MAUS - a Graphic Novel

Maus - My Father Bleeds History

By Art Spiegelman

 

Maus - Study Questions

Middle School Students will enjoy this graphic novel and learn a lot about the Holocaust while reading it. The novel is written about Art's father, a Polish Jew and Holocaust Survivor. It details his life, his struggles and his experiences. Jews are depicted as mice in the novel, Germans are depicted as cats and the Poles are pigs.

Post/Pre-Reading Activities:

• Click this YouTube movie and watch it - Students can write a short summary about what you learned.
• Holocaust Unit Research Paper Directions: Holocaust Research Paper
• Stop the Hate Essay - Submitting to the contest is optional.
• Local Connection: Schools near Beachwood, Ohio can visit the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage and schedule a Holocaust Survivor Talk.
• Stop the Hate Project  - Create an event about how you can Stop the Hate in your community. Creativity & Innovation Project Rubric for PBL
• Creating a Found Poem on a Survivor - Length of poem should be at least 15 lines.
• Diary from the Łódź Ghetto
• Jewish Map of Ghettos in Eastern Europe
• Image of the Boy in the Warsaw Ghetto 
• Click on the links above - Read the Diary entries and view the images. Reflect. How did people live/survive in the Ghetto?

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush

Urrea, L.A. (2010). Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush. El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press.

Paperback | $17.95 USD | ISBN: 978-1933693231| 64 pages | Young Adult, Grades 10 & up



Mr. Mendoza is the self-proclaimed graffiti king and conscience of Rosario. No one likes graffiti combined with a conscience of any kind. Mr. Mendoza tells it like it is, but he does so with a paintbrush and in a way that many townspeople feel is offensive. His advice and candor is unwelcome. He will write on animals, walls, and even (dead) people. This graphic novel written by Latino writer Urrea combines a bit of magic and realism in the form of a comic. The narrator of the story is a young boy who is just learning about all of the wonderful things life can offer you. He is a typical teen that gets in some trouble when Mr. Mendoza catches him where he shouldn’t be.  Mr. Mendoza is there to paint it all and to offer his opinions, chastisement and advice in the process.


The town of Rosario is falling apart – the cathedral is crumbling and the walls are covered with graffiti. There are plenty of ugly things to observe there and plenty of citizens that don’t want to face the ugly truth, but Mr. Mendoza continues to paint his messages. He catches the narrator peeping at the girls by the river taking a dip. He brandishes the narrator and his friend with labels and criticizes them, but never uses obscenities. People find him to be too bold and obtrusive to their lifestyles that they want to live. Then one day he announces via his paintbrush that he is going away to his funeral. The townspeople are intrigued. They all show up in the town square to see what will happen. And Mr. Mendoza begins to paint.  He paints stairs and begins to climb them. He climbs so high into the sky. No one knows what he is doing. No one knows where he went. Then he disappears so high in the sky. The next day it rains and the stairs are gone. 
  
I would recommend this book for an older teen audience and all young adults. Though Urrea does not use any obscenities in his story, there are plenty of references to sex and also some nudity in the drawings. Because the story is based on a real life town in Mexico it can help readers gain an understanding about the lives of teens growing up in Mexico and their struggles with poverty. Christopher Cardinale illustrated the graphic novel. To do so Cardinale went to the actual town to get a feel for what it really looked like. The scenes in the story provide the reader with realistic images of the town. According to Urrea’s website the town of “Rosario” is the real-life “Tres Camarones,” which is the town in his famous novel Into the Beautiful North.


Writer Luis Alberto Urrea is a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. He was born in Tijuana, Mexico and has a Mexican father and American mother. He is the author of 13 books and has won countless awards for his other publications of poetry, fiction and essays.  Many of his works depict small towns in Mexico (like Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush) and deal with immigration as well as the poverty of the town. Urrea attended the University of Califonia at San Diego and also attended graduate school at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  Urrea currently lives with his family in Naperville, IL, and he is teaches creative writing at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Read more about him on his personal website at http://www.luisurrea.com/. 

American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen. (2008). American Born Chinese. New York: Square Fish.


Paperback | $16.95 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0312384487 | 240 pages | YA Fiction, Age 12 & up

Jin Wang moved to a new school in the third grade.  His teacher introduced him as a new student from China, but Jin is from San Francisco. Sigh.There was an Asian girl in Jin’s class and the students all thought they must know each other. Sigh again. When another new student named Wei-Chen came to Jin’s school, the teacher again introduced him as though he was from China, although Wei-Chen is from Taiwan. A third, but not the final sigh. These three Asian students endure quite a bit. They have to deal with some cruel bullies at their school. This is just a snippet of the stereotypes that exist and are shared throughout this story.

The next character we meet is named Monkey King. He is the most powerful monkey on all of the earth. (In real life, he is Yang’s favorite fictional character and one that he read about throughout his childhood.) The problem is Monkey King doesn’t want to be a monkey – people laugh at him like he doesn’t belong. He is upset because he is a King after all and just wants to be considered an equal. He tries to change his appearance, become something he is not, and has to learn a few hard lessons along the way. The last character we meet is Chin-Kee. His poor cousin Danny who lives in America has to endure his yearly visits. I say endure because Gene Luen Yang writes Chin-Kee to represent the most outrageous of stereotypes that people have against Chinese people. Chin-Kee turns out to be someone you would least expect. Danny isn’t who you would expect either. Finally, Wei-Chen is someone else too! Jin learns some lessons and any reader should appreciate how difficult it is to be an American Born Chinese. 

