a peer-reviewed (refereed) journal published by the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. It is devoted solely to the field of literature for Co-editors James Blasingame, adolescents. It is published three times per academic year (fall, winter, and summer) and is sent to all members, indi- [email protected] Arizona State University vidual and institutional, of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE). Members of ALAN need not Lori Atkins Goodson, be members of NCTE. [email protected] Wamego Middle School, THE ALAN REVIEW publishes reviews of and articles on literature for adolescents and the teaching of that literature: research studies, papers presented at professional meetings, surveys of the literature, critiques of the literature, articles Wamego, Kansas about authors, comparative studies across genre and/or cultures, articles on ways to teach the literature to adolescents, YA Book Review Editor Lori Atkins Goodson and interviews of authors. Middle School Claudia Katz, National Louis Connection Editor University AUDIENCE. Many of the individual members of ALAN are classroom teachers of English in middle, junior, and senior high schools. Other readers include university faculty members in English and/or Education programs, researchers in High School Kay Smith, Utah the field of adolescent literature, librarians, authors, publishers, reading teachers and teachers of other related content Connection Editor Valley State College areas. ALAN has members in all 50 states and a number of foreign countries. Research Connection Jeffrey S. Kaplan, University Editor of Central Florida PREFERRED STYLE. Manuscripts should usually be no longer than fifteen double-spaced, typed pages. A manuscript submitted for consideration should deal specifically with literature for adolescents and/or the teaching of that literature. Publishers Connection M. Jerry Weiss, Jersey City Editor State College, Emeritus It should have a clearly defined topic and be scholarly in content, as well as practical and useful to people working with and/or studying adolescents and their literature. Research studies and papers should be treated as articles rather Professional Resource William Broz, than formal reports. Stereotyping on the basis of sex, race, age, etc., should be avoided, as should gender-specific Connection Editor University of Northern Iowa terms such as “chairman.” Library Connection Diane P. Tuccillo, Fort Collins Editor Regional Library District, CO MANUSCRIPT FORMAT. Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout, including quotations and bibliographies. Non Print YAL Jean Brown, Rhode Island A title page with author’s name, affiliation, address, and a short professional biographical sketch should be included. Connection Editor College The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript pages; however, pages should be numbered. Short quotations, as permitted under “fair use” in the copyright law, must be carefully documented within the manuscript and in the Editorial Review Board bibliography. Longer quotations and complete poems or short stories must be accompanied by written permission of Lawrence Baines, University of Toledo the copyright owner. Katherine Barr, San Francisco, California Kylene Beers, Yale University Author interviews should be accompanied by written permission of the interviewed author to publish the interview Jean Borren, Northern Arizona University in The ALAN Review. Interviewers should indicate to authors that publication is subject to review of an editorial board. Cynthia A. Bowman, Columbus, Ohio The title of The ALAN Review should not be used to gain an interview. Linda Broughton, University of South Alabama Jean E. Brown, Warwick, Rhode Island Original short tables and figures should be double-spaced and placed on a separate sheet at the end of the manu- John “Jack” Bushman, University of Kansas script. Notations should appear in the text for proper placement of tables and figures. Michael Cart, Chico, California Melissa Comer, Cumberland College The ALAN Review prefers the use of the Publications Manual of the Modern Language Association (MLA). Chris Crowe, Brigham Young University SUBMITTING THE MANUSCRIPT. Authors are to submit manuscripts electronically to [email protected]. In the Pat Daniel, University of South Florida Kevin Dupree, University of Southern Mississippi subject line please write: ALAN manuscript submission. All manuscripts should be in a recent version of Microsoft Joan Elliot, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Word and use MLA format. Complete submissions include, as separate attachments, the following documents: (1). A Bonnie Ericson, California State University at Northridge manuscript without references to the