All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Bibliographic Data

Doerr, Anthony. All the Light We Cannot See. New York: Scribner, 2014. Print.

Summary

All the Light We Cannot See is the story of two teenagers who live during World War II.  Marie-Laure LeBlanc, blind since age six, is the daughter of a lock maker who lovingly raises her to be independent in spite of her handicap.  Werner Pfenning is an orphan with a sister who leaves home to become a Hitler Youth.  Both young people are gifted in their own ways, Marie-Laure with her ability to memorize and Werner with his mathematics.  Against the backdrop of war privations, the French Resistance, a stupendously valuable diamond and a brave relative, both young lives begin to converge.

Analysis

As a novel encompassing both the adult theme of war’s destructive nature and the young adult experiences with life overshadowed by that destruction, All the Light We Cannot See deserves the Alex Award it received in 2015.

There is much in the novel to learn and feel.  Museum collections, radios, ocean life, and trigonometry are some of the topics which Doerr has his two main characters experience without boring the reader with too much exposition.  Marie-Laure’s blindness is her physical limitation, but her fingers, ears, and mind see what her eyes cannot.  Werner is dazzled by the idea of serving as a Hitler Youth and finds recognition in creating a triangulation method for finding the enemy.  Marie-Laure becomes strong in her father’s absence and Werner becomes progressively aware of the inhumanity of training for war. 

The novel is well-written.  The plot is about the convergence of two young lives during war.  Told in alternating flashbacks between 1940 and 1944, written in present tense to give immediacy to the reader, the story is replete with fresh and imaginative figurative language that begs to be reread and savored.  The setting provides the details which both prompt the two young people to act and cause them to react.  Adult readers may see the characters more as examples of people who lived during wartime, but young adult readers will live the time with Marie-Laure and Werner because of Doerr’s ability to detail their lives with suspense by alternating chapters between the two characters.  Even though war is present in American society today, and even though war involves death and destruction, the novel is appropriate for older teens.

One strength is its beautifully written prose which keeps the reader waiting for the next description.  For example, “At least, out on the beaches, her privation and fear are rinsed away by wind and color and light” (243).  Because the character of Marie-Laure is so well drawn with physical detail and inner thoughts, Werner’s character seems to suffer somewhat in comparison.  His character is drawn more with struggle and technicalities than introspection, making him less sympathetic.

In essence, All the Light We Cannot See is a novel to be highly recommended as a war story for both teens and adults and as an inspiration about overcoming adversity.

Activity

Since this book includes so many fascinating subjects, one activity would be to showcase both Marie-Laure’s and Werner’s strengths by hosting a program in which the teens could begin by being blindfolded and asked to identify objects by smell, hearing, touch, and taste.  Then the teens could learn how to build a crystal radio, with materials and instructions provided.

Related Resources

1. 83rd Infantry Division: Liberation of Western Europe (DVD)

Seeing actual pictures or photographs of geographic places in the novel provides the reader visual context for the locations mentioned in the text.

83rd Infantry Division: Liberation of Western Europe. Dir. Tyler Alberts. Combat Reels Inc., 2005. Film.

2. “Inspirational Story of Max Lamm, Blind Teen Who Dominates at Wrestling” (YouTube Video and Article)

This video will increase the reader’s appreciation of what it means to accomplish something in spite of a handicap.  Marie-Laure’s blindness did not stop her work with the French Resistance.

"Inspirational Story of Max Lamm, Blind Teen Who Dominates at Wrestling." ABC7 Chicago. 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 June 2015. < http://abc7chicago.com/sports/inspirational-video-of-a-blind-teenage-wrestler/322651/>.

Published Review

Murray, Judy. Rev. of All the Lights We Cannot See. Anthony Doerr. Library Journal 139.13 (2014):46. Web 14 Jun. 2015.

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly

Bibliographic Data

Daly, Maureen. Seventeenth Summer. New York: Simon Pulse, 2002. Print.

Summary

Set in 1940s Wisconsin, Seventeenth Summer is a wonderfully descriptive, first person narrative of a young woman’s first love written by Maureen Daly.  Seventeen-year-old Angie Morrow, short for Angeline, meets handsome, athletic eighteen-year-old Jack Duluth by a chance encounter.  They begin a summer of exciting romance and personal growth through all of the facets of first love: happiness, heartache and bewilderment.  Angie is totally preoccupied with her own relationship while observing those of her two sisters and her friends.  As the summer fades, Angie and Jack face their futures.  Will the romance also fade?