This amazingly intertwined graphic novel does a great job connecting these three story lines. It is done in a symbolic way and you won’t find out until the end of the story. All of the characters in the story have trouble with their position in life – they all feel they want to change to belong or be accepted. The situations that each one found themselves in are stereotypical and show how much Americans judges other culture groups.

This book would be useful for every library that is seeking to break down the stereotypes and to appreciate others for their cultural differences and heritage.  The repetition of stereotypes is evident of the discrimination and stereotypes Asians who live in America experience. This book would be useful for all libraries whether or not they have diverse patrons because it is a story that reminds us all that many different types of people came to America and live in America. We need to be exposed to literature such as this so we can all learn to accept and appreciate cultures for their differences.

Author Gene Luen Yang won several awards for this graphic novel including the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Winner, 2007 Eisner Award Winner - Best Graphic Album – New, and it also was the first graphic novel to be nominated for the National Book Award in 2006. He has been publishing comics since 1996 under the name Humble Comics. To learn more about Gene Luen Yang and his work, please visit his website at http://geneyang.com. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Cabin Fever (Book Six)

Kinney, Jeff. (2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever. New York: Amulet Books.

Hardcover | $13.95 USD | ISBN-13: 978-1419702235 | 224 pages | Juvenile Fiction, 8 & up

Poor Greg has a problem with the holidays around the corner. He can only behave about 6 or 7 days in a row, plus his mom put up a doll (Santa’s helper) to “watch Greg’s every move.” This creeps Greg out; he doesn’t like being watched. And it’s not like Greg only has problems at home. School can be troubling in class and on the playground. To make matters worse the school has removed the playground equipment and won’t let the kids bring in toys to school.

So, when there is nothing to do at recess, Greg does what most boys do – he plays video games at home. He adopts a virtual pet, which he keeps in all the latest “virtual” clothing. Greg is always asking for money for this pet, so his mom sent him outside to shovel snow in the biggest blizzard of the year. He offered to shovel his neighbor’s driveway for $5; it was snowing so hard it was like he had never shoveled in the first place. He tried to get rid of the snow using a lawn mower, and a sprinkler. This iced over the driveway and now Greg’s dad had to go get salt to de-ice the driveway. Now instead of Greg making $5, he was $20 in the hole. Greg was back at square one. He decides to ask his friend Rowley to help him run a Christmas fundraiser so they could make some cash to buy Christmas presents (and he was neglecting his virtual pet). The boys printed newspapers and hung up signs outside of the school. This backfired when the signs stained the school building. The principal wanted to know who was responsible for the vandalism. Authorities were notified and an “anonymous tip” from Greg’s friend Rowley put Greg in the hot seat. What happens next? A huge blizzard hits and Greg is trapped indoors with his family without heat or electricity. With an annoying younger brother, named Manny (who gets everything he wants) and an older brother Rodrick who picks on him, how will he survive the Christmas blizzard? How does he survive Cabin Fever?

Boys, between all ages, absolutely love these books. There is something to laugh about on every page. Greg is just an average kid; he has a plan even if it isn’t the brightest of plans. The predicaments Greg finds himself in are engaging and witty. Most boys have “been there” or can imagine it happening to them. The story is a mix of comics, which tell part of the story and Greg’s words. Greg will make you laugh and the “quotes” in this story are classic. While reading it is clear that someone (usually an authoritative figure) said what was in quotes, and Greg may not always understand it but he respects it. He finds a way to make it through his often self-created problems. It is no wonder why many of Jeff Kinney’s books in this series have become #1 bestsellers. The series has won plenty of Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and three movies have been released so far.  For more about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, please visit the official website at http://www.wimpykid.com/

The author of the series, Jeff Kinney, originally wanted to be a cartoonist. He came up with his first story about Greg in 1998. He worked on his 1^st book for almost 8 years before showing it to a publisher. He released the 1^st book in April 2007 and it became a New York Times bestseller.  Now the series has more than 85 million books in print around the world.  Book 8 should release in November, 2013. Kinney lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. For more about Jeff Kinney, please visit: http://www.wimpykid.com/about-the-author/

Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet

Abouet, M. Aya of Yop City.  Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2008. ISBN#: 978-1897299418.  106 pgs.  $14.38 (from amazon.com)

Annotation:

Aya of Yop City is surrounded by drama.  Aya’s friend Bintou is searching for a new lover, and Aya’s friend Adjoua has a new baby with an unknown father.  But, the drama doesn’t stop there – Aya’s father has a family from another woman that shows up at the front door. 

Some facts to ponder about the book: 

A child born out of wedlock – who is the father?

A cancelled wedding – why?

A rich man’s son who doesn’t know how to work – what will he do? 

A girl looking for love and giving it up too soon – to who?

A poor man pretending to be rich – for what reason? 

A father with a hidden family with his personal secretary – who is she?

These stories and characters are interconnected in some way to Aya. 

Recommendation: 
For teens, or young adults who appreciate trilogies, as well as reading about lots of unique characters.  Perfect book for a public library's graphic novel section.  

Welcome to my blog!

A blog on resources for young adults from all types of genres!!!

I am posting these book reviews to provide you: the student with information about a specific book before you read it.  I'd like you to feel free to post your thoughts about a book you have read on this site.  Several books on this site are part of a series or have a sequel.  If you have read one of these books on the blog, please feel free to post your thoughts and ideas on the book.

Parents, teachers and librarians welcome, but this site is for Teens!   Please enjoy my site!