What an amazing book - and what a perfect time in history to read it. "We deceive ourselves into believing we can clean up the enemy, put him back in his place, and have our chicken parmigiana another night. Soon."(p. 16) "And I think we all finally, deeply, understood that we were at war. And that our side might not win." (p. 43) Are these not some of our hopes and fears today? I suppose such feelings are universal in war times. Most books about war share the same themes - fear, loss, anger, and lost love. From the adult book Finding Julia to the children's book Shades of Gray, the emotions are the same. I have no doubt the books written about the war in Iraq will have the same universal themes as well.
I was struck by John's feelings of isolation from his family and the rest of society while in the war and after it was over. He says, "...the longer we all fought, the more commonality we found with each other [enemy soldiers]...and the less we found in common with the rest of the world..." (p. 82) In the end, John must leave America to be in "the company of people whose hands still shook" (p. 95) and who shared the same fears, memories, and anxieties. My heart ached for him and for soldiers everywhere who have returned and continue to return from wartorn countries only to be surrounded by people who have never in their lifetime seen blood shed on their soil, heard bombs explode in their neighborhoods - how immature and naive we all must seem!
Once again Cynthia Rylant has amazed me with her ability to draw you into the story and spit you out at the end with new perspectives, emotional connections, and understandings.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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Piggy Monday A Tale About Manners written and illustrated by Suzanne Bloom
Suzanne Bloom is fabulous. My preschoolers are big fans of her Is This the Bus For Us, Gus?. My family just got Piggy Monday A Tale About Manners and we love it! When I first looked at the cover, I thought it would scare my chidlren, 4 and 6. That they would be afraid of turning into pigs themselves. Quite the contrary.
The book begins with a class of children who are teasing, being rude, talking in class, etc. As their behavior deteriorates throughout the day, they begin growing pig snouts, hooves, and tails, until they are all little pigs. The Pig Lady comes to the rescue and reminds them of their manners. As they begin to use manners, their pig parts disappear and they become polite young children. By the end, they are all complementing each other, reminding each other of the proper way to say things and do things, and saying please and thank you.
The illustrations are fabulous inspiring fits of laughter from my children as the students tear apart the classroom and acquire one pig part at a time. The story is in verse which always attracts the attention of young listeners and the dedication, "to that sparkling class who inspired this tale" was a great topic of conversation afterwards - "Did this really happen?" "Are there really kids who don't have any manners?" "Kids can't turn into pigs!"
A few days after reading this book my children were arguing over some precious toy they both desperately needed at the same time and I looked in the doorway and said, "I see a pig tail ... and an ear!" My children stopped arguing immediately and started looking at each other for their pig parts. They rolled in a fit of laughter and actually apologized to each other without being told to!!!! It was terrific! Later that night my husband forgot to say please and my son was quick to say, "Be careful Daddy, you're going to get a pig tail." Humor is such a great way to remind children to make good choices, rather than getting angry or frustrated. The kids catch each other and because of the fabulous imagery from the illustrations, they can't help but laugh at the thought.
I'm so glad I did not judge this book by its cover.
6 comments:
I love this quote, too!
"We deceive ourselves into believing we can clean up the enemy, put him back in his place, and have our chicken parmigiana another night. Soon."
It has to go into my top five quotes! I liked it when I first read it, but I didn't think much about it. Thanks for reminding me about it!
This reminded me of the book Letters From Rifka.
I also think about how unaffected we all are. It saddens me to think that there are people returning from wars to find themselves at "home" but almost feeling like a stranger there. To have no one to relate to, no one who truly understands what you have been through must be so difficult. I wish I could be reminded of how blind I am to the happenings of the rest of the world. Instead, I spend my days in my "bubble", not considering anything but the trivial events of my life. I really felt that I was seeing what happened in the war while I read this book- it was a very true perspective.
I really enjoyed the book as well. I thought Rylant's craft enabled us to see all the perspectives and faces of war! I, too, wonder if the hopes and fears of war are universal. I remember marking John's quote about commonality with the enemy while reading the novel, and thinking it odd that soldiers would find more in common with the enemy, than the people in their own homeland. But, I think you make a valid point... those of us who have never experienced war are immature and naive. I can only imagine what our loved ones face when they go to war. My heart aches for them - before their deployment, during wartime, and even when they return home are expected to reintegrate into society.
I love your insight into this work. I felt too that the fears and emotions expressed in this novel are all too current. It is unsettling to think about but, important to remember.
I was also truely amazed at how Rylant was able to taken on the character of John so completely. If I didn't know better I would have thought this was a memoir as opposed to a work of fiction. This is just another example of her amazing talent.
It is strange to live in a world where things like war have become almost like a tv show rather than news. We all tend to go about our business unaffected by it all. I thought Rylant created a character that we all could relate to. I found the book totally engrossing. I am not a huge Rylant fan but I liked this book.
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