Analysis

Maureen Daly’s Seventeenth Summer was informed by the author’s own youthful experience since she was a college student when she authored it.  The theme of first love is timeless, and Daly’s rendering of it is superb in its expression of feelings and its descriptive analogies to cycles of maturation in nature.  Daly conveys the 1940s American teen experience with sensitivity and awareness, providing the reader vicarious insight into a young girl’s first romantic experience by using a first person narrative.  If there were a weakness, it probably would be that future/today’s teens would stumble over 1940s references and they would be incredulous and perhaps bored at the innocence and purity of the actions in comparison to modern overt sexuality. 

Its 1940s setting notwithstanding, Seventeenth Summer would still appeal to today’s youth. It addresses issues which are normal teenage ones: parental approval, reputation, and relationship anxieties.  It is developmentally appropriate in that mothers might give this novel to their teenage daughters to show them that relationships do not have to start in the bedroom.  As a matter of fact, Seventeenth Summer is listed, according to this edition’s back cover as “A BOOKLIST 25 BOOKS THAT SPAN THE DECADES SELECTION.”

Activity

An activity which would engage readers and assess their learning would be one comparing the vocabulary used in the 1940s to 21^st century vocabulary.  Seventeenth Summer concerns first love in a timeframe which is more than likely unfamiliar to today’s teens.  I would have students gather and list terms, phrases, and names from the text and guess what would be their equivalents in today’s society.  Not only would the students enjoy the phrasings, but they would also learn them and be able to relate to them in other early 20^th century literature.

Examples: icebox (27), car robe (147), Nelson Eddy (16), jive session (189) oxfords (92), knickers (34), and serial stories on the radio (113).

Related Resources

1. Greatest Songs of the 1940's

Suggesting selections from an anthology of music which was popular in the 1940s gives teens an opportunity to hear lyrics prevalent at that time which express the innocence, purity, and heartbreak of first love.

Greatest Songs of the 1940’s. United Audio Entertainment, 2012. CD.

2. The Truth about Dating, Love, and Just Being Friends

Chad Eastham writes advice for teenagers about romance and relationships.  His modern advice encompasses first love as well as longer relationships.  Angie could have used advice but was very introspective, very private.  Her inexperience produced no words to discuss her relationship with anyone else; therefore, Eastham’s book would have provided information and assurance from the beginning.  Teens who are interested in advice about relationship such as Angie’s could benefit from Eastham’s advice.

Eastham, Chad. The Truth about Dating, Love & Just Being Friends: And How Not to Be Miserable as a Teenager Because Life Is Short, and Seriously Things Don't Magically Get Better after High School and Lots of Other Important Stuff, but We'll Get to That Later--. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 2011. Print.

Published Review

Rabey, Melissa. “New to Me – Seventeenth Summer.” Rev. of Seventeenth Summer. Maureen Daly. YALSA The Hub. (2011). Web. 8 Jun. 2015.

  

Introduction

As a departure from my usual reviews of children’s literature, your Rogue Reviewer would like to change focus to make a professional presentation on cultural literacy.  Most of the books your children read or you read to them contain vocabulary and allusions which you explain to your child if he seems confused by the information.  Having an acquaintance with cultural terminology including people, places, objects, events, and topics increases your child’s ability to comprehend material and communicate with others.

            I’ve listed the parts to my presentation to the left of the page for those who wish to view individual posts.  Another option is to scroll down to see the entire presentation in order.  Each category leads to the next, but all could be viewed independently.  Join me for a formal presentation of a critical component in education: cultural literacy.        

Theorist

          People who study the processes of learning create theories which they promote as important to the field of education.  One such theorist and theory is Jerome Bruner and his theory of constructivism, or discovery learning.

