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Buffalo Tree
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From: Mactycho at aol.com <Mactycho>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 11:13:05 -0400 (EDT)
To answer some of the purely "practical" questions posed in an earlier post:
about the language in _Buffalo Tree_, in my experience books which are written in a code-like language are especially intriguing to some young readers and a barrier to others. Books like _The 3 NBs of Julian Drew_ by James Deem completely fascinated my young readers. More than anything they felt challenged to decode and understand within the context of the story.
While I do not yet have any reader response, I feel sure that the vivid immediacy will propel young readers through the story as it did me. I myself am curious about how much of the unique language is genuine street language
(unfamiliar to middle aged, middle class librarians) and how much is Sura's own distinctive, image-laden way of speaking. For me, a glossary would have spoiled it... made Sura seem less real and more an artificial construction.
I mostly dislike questions of audience, but if pushed, I would say those readers who are fascinated with John Marsden's _Letters from the Inside_, Burch's _They Caged the Animals at Night_, _The 3 NB's of Julian Drew_, among other titles will like _Buffalo Tree_. These kids are drawn to books which have a dark side depicting harsh, uncompromising circumstances which they themselves have not experienced.There will also be young readers who have some experience with the juvenile justice system themselves... not all that uncommon, unfortunately.
Nor do I think a book *needs* to be accessible to a "vast majority" of readers. It will be accessible to the *right* readers, and the rest will put it down. The better question is, how do we make sure that this book gets into the hands of readers whose worldview will be changed by encountering Sura, Coly Jo and Long Neck... readers who will remember them the way I remember the Nancy Sikes and "the Artful Dodger" from my own youthful reading.
_Buffalo Tree_ seems like an easy booktalk to me. I have a habit of letting kids know right up front if there is some reason they will have to stick with a book and give it a chance. So I will let them know that the language in
_Buffalo Tree_ will be unfamiliar, but, for most of them, it will seep in as they read. I will give them background information on the dramatic setting and on the main characters... concentrating on the central relationship between Sura and Coly Jo... making sure that some of the humor is included
(because the humor is there and makes the starkness of the book all the more powerful)... and take the booktalk to the scene when we realize that Coly Jo has just made a fatal mistake by hitting the guard over the head. Every book I have ever booktalked which depicts the tragic death of a friend has won an instant, dedicated. almost cult-like status. I believe _The Buffalo Tree_ will also. Kate McClelland Perrot Library Old Greenwich, CT
Received on Tue 26 Aug 1997 10:13:05 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 11:13:05 -0400 (EDT)
To answer some of the purely "practical" questions posed in an earlier post:
about the language in _Buffalo Tree_, in my experience books which are written in a code-like language are especially intriguing to some young readers and a barrier to others. Books like _The 3 NBs of Julian Drew_ by James Deem completely fascinated my young readers. More than anything they felt challenged to decode and understand within the context of the story.
While I do not yet have any reader response, I feel sure that the vivid immediacy will propel young readers through the story as it did me. I myself am curious about how much of the unique language is genuine street language
(unfamiliar to middle aged, middle class librarians) and how much is Sura's own distinctive, image-laden way of speaking. For me, a glossary would have spoiled it... made Sura seem less real and more an artificial construction.
I mostly dislike questions of audience, but if pushed, I would say those readers who are fascinated with John Marsden's _Letters from the Inside_, Burch's _They Caged the Animals at Night_, _The 3 NB's of Julian Drew_, among other titles will like _Buffalo Tree_. These kids are drawn to books which have a dark side depicting harsh, uncompromising circumstances which they themselves have not experienced.There will also be young readers who have some experience with the juvenile justice system themselves... not all that uncommon, unfortunately.
Nor do I think a book *needs* to be accessible to a "vast majority" of readers. It will be accessible to the *right* readers, and the rest will put it down. The better question is, how do we make sure that this book gets into the hands of readers whose worldview will be changed by encountering Sura, Coly Jo and Long Neck... readers who will remember them the way I remember the Nancy Sikes and "the Artful Dodger" from my own youthful reading.
_Buffalo Tree_ seems like an easy booktalk to me. I have a habit of letting kids know right up front if there is some reason they will have to stick with a book and give it a chance. So I will let them know that the language in
_Buffalo Tree_ will be unfamiliar, but, for most of them, it will seep in as they read. I will give them background information on the dramatic setting and on the main characters... concentrating on the central relationship between Sura and Coly Jo... making sure that some of the humor is included
(because the humor is there and makes the starkness of the book all the more powerful)... and take the booktalk to the scene when we realize that Coly Jo has just made a fatal mistake by hitting the guard over the head. Every book I have ever booktalked which depicts the tragic death of a friend has won an instant, dedicated. almost cult-like status. I believe _The Buffalo Tree_ will also. Kate McClelland Perrot Library Old Greenwich, CT
Received on Tue 26 Aug 1997 10:13:05 AM CDT