author (s). (2). A separate title page with author’s names, contact information, Ted Fabiano, Blue Valley Northwest High School affiliation, and a 2-3 sentence biographical sketch. In the case of multiple authors, the author submitting the manu- Karen Ford, Ball State University script will serve as the primary contact unless stipulated otherwise. (3). A brief statement that the article is original, has Nena Foster-Pritchard, North Olmsted High School, Ohio not published previously in other journals and/or books, and is not a simultaneous submission. Montye Fuse, Arizona State University Marshall George, Fordham University REVIEW PROCESS. Each manuscript will receive a blind review by the editor and at least two members of the edito- Wendy Glenn, University of Connecticut rial review board, unless the length, style, or content makes it inappropriate for publication. Usually, authors should Gail P. Gregg, Florida International University Robin Denise Groce, Mississippi State University expect to hear the results within eight weeks. Manuscripts are judged for the contribution they make to the field of Kay Bushman Haas, Ottawa, Kansas adolescent literature, clarity and cohesiveness, timeliness, and freshness of approach. Selection also depends on the Judith Hayn, University of Arkansas, Little Rock manuscript’s contribution to the overall balance of the journal. Kathy Headley, Clemson University Sarah Herz, Westport, Connecticut PUBLICATION OF ARTICLES. The ALAN Review assumes that accepted manuscripts have not been published previ- Kaavonia M. Hinton-Johnson, Old Dominion University ously in any other journals and/or books, nor will they be published subsequently without permission of The ALAN Review. Jaime Hylton, University of New England Should the author submit the manuscript to more than one publication, he/she should notify The ALAN Review. If a Rita Karr, Oklahoma Road Middle School, Maryland submitted or accepted manuscript is accepted by another publication prior to publication in The ALAN Review, the Joan Kaywell, University of South Florida author should immediately withdraw the manuscript from publication in The ALAN Review. Kathryn Kelly, Radford University Patricia P. Kelly, Virginia Tech Manuscripts that are accepted may be edited for clarity, accuracy, readability, and publication style. Daphne Key, Papillon, Nebraska Teri S. Lesesne, Sam Houston State University Upon publication, the author will receive two copies of The ALAN Review in which the article appears. Publication usually Terry C. Ley, Auburn University, Emeritus occurs within 18 months of acceptance. Rob Lockhart, Morehead State University Caroline McKinney, University of Colorado at Boulder DEADLINES. Please observe these deadlines if you wish to have your article considered for a particular Arlene Harris Mitchell, University of Cincinnati issue of The ALAN Review. William R. Mollineaux, Sedgwick Middle School, Connecticut FALL ISSUE Deadline: MAY 15 Elaine O’Quinn, Appalachian State WINTER ISSUE Deadline: OCTOBER 15 Elizabeth Poe, University of West Virginia Suzanne Reid, Emory and Henry College SUMMER ISSUE Deadline: JANUARY 15 Gary Salvner, Youngstown State University Cover credits: The ALAN Review cover was designed by Jim Blasingame. Credit lines for individual book jackets as follows: Barbara G. Samuels, University of Houston at Clear Lake Deadline, by Chris Crutcher: Cover photography copyright ©2007 by Edyta Pawlowska used under license from Shutterstock, Inc. Reprinted John S. Simmons, Florida State University, Emeritus by permission of Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Warrior Angel, by Robert Lipsyte: Jacket art Robert C. Small, Radford University © 2003 by Chris Rogers, jacket © 2003 by HarperCollins. The Last Book in the Universe, by Rodman Philbrick: Jacket illustration Elaine C. Stephens, Michigan © 2000 by David Shannon. Reprinted by permission of Blue Sky Press, and imprint of Scholastic. Sonny’s War © 2002 by Valerie Hobbs: Barbara Stover, Chatfield Senior High School Jacket art by Greg Spalenka. Used with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC. Five Ancestors: Eagle by Jeff Stone: Jacket illustration Lois Stover, St. Mary’s College of Maryland © 2008 by Richard Cowdrey, jacket design by Joanne Yates Russell, reprinted with permission of Random House. Out of the Pocket, Alan Teasley, Durham, North Carolina by Bill Konigsberg: Jacket art © 2008 by Tony Sahara. Reprinted by permission of Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Group, Inc. The Mary Ann Tighe, Troy State University Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones, by Helen Hemphill: Reprinted by permission of Front Street Books. The Softwire: Betrayal on Ellis Vance, Fresno County Office of Education