SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi

1.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bacigalupi, Paolo.  2010. SHIP BREAKER.  New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316056212

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Nailer works on the light crew stripping copper wire from the old grounded oil tankers.  His day by day existence of struggling to make quota was turned upside down when he discovered a clipper ship wrecked on the beach after a hurricane.  He realizes the find could be his “lucky strike” to a better life when he sees how much of the ship and the contents of the ship are worth.  He then discovers that there is one survivor, a wealthy girl named Nina.  He must then choose to save the girl or abandon the girl and cash in on the find.  He chooses to save the girl.  Nina and Nailer then begin a dangerous adventure of finding Nina’s crew.   Their journey includes an attempt to escape from dangerous half-men and Nailer’s cruel father, Richard Lopez.  Will Nailer and Nina find Nina’s loyal crew or will they succumb to their enemies?  Find out by reading SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Paolo Bacigalupi throws the reader into the story by starting the story with no background knowledge of what is going on.  The reader has to gradually figure out what is going on.  The world Nailer lives in is a stark, futuristic view of the gulf coast.  In this world, there is a large economic gap between the wealthy and poor.  Global warming and pollution have taken a toll on the earth.   The characters are well-developed in the story and each character has a specific personality.  The characters often struggle when making difficult decisions.  When deciding to help Nina or use her to gain money, Nailer struggles to do what is right.  “You want to be like Sloth? he asked himself,  Do anything just to make a little more cash?”

Bacigalupi chooses the language of the characters to show their background.  Nailer uses swear words and lives in survival mode.  Nina, from her wealthy background, is shocked by some of the things that Nailer says and does.  Both Nina and Nailer change through the book as the other person’s perspective changes their perspective.  The book has a lot of violence that is described in detail.  The fantasy characters of half-men seem to be believable in the story because they are well described and seem to have characteristics of both dogs and people.    The book has no illustrations inside.  The book’s cover is designed to look like oxidized copper with the title looking like someone scratched “Ship Breaker” in the copper.  This makes the book look like it has been salvaged from one of the oil tankers in the book.  The book has non-stop action so beware that the reader will not want to put the book down!

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Children's Notable Books, 2011 

 Michael L. Printz Award Winners, 2011 

 Texas Lone Star Reading List, 2011 

 TAYSHAS High School Reading List, 2011 

Kirkus Reviews, 2008.

School Library Journal, 2008.  “

Horn Book Magazine:  “This thriller will grab and keep readers’ attentions as Nailer and Nita “crew up” in their fight to survive.”

School Library Journal:  “A fast-paced post-apocalyptic adventure…”

5. CONNECTIONS. 

* Students can use a double-bubble thinking map to compare life in the United States during Nailer’s futuristic time period with life in the United States today.  (A double-bubble map is similar to a Venn diagram.)

*Teachers can connect this book to a lesson about global warming and climate change. 

*Other fantasy books by Paolo Bacigalupi:

Bacigalupi, Paolo.  THE DROWNED CITIES.  ISBN 9780316056243

ISBN 9781580892605

Bacigalupi, Paolo.  THE ALCHEMIST.  ISBN 9781596063532

BABYMOUSE: MAD SCIENTIST by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

1.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm.  2011.  BABYMOUSE: MAD SCIENTIST.  New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 9780375865749

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Babymouse wants to do a science project for the science fair.  She decides to do her project on amoebas.  She discovers an amoeba that eats cupcakes and can talk.  She ends up getting 2^nd place at the science fair on her amoeba science fair project. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Babymouse has an active imagination. She has many crazy daydreams like drinking a science experiment and becoming a giant.  Another daydream is that she travels to the moon in a giant cupcake lunar module.  Neil Armstrong’s words are changed to “that is one step for babymouse… one giant leap for…mold!”  It seems that the purpose of the book is to entertain through Babymouse’s zany, comedic adventures.  Children in middle school will relate to Babymouse and her adventures.   Just like many students, she has problems being late to her classes and dislikes having to work on her science fair project over the weekend. 

