Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Verse Novels: Text to Text Connections

Task:
1. Think about your verse novel and connect it to another piece of text (books, film, tv show, play, magazine, newspaper).
2. List the title of the text connection with the verse novel.
3. Write roughly a 25-30 word explanation of the connection you made with your verse novel and the title. (Do this for each verse novel.)
 

39 comments:

  1. Katie, Class 4

    "The Hunger Games", by Suzanne Collins connects to "May B", by Caroline Starr Rose. May, in "May B" connects to the character Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games". :

    Both May and Katniss have to fight for their survival by finding food, and water. They both get caught in tricky situations, but they both make their way through them.

    "The Giver", by Lois Lowry connects to "Out of the Dust", by Karen Hesse. I'm connecting the two main characters in the two different books. :

    Jonas and Billie both live in dystopian worlds. Billie lives during the Great Depression, while Jonas lives in a society with no choices, no memories, and no color.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex, Class 4

    The movie “The Impossible” connects to the verse novel “Three Rivers Rising” by Jame Richards.

    In both the movie and the book, a large amount of water causes mass destruction and many deaths. Both are about disasters that actually happened in real life and about finding those you love and having hope after it seems that all hope is lost.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brooke, Class 4

    The movie "Mean Girls" and the book "Addie on the Inside" are very similar. They both are about girls who are trying to fit in with their peers at school. In the movie Mean Girls the main character Cady Heron, has returned to the United States after a 12-year research trip in Africa, settling in Illinois. New classmates Janis and Damien warn Cady to avoid the high school's most exclusive clique, the Plastics, the girls led by queen bee Regina George. The Plastics take an interest in Cady, inviting her to sit with them at lunch and shop with them after school. Seeing this, Janis hatches a plan of revenge against Regina, using Cady as infiltrator. Cady soon forgets about the plan of revenge and actually starts to become one of them. Cady is just looking to fit in, and be loved by her classmates. This resembles Addie, from Addie on the Inside, because Addie is looking to fit in with everyone else and not be hated by people. Addie tries to be friends with her ex best friend and actually becomes friends with her again. Also, Addie goes out shopping and buys some things that she has seen the other girls wearing at school. Just like Cady gets new clothes that look like her friends would wear. Basically, Cady and Addie both want the same thing, which is to be wanted, accepted, and loved.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can relate Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In both situations, the girls lost a parent. Billie Jo lost her mom and Katniss lost her father. Also, both Billie Jo's father and Katniss's mother froze out their children and entered a world of darkness when their spouses died, thus leaving their children out to dry. Additionally, nothing is easy for either of these characters. They are both poor and struggling to survive in their harsh environments. Both of these characters know the meaning of harsh times and struggle and they are both fairly lonely when they go through the situations that cause them so much pain.

    ReplyDelete
  6. “Heartbeat” the verse novel by Sharon Screech relates to the novel/movie “The Notebook”. These two pieces of literature relate to each other because they both have to deal with a loved one that has Alzheimer’s disease. In “heartbeat”, the main character Annie’s grandfather has Alzheimer’s disease and he doesn’t remember his past when he used to run all the time and he doesn’t even recognize himself in old pictures. In “ The Notebook”, Noah’s wife Allie has Alzheimer’s. Noah has to remind her of their memories by telling her of their past from his notebook. Annie has to remind her grandfather by remembering their times and retelling the stories back to him that he told her when she was younger. This shows the common thread between these two novels which is Alzheimer’s disease.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alex, Class 4

    The verse novel “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse relates to the book “Fever 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson. In both books the main characters struggle with escaping death everyday. They are about the same age and they are both girls. They both experience the loss of many people they love, but for different reasons. The dust storms are making some people ill and many people contract illnesses they can’t cure in “Out of the Dust”. In “Fever 1793” there is an epidemic of scarlet fever and many people die from the illness.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Brooke, Class 4

    The book “Heartbeat” and the movie “A Little Bit of Heaven” are similar because they both have the same moral. In “A Little Bit of Heaven” Marley, the main character finds out she’s got cancer, and the bad kind, the late-stage kind, she vacillates between all the normal big emotions – grief, anger, fear, acceptance, and weirdly enough, love. Marley uses her last days wisely, by not just lying in bed and being sad. She ceases the moment to go out and fall in love and lead a normal if not better few months that she has had than ever before. She learns to appreciate the important things in life just like in “Heartbeat” Annie did. They are both forced to look closer into their lives and learn to cherish the little things in life. This helps them to lead a better and happier life full of more memorable moments.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Camryn Class 4
    The verse novel “Witness”, by Karen Hesse relates to “Hidden” by Helen Frost because there is discrimination in both the novels. In “Witness”, an african amerian girl name Lenora Sutter is treated poorly because of her race and amount of money. However, in “Hidden” Darra is treated poorly because of her race, how nice her clothes were, and her amount of money as well. Furthermore, they both display the unfair treatment towards these two girls. However, in the end of each novel the african americans are treated equally and are thought of as friends to everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Emily
    Class 4

    Out of the Dust connects to The Grapes of Wrath because both illustrate how families are affected by the Dust Bowl. The characters face leaving their home or starving on it.

