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Whirligig
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From: Eliza T. Dresang <edresang>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 18:35:58 -0500
Re: Whirligig
One of the young people (age 12, grade 7) who regularly reads and discusses books with me dropped by last night, and we talked about Whirligig (someone mentioned wondering how young people might like the story). Her reaction to the book was very positive. I'll share some of her thoughts that relate to some of the questions posed by others in this discussion and which I put to her:
Is the task given Brent believable?
She struggled with this one because she said it was hard to put into words exactly how important the task was and why. Finally she said, "Most people would not have given this kind of task to Brent. They would have wanted to punish him. I think Lea's mother was very smart. She saw how to make something good out of something bad -- how to help Brent and others make something of it. I don't like stories with morals written out; the morals are usually stupid. But this story has a moral that the reader has to figure out. I like it because it shows people that even if something bad happens something good can come of it. It was definitely believable, just not what most people would be smart enough to think of."
What about identifying with Brent?
"Well, I identified with him somewhat but not completely. But it didn't matter to me. I didn't feel as close to him as some other characters I've read about who are more like me but I didn't care. It's a good story and I did care about what happened to Brent. " Then she said, "maybe the readers you are talking about don't identify with Brent because they're adults."
You've recently read Holes. How would you compare the two books?
"I need to think about that more and talk to you again. They are very different stories. I liked both of them a lot. I didn't like one more than the other. Whirligig is a good story -- it held my interest and made me want to keep reading to find out where he was going and what would happen next. It was very interesting."
Did the way the story is written, in a nonlinear way according to the times events took place, make sense to you?
"It made the book more interesting because I knew things I realized Brent would not know when he arrived in the different places. Maybe the different order that things happened in made the story more like a Whirligig with the arms or whatever moving in a different way. Only the reader can see the way everything is connected. I like that."
______________ Here are a couple of comments from me:
On the labors of Hercules (which the young reader did not notice). One of the marks of a "good book" to me is the potential richness of the reading experience. If one can go back to it and "see more" when one learns more about the context -- all the better. I don't think it is necessary to realize that Hercules killed his wife and children and then had to set out on a similar journey of redemption. This is an "if you know it, it enhances the reading experience" and "if you don't, it does not detract from it." I think that is true for almost any good book -- you learn more, it means more.
On the necessity to reread (connected to this): I find that books for children and young adults are often much more sophisticated than they once were (certainly not all of them, but many of them). They show a respect for the young reader. In that this is true, perhaps the necessity to reread is a plus, not a minus. If you don't notice the importance of symbolic happenings throughout, the story is still a good story, but rereading once you realize some of them remember (as I did) is a pleasure Katie H's comment about Walk Two Moons and readers in the public library where she worked -- paraphrasing it was that she had not run into a reader who did not like it, nor had she run into one who had read it only once. That seems a good quality to me. Particularly the type of nonlinear books we're discussing this month will require rereading.
On identifying with the character: More sophisticated books require more sophisticated evaluation techniques. Perhaps it is not as important for us to have strong emotional attachment to main character as it is to recognize that there are various manners in which authors present characters and what we should ask is "how well did the author do what he set out to do?" Superbly in this case, I'd say. It is probably true that these new ways to present character in such as nonlinear books for youth are most appealing to the youth themselves who do not know there is a "better way."
On seeing the "hand of the authors." Well part of this richness of this reading experience lies in realizing that Fleischman is crafting the story just as Brent crafts his Whirligigs. But that does not keep me from understanding Brent (or others) as "real people," and having his and their personalities indelibly stamped on my mind.
"nuff said." Sorry this wasn't in smaller more interactive chunks, but . . ..
Eliza
At 12:12 PM 10/20/98 00, you wrote: was a story that I could not stop thinking about. unpredictable consequence, whether taking a drink and driving or building a piece of art. How art affects lives. The image of the grandmother and granddaughter sitting in the car looking out at the whirligig haunts me. of the theme of cause and effect. for this grievous harm. What an elegant solution.
