In the Hammock Reading

1.     Bibliography Hale, Shannon, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale. Rapunzel's Revenge . New York, NY: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-1599902883 2.     Plot Summary This graphic novels follows more or less the beloved and well-known tale of Rapunzel, but with a few twists! Rapunzel’s long hair is used as a lasso as she embarks on a wild adventure with Jack to seek revenge on the woman who took her away from her mother. 3.     Critical Analysis Wife and husband duo Shannon (Newbery Medal award-winning author) and Dean Hale team up to recreate the classic Rapunzel story with a wild west twist. Rapunzel's Revenge more or less follows the same storyline of the classic fairy tale, but the Hales have incorporated several fun changes, twists, and explanations to this tale. Firstly, the story is presented in a graphic novel format. Shannon and Dean Hale do an A+ job of writing the story so that it flows. Also, props to Nathan Hale and his imaginative illustr

1.     Bibliography Gaiman, Neil, and Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book . New York: HarperCollins Pub., 2008. ISBN: 978-0060530945 2.     Plot Summary Poor Nobody (Bod) Owens finds himself abandoned as a baby after his father, mother, and sister are murdered by a mysterious man named Jack. Baby Bod happens upon a graveyard filled with friendly ghosts who adopt him as their son. Bod is appointed a guardian named Silas who feeds him and arranges for his education. Through this story, Bod surprisingly finds love and life in the oddest of places, a graveyard. 3.     Critical Analysis "It takes a graveyard..." Props to Neil Gaiman and this Newbery Medal award-winning ghost story. Gaiman manages to create a story completely set in a graveyard that is surprisingly "full of life". The story follows the adventures and life of Nobody Owens as a baby up into his adolescence. Bod's parents are murdered by a mysterious man named Jack and baby Bod toddles into a ne

1.     Bibliography Green, John. Looking for Alaska . New York: Penguin Group, 2005. ISBN: 978-0142402511 2.     Plot Summary Looking for Alaska is a story of life, loss, recovery and finding meaning through it all. Young Miles (Pudge) attends boarding school in Alabama; there he meets Alaska Young who flips his paradigm of a life upside down. Pudge and his group of friends band together, learn life’s toughest lessons and grow to understand loss on a different level through this funny and sad story. 3.     Critical Analysis Looking for Alaska is a classic tragic coming of age story. John Green does a phenomenal job of developing the characters in this Printz Award Winner.  The story takes place during present day at the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. The setting provides a scenic and quaint backdrop to the story. Looking for Alaska   is told from the first person perspective of Miles, who gains the ironic nickname of Pudge by his friends. Pudge is a teenager tr