    Almost Forever connects with Gone With the Wind. In both, the protagonist sees her loved ones go off to war, and wait anxiously for news of them and eventually, for their return.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I can relate Crossing Stones by Helen Frost to The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore. In both books, there is a character that can not do what she wants because of her gender or age. In Crossing Stones, Muriel wants to vote more than anything. She is against the war and is outraged that simply because she is a women she could not show her opinion by voting. She is obviously a very intelligent woman and she feels that her opinion matter just as much as a man’s. In The Power of Six, Marina is trapped in a very religious orphanage. She isn’t allowed to leave until she is eighteen. The Power of Six is about an alien race, the Loriens, that is trying to protect themselves and Earth from another alien species, the Mogadorians. Marina is a Lorien and she and her guardian, called a Cêpan, are supposed to be training to prepare themselves to fight the Mogadorians, but Marina’s Cêpan is ignoring her. Marina wants to get out into the world and prepare because she feels awful just sitting around in the orphanage. While Muriel is not allowed to vote because she is a woman, Marina is not allowed to leave the orphanage or train because she is too young and her Cêpan has frozen her out.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tessa Luzi Class 4-“Witness” by Karen Hesse: Text to Text Connection
    The two literary novels “Witness” and “To Kill a Mocking Bird” both are able to connect with one another. In the novel "Witness" by Karen Hesse, the author of the free verse writes through the eyes, or from different perspectives of eleven different characters. In the story "To Kill a Mocking Bird" Harper Lee displays racism in the county of Maycomb in Alabama through Scout's perspective. Both of the pieces of literature take place in the 1920's and 30's. Racism and prejudice are huge topics throughout the books. To demonstrate, the 1924 Immigration Act, the Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, Jim Crow laws and many more racism acts. To give some examples of prejudice, in the book "Witness,” Leonora Sutter, a 12 year old African American from Vermont, was judged by people from her town because of her ethnicity. Here is a quote from the story the prove my point, "I'm Leonora, I'm often judged by other people in my town. Other kids my age would treat me if I'm not a human being." Leonora Sutter. Leonora feels as if she is a piece if dust, not worthy or cared about. To give some examples of prejudice in the classic, "How to Kill a Mockingbird" because Calpurnia, the Finch's housekeeper was often judged by Aunt Alexandra because of her skin color. Especially when Scout asked Atticus if she can visit one day. Here is a quote told by Scout to show you what I mean, “I asked Atticus if I could visit Calpurnia after I told him about going to church with Calpurnia. no one asked her, but Aunt Alexander just had to put her two-sense in it anyway!” Both novels display racism and prejudice a lot during the story and are great reads for valuable lessons.
    (303 words)
    Tessa Luzi Class 4- “Shakespeare Bats Cleanup” by Ronald Koertge: Text to Text Connection
    I am able to connect the free verse novel “Shakespeare Bats Cleanup” and the movie “The Basketball Diaries.” In the book “Shakespeare Bats Cleanup” by Ronald Koertge, the author talk about how the main character, Kevin, has mono and is under house arrest. Boredom in his house leads him to pick up his father's book of poetry and he finds that he really enjoys it. Kevin starts writing in order to pass the time and his poetry reshapes himself and guides him through life. In the movie, “The Basketball Diaries,” Caroll, the main character, had bad behavior which catches up with him and he is expelled from school and kicked off the basketball team. In the end of the story, Carroll’s writing saves him, and the book saves him his writing. In his writing and poems, which becomes his Basketball Diaries, he finds a constant that carries him through six months of jail-time and rehabilitation. In both of the books, the two main characters are punished for cruel behavior and poetry helps them throughout the novel.
    (177 words)

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Avery Class 4

    The story "Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs" reminds me of the book "Drums,Girls, and Dangerous Pie". In the book the main character has to deal with his brother dying of cancer. His whole world is turned upside down. In the other book the main characters mom died of cancer and his world was turned upside down. In both books the main characters must deal with losing their loved ones. As they deal with their owns family issues each character finds out who they truly are.


    The book "Heartbeat connects" to the book "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. In both books the main characters lives are going sparingly good there lives not the best but there okay. Each have their own individual problems, but then something happens in their lives to make them increasingly hard. In "Hunger Games" the main character Katniss must enter the hunger games to save her sister and fight to save her own life. In "Heartbeat" several things happen to Annie the main character in to make her life hard. Her mom has a baby that her family has to take care of, her best gets mad at her, and her grandpa suffers from Alzheimers. Both must muster the strength to fight their own battles.