          In the process of introducing information to children on an age-appropriate level, teachers should “spiral” the material.  Spiraling means to revisit information and add to it periodically throughout the school years.  For example, a ninth grade social studies class may study general civics which would be revisited in an upper grade in a U. S. government class.  To add to previous information, according to Bruner, is to “scaffold,” a technique which allows students to create a progressively more complete picture of a topic, such as civics, and a background of reference for its contents.  That civics background will be useful, for example, in reading political fiction and non-fiction.  A critic of Bruner’s theory focused on the fact that spiraling and scaffolding should be done within the same year as well as successive years.  Brian Gibbs (2014), a graduate student in curriculum in the school of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes that too much time between spirals contributes to an inability to retain and apply previously learned information.  He maintains if teachers have the goal of more complex learning by the year’s end, the students will increase their abilities and be able to advance more easily.  He believes this more focused and goal-oriented teaching will accomplish “Bruner’s intent that learning is connected, builds on itself, and grows” (44).

Collection Development

        Should a parent or educator wish to investigate resources to encourage cultural literacy, there are many which a librarian can recommend.  Because the term “cultural literacy” covers such a wide variety of terms, having a general source for reference is a valuable first step.
          A comprehensive print resource which explains the rationale for incorporating cultural literacy into the elementary school curriculum is Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.  Although its first edition was published in 1988, it has become the classic, core work in the field of cultural literacy.  Not fully appreciated when it first appeared, the book has gained in significance now that Common Core has integrated some of his advice.  For example, progressively more difficult vocabulary is stressed in Common Core curriculums.
           Hirsch’s book engendered some heated discussion.  Some people though he emphasized Western thought and civilization to the detriment of other cultures.  Hirsch (1988) disagreed, stating that “the benefit [of cultural literacy] we derive is to come to the tolerant understanding that no single national vocabulary is inherently superior or privileged about all others” (107).  Hirsch was also criticized for including a list in an appendix of his book which was “intended to illustrate the character and range of the knowledge literate Americans tend to share” (146).  This first list ever could be altered if there were unintended omissions or inclusions since it was only “to establish guide posts that can be of practical use . . .” (146).      

Below are 10 sample terms from the list:

vitamin	Volga River
vivisection	Volstead Act
V-J Day	volt
voilà	voltage
volcano	Voltaire

          The criticism centered on the list’s being assigned for memorization.  Hirsch did not intend that application.  He researched and tested the items with colleagues from several disciplines and selected terms at the high school graduate literacy level (137).  He determined to provide the list as a basis for encouraging parents and educators that emphasizing them would increase a student’s background of literacy which, in turn, would increase his comprehension.

          A serial resource, defined as a magazine or journal, of value is entitled “The Journal of Literacy Research.”  Since there is no available magazine or journal devoted specifically to cultural literacy, this resource can be searched for articles on the subject.  It contains 375 search results for “cultural literacy” in full text.  It is ranked #91 out 219 in Education and Educational Research (About).

          Access to this journal may be problematical.  A teacher or researcher will be able to use an academic database, but a parent should inquire at a public or academic library if the journal is available.  Journals are written to give academic assessments and research or case studies, material which may be useful in creating and implementing cultural literacy programming or courses. 

Finally, an electronic resource which is eminently practical and enjoyable is the commercial site The Literacy Company.  It provides products to aid in reading speed and comprehension, but there is access on its website to “Cultural Literacy Tests.”  A person can take 29 different quizzes to assess his level of cultural literacy.  The tests were based on Test Your Cultural Literacy by Diane and Kathy Zahler.  Providing assessments such as these on a commercial website would seem to emphasize the importance of cultural literacy competence to reading comprehension.

 

Economics

          Literacy and economics are interlaced: the more impoverished an area, the lower the level of overall literacy.  Ross, McKechnie and Rothbauer (2006) state the following statistic from a Hart and Risley (1996) longitudinal study: “by age three, there was already a 30-million-word gap between the words that the children in families on welfare had heard and the words that children in professional families had heard” (43).

As a case investigation of this relationship between literacy and income, one could examine the statistics from the poorest county in the state of Michigan: Lake County.