Orbis 2, by P.J. Haarsma: Jacket art reprinted by permission of Candlewick Press. Jim Thorpe: Original All-American, by Joseph Bruchac: Elizabeth Watts, Broward County, Florida Jacket photo courtesy of Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Used by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, Ann Wilder, Durham, North Carolina A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a Member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY, 10014. All rights Carole Williams, St. Louis, Missouri reserved. Susan N. Wood, Florida State University Geri Yaccino, St. Charles Middle School, Illinois Connie Zitlow, Ohio Wesleyan University The ALAN Review Summer 2009 b1-2-TAR-Sum09.indd 2 6/6/09 10:56 AM JLiomri BGloaosidnsgoanm &e J&im L oBrlia Gsoinogdasmone From the Editors Nearly six years ago, I sat in my Kansas study, also providing a practical side designed to encourage called Jim Blasingame at Arizona State educators to use quality YA literature in the class- University, and said I had a crazy idea: We room. We know the secret to success for our students should apply to be coeditors of The ALAN Review. A is engagement; young adult literature provides the few months later, we were at the head (or foot, more greatest opportunity for engaging those learners. That appropriately) of a table presenting our proposal and philosophy has guided us as we’ve approached a half- being interviewed for the position by some of the top decade’s worth of journals. people in the field of young adult literature. The numerous articles in this issue reflect that It was a little intimidating. philosophy. The female fantasy heroine is the sub- A couple days later, we learned we had been ject of an article by Kara K. Keeling and Marsha M. selected, and all those “great” ideas we had proposed Sprague, while Lisa Kerr examines futuristic young suddenly needed to become fact rather than fiction. adult fiction in her article, “Frankenstein’s Children.” Dreaming is the easy part; making dreams happen is Vivian Yenika-Agbaw provides a look at books focus- a little more difficult. We knew the quality reputation ing on Africa that have received the Newbery Medal. of ALAN and its journal, so we knew we would be In her article on writing and teaching historical fiction, expected to maintain those high standards. We spent Linda J. Rice shares focuses on the works of L.M. time designing the journal and developing themes to Elliott. give it our own personality during our tenure as coedi- In “Carolina Dreams,” Scot Smith discusses the tors. works of Kerry Madden and shares an interview with It was a little intimidating. the author. Melanie D. Koss details how today’s new As we settled into the role, we learned more and literacies are affecting young adult literature. Hannah more about the exciting web of experts and enthusi- P. Gerger moves into the world of video games, asts in the field of young adult literature. Nearly daily, discussing how they can be used to encourage teens we became acquainted with newcomers to YA lit— to read young adult literature. Additionally, Emily S. classroom teachers, authors, etc. Amazingly, I found Meixner shares ways to open up secondary classrooms myself working with some incredible leaders in the to the LGBTQ young adult literature by using book field—authors my middle school and high school stu- passes. dents adored (okay—I adored them, too) and educators Jerry Weis provides a look at the publishing con- and researchers my colleagues and I admired. cerns that have emerged with today’s economic issues It was a little intimidating. in his Publisher’s Connection column, while Bill Broz In the past five years, Jim and I have been fortu- and guest book reviewer Jim Davis discuss memoirs nate to be a part of an organization—and its journal— in the Professional Resource Connection. Also, don’t that are thriving. We’ve tried to bring in the latest forget to read through our 31 reviews of the latest in in research regarding young adult literature, while young adult literature in the Clip and File center insert. 