*********************************************************************** Eliza T. Dresang, Associate Professor
School of Information Studies Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306!00 e-mail: edresang at mailer.fsu.edu Phone: 850 644 5877 (w) Phone: 850 224 1637 (h) FAX: 850 644 6253 (w) FAX: 850 224 1637 (h)
Received on Tue 27 Oct 1998 05:35:58 PM CST
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 18:35:58 -0500
Re: Whirligig
One of the young people (age 12, grade 7) who regularly reads and discusses books with me dropped by last night, and we talked about Whirligig (someone mentioned wondering how young people might like the story). Her reaction to the book was very positive. I'll share some of her thoughts that relate to some of the questions posed by others in this discussion and which I put to her:
Is the task given Brent believable?
She struggled with this one because she said it was hard to put into words exactly how important the task was and why. Finally she said, "Most people would not have given this kind of task to Brent. They would have wanted to punish him. I think Lea's mother was very smart. She saw how to make something good out of something bad -- how to help Brent and others make something of it. I don't like stories with morals written out; the morals are usually stupid. But this story has a moral that the reader has to figure out. I like it because it shows people that even if something bad happens something good can come of it. It was definitely believable, just not what most people would be smart enough to think of."
What about identifying with Brent?
"Well, I identified with him somewhat but not completely. But it didn't matter to me. I didn't feel as close to him as some other characters I've read about who are more like me but I didn't care. It's a good story and I did care about what happened to Brent. " Then she said, "maybe the readers you are talking about don't identify with Brent because they're adults."
You've recently read Holes. How would you compare the two books?
"I need to think about that more and talk to you again. They are very different stories. I liked both of them a lot. I didn't like one more than the other. Whirligig is a good story -- it held my interest and made me want to keep reading to find out where he was going and what would happen next. It was very interesting."
Did the way the story is written, in a nonlinear way according to the times events took place, make sense to you?
"It made the book more interesting because I knew things I realized Brent would not know when he arrived in the different places. Maybe the different order that things happened in made the story more like a Whirligig with the arms or whatever moving in a different way. Only the reader can see the way everything is connected. I like that."
______________ Here are a couple of comments from me:
On the labors of Hercules (which the young reader did not notice). One of the marks of a "good book" to me is the potential richness of the reading experience. If one can go back to it and "see more" when one learns more about the context -- all the better. I don't think it is necessary to realize that Hercules killed his wife and children and then had to set out on a similar journey of redemption. This is an "if you know it, it enhances the reading experience" and "if you don't, it does not detract from it." I think that is true for almost any good book -- you learn more, it means more.
On the necessity to reread (connected to this): I find that books for children and young adults are often much more sophisticated than they once were (certainly not all of them, but many of them). They show a respect for the young reader. In that this is true, perhaps the necessity to reread is a plus, not a minus. If you don't notice the importance of symbolic happenings throughout, the story is still a good story, but rereading once you realize some of them remember (as I did) is a pleasure Katie H's comment about Walk Two Moons and readers in the public library where she worked -- paraphrasing it was that she had not run into a reader who did not like it, nor had she run into one who had read it only once. That seems a good quality to me. Particularly the type of nonlinear books we're discussing this month will require rereading.
On identifying with the character: More sophisticated books require more sophisticated evaluation techniques. Perhaps it is not as important for us to have strong emotional attachment to main character as it is to recognize that there are various manners in which authors present characters and what we should ask is "how well did the author do what he set out to do?" Superbly in this case, I'd say. It is probably true that these new ways to present character in such as nonlinear books for youth are most appealing to the youth themselves who do not know there is a "better way."
On seeing the "hand of the authors." Well part of this richness of this reading experience lies in realizing that Fleischman is crafting the story just as Brent crafts his Whirligigs. But that does not keep me from understanding Brent (or others) as "real people," and having his and their personalities indelibly stamped on my mind.
"nuff said." Sorry this wasn't in smaller more interactive chunks, but . . ..
Eliza
At 12:12 PM 10/20/98 00, you wrote: was a story that I could not stop thinking about. unpredictable consequence, whether taking a drink and driving or building a piece of art. How art affects lives. The image of the grandmother and granddaughter sitting in the car looking out at the whirligig haunts me. of the theme of cause and effect. for this grievous harm. What an elegant solution.
*********************************************************************** Eliza T. Dresang, Associate Professor
School of Information Studies Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306!00 e-mail: edresang at mailer.fsu.edu Phone: 850 644 5877 (w) Phone: 850 224 1637 (h) FAX: 850 644 6253 (w) FAX: 850 224 1637 (h)
Received on Tue 27 Oct 1998 05:35:58 PM CST
