So when I first picked up this book, I was a little nervous because it is an absolutely huge book. I know, I know don't judge a book by its cover, but honestly this was a heavy book and with a short deadline I was a bit nervous, until I opened up the pages and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of pictures and not a lot of words. This was such a wonderful story that I can see a lot of reluctant readers really enjoying. I have read graphic novels before, but the novels I have read before were set up more like comic strips where this was two different story lines being told through pictures and written narrative. The two stories eventually weave together so it all makes sense, but I thought the author/illustrator really did a great job tying the two together. This is the story of a boy named Ben who loses his mother in an accident and then loses his hearing in a seperate accident of lightning strike. He travels to NYC and into the American Museum of Natural History where he meets Jamie. Ben is on a quest to find his father that he has never met nor knows very little about and Jamie helps him do so. The pictures start with a little girl in Hoboken, New Jersey and much earlier than Ben's story begins. The pictures and the story end up intertwining, and I don't want to give away the ending so I will stop there but encourage you all to read it! The entire book was like a mystery and I was trying to connect the characters. I think there was a great balance between the pictures and the words. as a reader, I felt accomplished when I looked at how far I got in the story and how fast the reading really went! I was proud of myself for finishing the story quickly, and I can really see a reluctant reader feeling the same confidence and accomplishment! This would also appear to your students that are more visual learners. This is definitely a book that I am going to keep in the front of my mind as a recommendation to struggling readers!Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wonderstruck
So when I first picked up this book, I was a little nervous because it is an absolutely huge book. I know, I know don't judge a book by its cover, but honestly this was a heavy book and with a short deadline I was a bit nervous, until I opened up the pages and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of pictures and not a lot of words. This was such a wonderful story that I can see a lot of reluctant readers really enjoying. I have read graphic novels before, but the novels I have read before were set up more like comic strips where this was two different story lines being told through pictures and written narrative. The two stories eventually weave together so it all makes sense, but I thought the author/illustrator really did a great job tying the two together. This is the story of a boy named Ben who loses his mother in an accident and then loses his hearing in a seperate accident of lightning strike. He travels to NYC and into the American Museum of Natural History where he meets Jamie. Ben is on a quest to find his father that he has never met nor knows very little about and Jamie helps him do so. The pictures start with a little girl in Hoboken, New Jersey and much earlier than Ben's story begins. The pictures and the story end up intertwining, and I don't want to give away the ending so I will stop there but encourage you all to read it! The entire book was like a mystery and I was trying to connect the characters. I think there was a great balance between the pictures and the words. as a reader, I felt accomplished when I looked at how far I got in the story and how fast the reading really went! I was proud of myself for finishing the story quickly, and I can really see a reluctant reader feeling the same confidence and accomplishment! This would also appear to your students that are more visual learners. This is definitely a book that I am going to keep in the front of my mind as a recommendation to struggling readers!
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I thought this was such an incredible work. I loved it so much more than Hugo. (did you read that one yet?) I am wondering how you personally responded to the reading? You say you thought there was a great balance between the pictures and words, but can you dig a little deeper here?
ReplyDeleteFor example, what emotions did the images evoke? How did you reading strategies change or shift as you moved from text to image?
I never read Hugo, but maybe think I should. I have a lot of 7th graders now who are really into graphic novels, so I have been looking for more to have on hand to recommend. The pictures in this story reminded me of a book called zoom. Not all of the pictures were like this, but especially in the beginning with the wolves running it kept getting further and further away until you could see the whole picture or then realize that the picture was on a postcard that someone was looking at etc. Until you could make the connection with how the pictures and words connected, the pictures were almost a completely separate story from the words. For a while, you didn't need the words to understand the pictures, and you didn't need the pictures to understand the words. By doing this, it personally made me want to flip the pages faster so that I could continue each story. When I finally felt like I was getting what the pictures were saying, there would be a section of words and I almost wanted to skip the words and go right onto the picture. (Obviously I am glad I didn't do that because ultimately they both tied in together at the end). When I shifted reading strategies, I didn't think of it much at first because the stories seemed so separate.
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