3 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 c3-5-TAR-Sum09.indd 3 6/6/09 10:57 AM This issue of The ALAN Review is our last; we Crutcher, Laurie Halse Anderson, Christopher Paul hope we’ve brought you the best and the brightest re- Curtis, and so many others. There may be some voices garding developments in young adult literature. Now, that make a few adults somewhat uncomfortable, but we turn the reins over to a new set of coeditors— those voices must continue to be heard. ALAN, with Steven Bickmore, Melanie Hundley, and Jacqueline its growing number of members, offers an opportunity Bach—who we feel confident will be outstandingly for just that. successful and propel the journal into new realms. In our five years as coeditors, we hope we’ve Most important, we hope we’ve shared the pas- helped a few more of your voices to be heard, as well; sion we have for young adult literature. As educators, we appreciate you and thank you for allowing us to we have seen these quality books in the hands of drop into your homes and offices three times a year. teens across the nation, and we believe . . . no, we And, Jim, it may have been a little intimidating, know . . . that young people are able to find their own but I’m really glad I made that phone call. voices through the works of Walter Dean Myers, Chris ALAN Foundation Research Grants Members of ALAN may apply to the ALAN Foundation for funding (up to $1,500) for research in young adult literature. Proposals are reviewed by the five most recent presidents of ALAN. Awards are made an- nually in the fall and are announced at the ALAN breakfast during the NCTE convention in November. The application deadline each year is September 15th. 4 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 c3-5-TAR-Sum09.indd 4 6/6/09 10:57 AM Call for Manuscripts Submitting the Manuscript: Authors are to submit manuscripts electronically to [email protected]. In the subject line please write: ALAN manuscript submission. All manuscripts should be in a recent version of Microsoft Word and use MLA format. Complete submissions include, as separate attach- ments, the following documents: (1). A manuscript without references to the author (s). (2). A separate title page with author’s names, contact information, affiliation, and a 2–3 sentence biographical sketch. In the case of multiple authors, the author submitting the manuscript will serve as the primary contact unless stipulated otherwise. (3). A brief statement that the article is original, has not published previously in other journals and/or books, and is not a simulta- neous submission. 2010 Winter Theme: Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century: “Scattering Light” on Our Free- dom to Think, See, and Imagine The theme of this issue asks us to imagine what it means to “scatter light” using young adult literature. Which pioneers in our field have encouraged us to “scatter light”? Which novels or poems encourage young readers to think about their pasts as they continue in the future? How does young adult literature help readers deal with adolescent issues as they think, see, and imagine those futures? What texts give “voice [to those who have] been pushed down hard” by school or society? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. October 15, 2009, submission deadline. 5 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 c3-5-TAR-Sum09.indd 5 6/6/09 10:57 AM ELvoar iG Gooldo,d Rsuotnh &C aJiimllo Buleats, iBnagrabmarea Holland, and Tom Fick Recovery of Self and Family in Sharon Creech’s The Wanderer: Literature as Equipment for Living Sharon Creech’s The Wanderer, a Newbery that has nothing to teach them. Similarly, students Honor book from the year 2000, weaves a often see storytelling as connected with fantasy and beautiful tale of family, adventure, and love for not as a means of problem-solving. But without being the sea, creating the perfect space for students to find at all preachy (as literature teachers sometimes are), their own connection to family, as well as essential Creech weaves, with elements of classic texts, a novel tools for life. The highly acclaimed novel deals with whose resolutions are achieved by storytelling: self- the important issues of family, home, and identity and understanding and self-acceptance on the part of the is presented as a series of journal entries by cousins main character, and increased wisdom and under- Sophie and Cody that recount their adventures with standing for the other characters. The novel ends with uncles and cousins on a sea journey from the United the recovery of family in all senses: as the relatives on States to England. Both characters negotiate fam- the boat forge a strong sense of family on the voyage, ily issues: Cody has the typical adolescent problems as they reach their father and grandfather Bompie in of self-image and conflict with a difficult father (the England, and as Sophie recovers her memory of her aptly named Stew); the main character Sophie (Greek traumatic past, understanding the relation between for “wisdom”) works to come to an understanding of her “then family” and “now family.” family and self within the context of her tragic and mysterious family history. Classic Themes By the time students read The Wanderer, they The novel is such a page-turner that students may not are probably familiar with journal writing as a route notice that they are asked to consider such serious to self-discovery. This