General Statistics Lake County, Michigan
Economics	2013 Population: 11,386 (White: 87%, African American: 9.2%) 2009-2013 Households: 4,096 Median Household income: $29,379 Persons below poverty level: 27.9% 2007 Retail sales per capita: 4,801
Jobs	2012 Private wage/salary: 72% Government: 19% Self-employed, not incorporated: 8% Unpaid family work: 0%
Public Libraries	Chase Township Public Library Luther Area Public Library Pathfinder Community Library
Library Associations	Interlibrary Loan Mid-Michigan Library League and Michi-Card
Education Levels	2014 No High School: 481 Some High School: 1,277 (26.8%) Some College: 1, 795 (37.7%) Associate Degree: 494 Bachelor Degree: 517 Graduate Degree: 198
Literacy Rate	2013 4th graders not proficient in reading: 46% High School students not graduating on time: 48%
Higher Education	West Shore Community College (two year) No four year universities No independent colleges or universities
Newspapers	The Lake County Star (weekly since 1873)

Focused Statistics

2013 estimates
Population	11, 124
% below poverty level	27.9  +/- 2.7
% below poverty level under 18	46.9  +/-
Unemployed	44%
K-12 enrolled	95%
Total household	4,096
Median income	$24-29,000

2014 estimates
Population	11,341
% language other than English	2.1

          In 2013, the percentage of 4^th graders not proficient in reading was 46%.  Given that the population numbers had had no significant change (-117 in one year) and the non-English speaking percentage is only 2.1%, a reason for the almost 50% rating of “not proficient” in readings might be due to the lack of materials available in the home because of low-income families’ inability to afford them.  The median income is approximately $2000 per month.  Expenses in Lake County for food, gasoline and utilities are high in this upper middle-west of Michigan.  Another reason for the low literacy rate could be the relative isolation of Lake County.  It is bordered by a state forest on the west and a few small towns on the east.  Cultural activities do not seem numerous and the libraries are small and perhaps budgets do not permit extensive programming with much cultural literacy focus.

Interview

          Having the input of an experienced, professional librarian can shed light on the contribution a public library makes to its community in the area of literacy in general and cultural literacy in particular.

Mrs. Fran Hotchkiss, the Children’s Librarian at the Brandon Township Public Library in Ortonville, Michigan, volunteered at the library in her teens.  It is now 49 years later and she has not only been honored as the 2001 Michigan Children’s Librarian of the year, but she also conducts 24 on-site programs per week and 12 off-site school programs per month.

          She has insight into why children experience difficulty in reading.  She cites an economic reality in that parents might not be able to afford to take advantage of library resources or provide resources for home reading.  She also mentioned that sometimes a lack in literacy is generational.  For example, older members of the family don’t model reading and therefore there is a lack of encouragement to read.  Finally, Mrs. Hotchkiss believes time constraints with parents cause them not to read to their children often or early enough.

          Mrs. Hotchkiss takes more of a traditionalist approach to literacy.  She believes early exposure to language is beneficial.  She instituted Lapsit programs from birth to three years of age which serves as a model for parents to read to their children at home.  She also created a Pre-school Story Hour for children three and a half to five years old.  In these programs, she stresses phonics and repetition, incorporates simple technology such as a CD player, short movies on DVD, and band instruments. 

          When asked to make comments on the topic of cultural literacy, Mrs. Hotchkiss compared her childhood experience to her programming.  As a child who encountered an unfamiliar term, she was always told to “look it up.”  In her programs, she either stops to explain a word or she provides a visual to illustrate.  For example, if she were reading Madeleine, she would bring in a children’s illustrated book about Paris.

          Mrs. Hotchkiss has provided several programs to encourage cultural literacy.  In addition to her pairing stories with non-fiction books which serve to enrich the children’s literacy background, she has held the following programs:  Little House on the Prairie, Multi-Cultural Cooking, Crafts Around the World, and Snacks Around the World.  Each program included a storybook and sharing time for the children.

          Finally, Mrs. Hotchkiss explained that she especially enjoyed sharing authors in her programs who specialize in culture-based stories.  One of those authors is Patricia Polacco who is of Russian, Ukrainian and Irish heritage.  Rechenka’s Eggs by Polacco is a story about a Babushka and her painted eggs, a Ukrainian religious tradition.  Children can learn geography, architecture, and the art of decorating Easter eggs.  Another of Mrs. Hotchkiss’s favorite authors is Tomie DePaola, whose story book Strega Nona is a 1976 Caldecott Honor Book.  Since it is set in a small village in Italy, children hear another tale set in a foreign country.