The book is a graphic novel and does not have a lot of words so it is a great book for older students who struggle with reading.  The only colors in the book are pink, black and white.  Towards the end of the story, the reader is introduced to Squish.  Squish is green and green is added to the book after Squish is introduced in the story.   The book’s use of pink, pink hearts around the page numbers and the fact that babymouse is a girl make this book more appealing to girls. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist:  “…then she discovers an amoeba named Squish.  The book introduces this new graphic-novel series character by snazzy use of the color green, which nicely counteracts the pink hues of the rest of the book.”

5. CONNECTIONS. 

* Students can create their own cartoon story and then share them with the class. 

*Other graphic novels:

Hale, Shannon.  RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE.  ISBN 9781599900704

Hale, Shannon.  CALAMITY JACK.  ISBN 9781599900766

Krosoczka, Jarrett.  LUNCH LADY AND THE PICTURE DAY PERIL.  ISBN 9780375870354

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, Grace. 2009.  WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.  New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.  ISBN 9780316114271

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Minli, her mother, Ma and her father, Ba live in a poor town at the bottom of fruitless mountain.  They had to work hard in the rice fields just to make a meager living.  After hearing about the Old Man of the Moon, she begins a quest to find out how her family can change their fortune.  There are many magical characters along the journey including talking fish, talking monkeys, and a dragon that cannot fly.  The dragon joins her trek to see the Old Man of the Moon so that he can ask him how he can learn to fly.  Once Minli reaches the Old Man of the Moon, the Old Man of the Moon states that “every ninety-nine years, someone comes here with their questions.  But I will answer only one.  So choose your question carefully.”  Minli selflessly gives up asking her question to the Old Man of the Moon so that the dragon can learn how he can fly.  This selfless act begins a series of events that change not only the fortune of her family but the fortune of her entire community. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON is original fantasy set in the style of a Chinese folk tale.  With her extensive reading and cultural knowledge of Asian Cultures, Grace Lin’s story seems to be realistically set in China.  The characters have Chinese-sounding names like Minli, Da-Fu, A-Fu, Ba and A-Gong.  The numerous illustrations and pictures are reminiscent of traditional Chinese art.  These pictures depict Asian-style architecture and landscapes.  The book has short chapters with wide line spacing which may help readers who are transitioning from picture books to chapter books.  Sadly, there are quite a few typos in the book. 

Grace Lin does not include many details about the personalities of the characters but readers can become captivated by the magical adventures of the main character, Minli.  Throughout the book, there are original stories that use characters, myths and legends from Chinese folklore. The titles of some of these folklore-inspired stories are “The Story of the Green Tiger and the Tea,” “A String of Destiny,” and “The Story of the Dragon’s Gate.”   In the Author’s note, Lin lists some of the books that inspired her to write WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON.  While the focus of the book is on the story, there are many times in the story where one character will show a negative character trait while another character shows the opposite character trait.  The characters end up getting what they deserve. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Newbery Honor Book, 2010 

Children's Notable Book , 2010 

Horn Book Magazine:

“Lovely full-page illustrations in blues, reds, greens, and luminous golds as well as delicate

chapter-openers, all influenced by traditional Chinese art, contribute to

this original, folklore-inspired fantasy’s sense of timelessness.”

5.  CONNECTIONS. 

* Grace Lin uses her knowledge of Chinese folktales, myths and legends to expand on the characters and make up new stories with the characters from the folktales.  Teachers can read some folktales to students and then have students write the history of a specific character or continue the story from where it originally ends. 

*Other books by Grace Lin:

Lin, Grace.  DUMPLING DAYS.  ISBN 9780316125901. 

Lin, Grace.  LING & TING:  NOT EXACTLY THE SAME!.  ISBN 9780316024525

Lin, Grace.  STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY.  ISBN 9780316125956ISBN 9781580892605