novel models that process with issues as mortality, fear, identity, and family. Along the alternating entries of Sophie and Cody. However, with the suspense (and danger) inherent in a sea this novel also models reading (particularly of classic journey, the novel explores a mystery about Sophie’s literature) and storytelling as ways of understand- parentage and identity, which is not resolved until the ing self, family, and world. The Wanderer can show end. As Cody’s name suggests, there is much to de- students that works of literature and storytelling are, code in this novel, particularly since, in Cody’s words, in Kenneth Burke’s famous phrase, “equipment for “Everyone talks in code where Sophie is concerned” living,” providing “strategies for dealing with situa- (188). tions” (Burke 293, 296). Sophie begins the story by talking about her par- No doubt every teacher of literature has heard be- ents, though she also shares the stories of her grand- loved texts called “irrelevant” or “boring” by students, father, Bompie, who she writes is a “third parent” and who often see the classics as a required school chore 6 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 d6-12-TAR-Sum09.indd 6 6/6/09 10:57 AM “so like me” (6). We learn from Cody, however, that the journey who is involved in a quest for his true Sophie is an orphan (28) and has never met Bompie love, Rosalie, as someone who uses literary works as (37). The cousins Cody and Brian, who deal with “equipment for living.” Dock recites lines from Ten- their own family issues on the journey, are curious nyson’s “Ulysses” and “The Lotos-Eaters,” both based about what happened to Sophie’s “real” parents and on The Odyssey (201; 205). Sophie comments on about her unwillingness to acknowledge aspects of the effect of Dock’s citations in reference to another her history. How does Sophie know Bompie’s stories poem, this one by Carl Sandburg: “when we had a when she’s never met him? For Sophie, of course, the spell of fog, Uncle Dock recited a poem about fog mystery is more critical: confronting fear, loss, and creeping along on little cat feet, and as soon as he said death, she must recover and acknowledge her past, that, that’s what I saw . . . (53). Thus we learn of the represented by fragments of memory and a recurring capacity of literature to reflect and to transform ex- nightmare about a wave. In the process, she must deal perience. Poetry is useful; it is connected to everyday with the connection between her past (family) and experience, helping us conceptualize and understand present (family). a variety of situations. Because the story is shaped as a journey across Most powerful perhaps is the presence of the sea, it can be linked with the literature of quest-- Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Uncle Dock The Odyssey and The Aeneid, to name just two--along quotes a few lines of the poem as they near land: with more modern renditions, including such ado- “Oh! Dream of joy! Is this indeed/The lighthouse top lescent works as The True Confessions of Charlotte I see?/Is this the hill? Is this the kirk?/Is this mine Doyle and The Cay. In addition to a generic affiliation own countree?”(246–47). Additionally, allusions to with quest literature, the novel’s connection with the the poem are woven into the story: Sophie recounts a classics is made very specific. It takes as its title the disturbing dream “about being adrift in the ocean with name of an Old English poem, which serves also as no food, and we were all languishing on deck with no the name of the boat. Furthermore, the epigraph, from energy to do anything, and the boat was tossing and “The Seafarer,” another Old English poem, initiates heaving around, and then a seagull flew overhead and the theme of storytelling so important in the novel: landed on the boom and “The tale is true, and mine. It tells/How the sea took Brian said “Kill it! Kill it!” me; swept me back/And forth.” Both poems tell of (57–58). For us, though not As in the Old English loss, memory, exile and isolation, the need for home, for Sophie who is unaware and the lure of the sea. Like the speaker of “The Wan- of the allusion, this might poems, these quests derer,” Sophie has “lock[ed] up the treasury of [her] recall the unthinking killing involve the themes of thoughts,” and the novel records her giving voice to of the bird in Coleridge’s her story in fragments, first in her journal and then to poem. The Rime is also exile and home, self and others. present near the end of the The thematic resonance of these poems continues book, when the family is family, memory and loss. as the story proceeds. We learn that the characters once again on land: Sophie nicknamed Dock, Mo, and Bompie have as their birth describes