Book Review #2

Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street
by Sharon Flake
Hyperion Books for Children, 2009, 144pp.,$15.95,
Adolescent Fiction,
ISBN: 9781423100355


“Our carriage is special. It only carries royalty. Queens,”…



This story is narrated by an outspoken, spoiled, stuck-up, ten year old young lady by the name of Queen Marie Rosseau who is the youngest amongst three older brothers in college. Throughout the story we learn how Queen alienates her best friend, classmates and Mrs. McBride her 5th grade teacher. Queen treats her one friend, classmates and teacher like her royal subjects. However, she uses the following line as her justification for her inappropriate behavior…“A queen’s subjects don’t always like her…” this comment explains why her behavior is the main source of contention throughout the book. Her teacher, Mrs. McBride dislikes her constant attention seeking behavior but believes Queen has the capability to improve. In this statement Mrs. McBride clearly lets Queen know she will not stand for her behavior under any circumstances...”Young lady, you have a long way to go before you learn to conduct yourself like a real queen.” As the story continues a new boy by the name of Leroy Wright joins her 5th grade class. Along the way her parents befriended Leroy and forced her to be nice to him in spite of her hatred for him. In her journey to expose him she comes in contact with a man by the name of Cornelius who is Leroy’s neighbor. Eventually the advice of her parents, Symone, Leroy and Cornelius help her to understand the importance of friendship and imagination.

Young readers between the ages of 12 to 16 would enjoy this fiction storyline. The focus of this easy to read book is friendship and fantasy. Teachers can easily add this book to their classroom collections as it welcomes the reader who wants a fairy tale ending. In my opinion, this book is not written as well as some of her other writings like Bang or Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives. Flake is lacking her normal capturing of the audience drama and excitement all of which cause the reader to buy-in to her characters and storyline. The author utilizes vivid pictures to assist the young reader who requires visuals to better understand the storyline. These pictorials allow the reader to fantasize themselves as a possible character in the story. Flake uses extremely easy vocabulary/terminology for the reader who may be below reading level in your class but who enjoys reading.

Interested in other African American authors who write adolescent fiction books which focus on friendship and how to overcome hurt, then check out the following:
Darkness Before Dawn (Hazelwood High Trilogy #3)
by Sharon M. Draper
Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives by Sharon Flake

Book Review #1

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers
Holiday House, 2006, 48pp.,$18.95
Historical Fiction/Poetry
ISBN: 9780823421732




Start with rhythm
Start with the heart
Drumming in tongues
Along the Nile
A black man’s drum
Speaks
LOVE
Start with
RHYTHM
Start with
the HEART
Work songs
Gospel
Triumph
Despair
Voices
Lifted
From the soul

This author uses alluring, emotional, decorative, water colored sketches of African American men and women to infuse his lines of poetry. The phenomenal illustrations and typography sustain, engage and entice the reader to follow the savvy, historical story line demonstrated in this line “…Horns tearing down Jericho walls…” The author utilizes musical depictions to assist the young reader who is not familiar with musical terminology or history by offering hints within the script as to what he is referring to. Myers went the extra mile by including a glossary of the jazz terms to help the reader to better understand the words of the poem and to assist in expanding their musical vocabulary illustrated in “…Black men sweating in 4/4 time…”. He contributes to the reader’s comprehension by pointing out the significance jazz has played in history by offering a chronology timeline for their review. The author lists many African American jazz musicians who have impacted jazz throughout its era in American history. Myers explores and relates the civil rights movement by infusing each musician’s personal struggles to become successful in their own right as he stated in this quote “Louie, Louie, how you play so sweet...” Throughout the story he gives an insight to Black culture in a positive tone. He uses text features to indicate a change in sound and rhythm as it relates to rap or other popular music of today. I feel that this type of poetry caters to an audience between the ages of 8 to 14 because it is hip, real-life and understandable to today’s youth. Young readers will truly enjoy this book and the importance of jazz and its history. Teachers can incorporate this book into music, art, social studies and language arts lesson plans when discussing the history of America or Jazz.

Interested in other adolescent historical jazz books, then check out the following:
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka
This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt