Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Title: Because of Mr. Terupt

Author: Rob Buyea

Genre: Midde Grade Fiction, School Stories

Hopefully everyone has at least one memorable teacher from their time spent in school. This fifth-grade class has just met theirs! Mr. Terupt immediately brings challenges and projects for his students to explore, but also helps students learn the powerful lessons about being a good friend, a trustworthy person, and a kind classmate. Told from the points of view of 7 different students, as each take over the story for a chapter, this story explores how the students grow, learn, and expand their own worldviews over the course of a year. But what happens when their time with Mr. Terupt is cut short, abruptly and unexpectedly? Does he still have things to teach them even when he is no longer the person at the front of their classroom?

- Katrina

Check out Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea @ the library!

The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes

Title: The Iron Giant

Author: Ted Hughes

Genre: Children's, Sci-Fi, Parable

Perhaps best known as the former poet laureate of Great Britain, as well as the husband of Sylvia Plath, one of Ted Hughes's more enduring works is undoubtedly "The Iron Giant". Widely acknowledged to be a Cold War parable, The Iron Giant follows the story of a giant robot from space who eats scrap metal, tractors, fences, cars, and anything other metal thing he can sink his iron teeth into. 

The beginning of the story focuses mainly on how the villagers and farmers who are at first irate with the strange space creature come to rely on him when a dragon approaches Earth from a faraway star. The Iron Giant manages to outwit the dragon in a game of one-upmanship, challenging the threatening force to several rounds of heat-enduring tests. The dragon, who is the size of Australia and eager to devour any living thing it can, is subdued by the giant's tests, and the people of Earth come to regard the robot, in the end, with great compassion and gratitude.

The story is all about the perils of contemporary industrialized society and the negative impacts of in-group/out-group bickering and biases, and what can happen when people focus on mutually beneficial relationships, instead. The illustrations in both the older and newer editions are lovely, and accompanied well by the Dreamworks film that was released in the late 1990's. It reads leisurely and poetically, much like the short children's stories written by fellow poet e.e. cummings. A whimsical, imaginative, and timely work, as well-suited for adults as it is for children.

- Adam

Check out The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes @ the library!

Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, et al.

The world of children's books is easily imagined as an idyllic place full of fluffy bunnies. The authors should always be upstanding, proper citizens, and the books they write are happy, moral teaching tombs that will both stand the test of time and entertain audiences of all ages. Yeah right.

Three bloggers, Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson and Peter D. Sieruta bring to light the stories and the history behind some of the biggest names and books for children. From picture books being called subversive to authors of theses works choosing to live adult lives, no stone of scandalous behavior in and out of print, is left unexplored.

Fans of authors like Shel Silverstein may be surprised that he started out writing for Playboy, and Mary Poppins author may have more in common with E.L. James than most parents would care to share with their children. Beyond sex, there are issues of subversive themes in picture books, the private relationships of popular authors, and even those lovely books that booksellers,Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, et al. librarians and teachers love, yet children are not drawn to (and vice versa).

Teachers, and those who work with children will want to check out Wild Things, and maybe learn a bit of the scandalous history behind the books we love to share with children.

Check out Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson and Peter D. Sieruta @ the library!