how they are names Jonah, Moses, and Ulysses, all characters unable to stop telling their stories to strangers in a central to the western tradition who contend with the pub: “We were all chattering away like crazy, talking sea in coming to an understanding of self and world. to anyone who would listen. . . . For hours we went As in the Old English poems, these quests involve the on like that, pouring out the words and at one point themes of exile and home, self and family, memory I wondered how much these strangers cared about and loss. For Ulysses/Odysseus, the connection with what we were saying, or if they cared at all, and why The Wanderer is especially apt: he is a storyteller who we felt such an urgent need to tell them our story, and gets home to family through storytelling as much as why they told us theirs” (252–53). Like the Ancient through heroic action. Mariner to the Wedding Guest, Sophie and the others Particularly important is Creech’s presentation are compelled to tell their stories as an aspect of rein- of Uncle Dock, the owner of the boat and initiator of tegration into a social context. 7 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 d6-12-TAR-Sum09.indd 7 6/6/09 10:57 AM At the end, the family comes to Bompie and Sophie has transformed the stories for her own uses, various mysteries are solved. Through the journey, selecting those stories that are about Bompie’s danger- Sophie has been telling “Bompie” stories, all of which ous confrontations with water and adding to each a have to do with Bompie’s survival of a dangerous section on Bompie’s fear of water that was not part of encounter with water, and “little kid stories,” which the original (285). Again, this is literature as equip- deal with issues of family, death, and fear of water. ment for living, helping us, as Burke has it, to develop Sophie, of course, is the little kid: with these stories, strategies for coping with difficult situations. Sophie distances aspects of her experience until she is At the end of the novel, all return home except able to claim her own story. In her journal, she also Dock, who remains to care for Bompie; all have un- recounts her recurrent dergone significant transformation, adults included, dream about a giant wave, involving self-awareness, sense of vocation, and Like The Odyssey and the which she re-experiences family relationships. Sophie has reclaimed the part in a terrifying scene (209). of herself that was the “little kid”: Cody comments, Old English poems, the By listening to Sophie’s “One day the little kid got lucky and she landed in a stories, Cody eventually place where it was okay if she couldn’t remember all Bompie stories reflect the solves the mystery. Sophie the time, and because it was okay not to remember, oral tradition, stories that survived an accident at she started to remember. And along with the pain- sea that killed her parents; ful things came the good things to remember and are changed in the telling. she lived first with various maybe she felt as if she’d found some things she’s relatives who died, then lost” (300–301). The sense of loss, exile, and painful foster families, and was memory that Sophie shares with the speakers of the eventually adopted by loving parents: “By this time, Old English poems remains, accompanied now by a she wanted so much to be wanted that she made her- sense of home and family, much like the end of The self believe that [Bompie’s] was her real family, her Odyssey when Odysseus reclaims home and family— only family” (270). We also learn how Sophie knows and thereby his own identity. the Bompie stories: Bompie wrote her letters welcom- In the final chapter, “Home,” the cousins incorpo- ing her to the family and “in each of the letters he told rate into their talk and activities elements of the sto- a story about himself so she would know him better” ries they heard on the voyage: all the Bompie stories (284). ended with the promise of pie, and now the children Particularly moving are the scenes between So- plan to bake a pie; the uncles reminisced about their phie and Bompie. The voyagers discover that Bompie, childhood adventures on The BlueBopper, and now like the older relatives of many students, is experi- the cousins talk of a journey on The BlueBopper Wan- encing loss of memory and does not immediately derer (304–05). In these small details is the integration recognize his own children. He does recognize Sophie of past and present, story and real-life. At the very (though he has never met her), who is experiencing end, Sophie recalls a baptism witnessed earlier (103): memory loss of her own, even though it is through “I’m just right here, right now. When I close my trauma and not age. In poignant scenes, Sophie tells eyes, I can