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[CCBC-Net] Dear Zoe and Playing War
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From: Jennifer Bromann <bromannj>
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 15:51:23 -0700 (PDT)
I have not noticed a change in the books since September 11, but maybe more posts will change my mind.
There are two books I have recently read, however, that do relate to this topic. Dear Zoe is probably an adult book, but the main character is a teenager. She is watching the events of September 11 unfold on TV with her mother and they are so involvd with the news that they do not see their little daughter/sister walk out the door and get hit by a car. It is implied that perhaps the fast driver may have been rushing to find out if his own family was okay on that day. The rest of the story is the letters that the older sister writes to her deceased sister about how life is without her and what life was like when she was alive.
Although the terrorist attacks were in New York and the Pentagon,there were other people who lost loved ones on that day in other ways. I booktalk this one to high school students and my 12 copies are almost always checked out. There is one sex scene at the end and some characters use drugs.
A picture book for children is Playing War by Kathy Bethwick. It is about a group of diverse children who decide to play war. Then one of the boys speaks up and says that he was part of a real war. The children decide to play a different game. It was positively reviewed in Multicultural Journal. The boy's home country was never mentioned, but it could relate to the the war in Iraq, which occurred after 9/11. Although the message is a good one, it seemed unlikely. I wonder if the boy was not there the next day, if they would have played war again. I think I had other problems with it, but I do not have the book with me.
It seems that major events do influence specific topics in books for teenagers. After Columbine there have been many books written about school shootings, for example.
Oh! And I forgot! Night Fall by Nelson Demille also has a relation to 9/11, but I think I may have given away too much already and it is an adult book. However, it was fascinating to read the conspiracy theories of TWA Flight 800. I also booktalk this to high school juniors and seniors.
Jennifer Bromann Lincoln-Way Central High School New Lenox, IL bromannj at yahoo.com
Received on Thu 07 Sep 2006 05:51:23 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 15:51:23 -0700 (PDT)
I have not noticed a change in the books since September 11, but maybe more posts will change my mind.
There are two books I have recently read, however, that do relate to this topic. Dear Zoe is probably an adult book, but the main character is a teenager. She is watching the events of September 11 unfold on TV with her mother and they are so involvd with the news that they do not see their little daughter/sister walk out the door and get hit by a car. It is implied that perhaps the fast driver may have been rushing to find out if his own family was okay on that day. The rest of the story is the letters that the older sister writes to her deceased sister about how life is without her and what life was like when she was alive.
Although the terrorist attacks were in New York and the Pentagon,there were other people who lost loved ones on that day in other ways. I booktalk this one to high school students and my 12 copies are almost always checked out. There is one sex scene at the end and some characters use drugs.
A picture book for children is Playing War by Kathy Bethwick. It is about a group of diverse children who decide to play war. Then one of the boys speaks up and says that he was part of a real war. The children decide to play a different game. It was positively reviewed in Multicultural Journal. The boy's home country was never mentioned, but it could relate to the the war in Iraq, which occurred after 9/11. Although the message is a good one, it seemed unlikely. I wonder if the boy was not there the next day, if they would have played war again. I think I had other problems with it, but I do not have the book with me.
It seems that major events do influence specific topics in books for teenagers. After Columbine there have been many books written about school shootings, for example.
Oh! And I forgot! Night Fall by Nelson Demille also has a relation to 9/11, but I think I may have given away too much already and it is an adult book. However, it was fascinating to read the conspiracy theories of TWA Flight 800. I also booktalk this to high school juniors and seniors.
Jennifer Bromann Lincoln-Way Central High School New Lenox, IL bromannj at yahoo.com
Received on Thu 07 Sep 2006 05:51:23 PM CDT