still smell the sea, but I feel as if I’ve been Bompie his own stories. When, early in the book, dunked in the clear cool water and I’ve come out all Sophie asks her mother, “What if the picture [in Bom- clean and new. Bye-bye, Bompie. Bye-bye, sea” (305). pie’s head] got erased?” her mother replies, “How’s Although the end of the novel is the usual place that going to happen?” (74). Yet it has happened, and to end an essay, we would like to return to the begin- as Sophie prefaces each story with “Remember,” she ning of the novel—to parts of a book students seldom helps him recover his memories (282–83). Hence, notice: the acknowledgment and the dedication. the Bompie stories are useful in many ways—from Creech, who taught literature for many years before shipboard entertainment to a way for Sophie to come publishing her novels, thanks two people “for help- to terms with her own story. Like The Odyssey and ing me decode the mystery and to arrive at the ‘end the Old English poems, the Bompie stories reflect the of all our exploring’ (T. S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”). In oral tradition, stories that are changed in the telling. this line, we see the emphasis on de-coding and the 8 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 d6-12-TAR-Sum09.indd 8 6/6/09 10:57 AM use of literary texts to help give voice to feelings and struction. Below, we outline three specific strategies experience. The next line of the Eliot poem--“will be for guiding students in activities that will not only to arrive where we started”—anticipates the return measure comprehension but also allow for creative home at the end of the book, where we last see the response and choice in the learning process. In addi- characters, transformed through their journey. And tion, all of these strategies can be easily adapted to Creech, who tells us on her website that two of the many grade levels; while the text may be written at Bompie stories are stories told by her father, prefaces fifth-grade reading level, the content is so rich and her own story with a dedication to her daughter “who its ties to classic literature journeyed across the ocean” from “the mother who are so strong that the book worried.” Thus, for the author who wrote the book could easily be used with This is a book about and for the characters within it, storytelling, whether high school students, as heritage and home, cour- within the family or by “famous authors,” is truly either a bridge to classic “equipment for living,” providing models for coping works like The Rime of age and companionship, with and understanding self and world and serving as the Ancient Mariner and agents of transformation. The Odyssey or as part of adventure and artistry, but Sharon Creech’s novel is a joy to read. Its lyri- a unit on family or the most of all, this is a book cal language and down-to-earth characters create a sea. Our suggested strate- rich tapestry, beautiful threads woven together much gies can also be adapted about family—about like the cloth that Sophie’s mother, and Odysseus’s to other disciplines, since wife before her, weave as they wait for the return of this book offers such a rich discovering the self a loved one from sea. This is a book about heritage array of topics for inquiry and home, courage and companionship, adventure and investigation. Above through the other. and artistry, but most of all, this is a book about fam- all, this is a perfect text for ily—about discovering the self through the other. As appealing to a variety of Sophie, Cody, Dock, and crew adventure across the learning styles, since the characters themselves serve sea toward Bompie, they each learn more about their as examples of diversity in creative expression. own strengths as well as the strength and support of family. Bompie’s stories, through Sophie’s voice, give Jigsaw the seafarers hope and a sense of belonging, a shared We begin with a modified jigsaw approach that pro- past that beckons them toward the safety of home as vides support for student research and development well as the dream of the future. Like the apple pie that on the book’s tremendous variety of topics for inquiry. Bompie’s mother bakes for him after each arduous Jigsaw is a method developed primarily in the social adventure, Bompie himself and the security of family studies curriculum that allows students to cover a serve as the reward for the crew at the end of their great deal of material without the usual heavy reading journey. But as wonderful as this book is to read, it load, while it introduces the classroom family to the is perhaps even more inspiring as a magical book for craft of teaching. Students work in groups, with each the classroom. The multidimensional characters, the member of the group assigned a different topic. In this action-packed sea story, the descriptive details about case, each student first researches his or her individ- the places and creatures, the intricate sailing terms ual topic, then meets with students from other groups and skills, the parallels with classic literature, the with similar topics for discussion and clarification, layers of storytelling—all of these threads provide a and finally “teaches” the material to his or her own wealth of ideas for engaging students in the text and group. This approach is ideal with Creech’s novel, enriching the fabric of the reading experience. since each of the voyagers in the book teaches ship- mates a skill on the journey—Cody teaches juggling, Using The Wanderer in the Classroom Uncle Mo teaches radio code, and Sophie teaches knot tying, so each family member learns to appreciate the Perhaps this book’s greatest strength for classroom others’ skills and knowledge. instruction is its natural place in differentiating in- Some possible topics for research, as well as some 9 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 d6-12-TAR-Sum09.indd 9 6/6/09 10:57 AM Groups Sea Life Sailing Map Quest Navigation Fishing/Skills Group 1 Albatross Points of sail Martha’s Vineyard Sextant Lobstering Group 2 Sea flea Sail types Grand Manan Gulf Stream Clamming Group 3 Dolphins Bilge box Nova Scotia Labrador Current Bluefish Group 4 Whales Knots Ohio River Charts Weaving Group 5 Plankton Boat Terms Ireland/England Codes Juggling Figure 1. Jigsaw for Research—The Wanderer plans for organizing the groups, are listed in Figure 1. in PowerPoint, as simple poster board displays, or as In this modification of the jigsaw approach, students an oral delivery of the information. Other alternatives will be grouped so that each member of the group include developing research topics before teaching the researches a topic from five different areas of study. novel (to get students engaged in the book) or sched- After their individual research, the members will meet uling presentations throughout the reading. for discussion and clarification with a Topic Group. So, all of the Sea Life members will meet and discuss Think-Tac-Toe their findings while all of the Navigation members Our next strategy, Think-Tac-Toe, taps into student meet to discuss their research. In this way, stu- creativity and allows even more choice in student dents can compare notes and build on one another’s selection of activities. More advanced classes can research. The individuals will then go back to their even help to generate the categories and topics. The original groups to “teach” members about their topic. strategy is designed to engage students with the text in The research results could then be compiled in a class creative ways that allow for individual learning styles portfolio so that the rest of the class may benefit from and interest. The typical Think-Tac-Toe contains at the information. least three categories and is designed to allow flex- Each research category can, of course, be modi- ibility in the topics. We have chosen to control this fied according to the skill and comprehension levels of particular Think-Tac-Toe by requiring students to individual students. Depending on the time and facili- choose topics connected with the theme of family, but ties available, teachers might schedule a library day or to also emphasize the categories of character, set- computer lab for the research; presentations could run ting, and theme. Figure 2 illustrates our suggestions, Performance Artistic Expression Creative Writing Character Imitate Dock’s knowledge of Imitate Mo’s artistic abilities Create your own code or use literature by reciting some of the and create a sketch or the radio code from Cody’s log poetry that he mentions. Be able to painting of a key scene from to create a message or poem explain how the poem helps us to the story. Choose a scene that written to or about one of the understand Dock and this story. depicts an understanding of a characters from the story. particular character. Setting Create a tableau of an important Create a map or model of Create a children’s picture book scene from the story. Make certain The Wanderer’s adventure. representing the travels and to choose a scene that reflects a clear Choose your own media style scenery in the book. depiction of the setting. for the piece. Theme Create a YouTube style video Create a collage that illustrates Create another Bompie story that explores the importance of your view of family and its or your own family story using understanding diversity in families. importance. Sophie’s style of writing. Figure 2. Think-Tac-Toe—The Wanderer 10 The ALAN Review Summer 2009 d6-12-TAR-Sum09.indd 10 6/6/09 10:57 AM