    ReplyDelete
  21. “Love that Dog” connects with the book “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr.Seuss. Jack at first doesn’t like poetry, but after much encouragement from his teacher learns to appreciate it. He
    also learns to express his feelings through poems. This is just like the character in “Green Eggs and Ham” who doesn’t want to try the eggs and ham. However, Sam-I-Am pesters him a little like Mrs. Stretchberry does to Jack, and he finally tries the green food. In the end, the un-named character enjoys the green eggs and ham, like Jack enjoys poetry.
    “Inside out and Back Again” connects with the book “Jackie Robinson and The Year of the Boar” by Bette Bao Lord. In these two books, Hà and Shirley Temple Wong experience similar events in their lives. Both girls go to America to start a safe and knew life, because of the wars going on in the countries. The two girls also leave precious things behind, like Hà’s mango tree, and Shirley's family. In addition, they both are bullied at school, and face hardships in America.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Shaye Costello class 4

    The verse novel “Witness” by Karen Hesse relates to the novel, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. Both stories have times of prejudice in them and people are discriminated against. In “Witness”, African Americans and Jewish people are treated different than others, to the point where they are harmed. In “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, Jewish families also harmed and even killed. In both novels, children and adults are threatened because of race or beliefs, even though that is not morally right.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Shaye Costello class 4

    The verse novel, “One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies” by Sonya Sones relates to the novel, “A Walk to Remember”, by Nicholas Sparks. In both books, the theme or lesson taken away after reading is to not judge a book by it’s cover. Ruby learns this when she meets her dad for the first time and immediately hates him, but then spends time with him and realizes that he is a great person. In the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Landon Carter does not think much of a religious girl named Jamie, but soon falls in love with her after getting to know her. Both books are tied together because of the themes.

    ReplyDelete
  24. “True Believer” by Virginia Euwer Wolff

    This book relates to the book “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.

    This is because both of the settings in the book are pretty much the same. The plot and problem of the story also evolve and branch of the setting. Both stories have the main characters live in a poor area, where people struggle to survive and get a good future. Both characters in the novels want to do something for the world to make it a better place.

    “Love that Dog” by Sharon Creech

    This book relates to the book Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

    These books are related, because they are both about a little boy, a young boy that is not a teenager yet, that are learning about life and how to solve their problems. With help from their teachers, the two boys learn how to put their jumbled feelings on paper instead of mourning about it in their head.

    ReplyDelete
  25. The verse novel “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse connects to the book “After Ever After” by Jordan Sonnenblick. This is because in “Out of the Dust”, the main character Billie Jo wants to run away. In the novel “After Ever After” one of the characters named Steven also wants to run away. Both of these characters want to run away. Billie Jo wants to run away from the dust for many reasons. One of those reasons is because of her mother’s death. Steven also wanted to run away because of a family member’s health. Steven’s brother Jeffrey had leukemia and Steven didn’t want to have to deal with it so he ran away to clear his head. Clearing her head is another reason why Billie Jo ran away. She needed time to get over everything that had happened to her. For instance, her mom dying, her brother dying, and the tragic fire that has been haunting Billie Jo. These are the factors that connect the verse novel “Out of the Dust” to the novel “After Ever After”.

    ReplyDelete
  26. A text two text connection I can make with the Hobbit is the Lord of The Rings. In both of the stories the two main characters go on a dangerous adventure. In both of the stories they fight monsters and get magical gear. Also both of the stoies are fantasy scy-fi. Another thing in both of the books they are trying to save the world from these villans. And in the end of both the books they save the world.

    A text to text connection with the prince of persia is The Odessy. In both of the books the main characters are fighting people and strange creatures. Also both of the books are adventure books. Another thing in both of the books the main character is trying to get home to a lover. They want to stop fighting because they want to get home to there family.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The novels I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore and Heartbeat by Sharon Creech relate. In both books the main characters love someone they that know will die soon. In I Am Number Four John’s cepan, Henri, dies and it breaks his heart. In Heartbeat Annie knows her grandfather will die soon and his alzheimer's is getting worse and worse. She knows he will die soon and she will be heartbroken when he does.

    I think the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse relates to the book The Recruit by Robert Muchamore because the main characters in both of the books have a dead mother. In both books the character also blames him/herself for it happening. Billie Jo threw the flaming oil at her mother, killing her directly while James left his Mom with his evil step dad who gave his mom alcohol with her medication, killing her.

    ReplyDelete
  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  29. ANDREW DESMARAIS
    Class 5:
    This book, “The Unsinkable Walker Bean reminded me of the movie, Pirates Of The Caribbean. The movie and book reminded me of each other as they both were about a wild pirate adventure. They were the same except for the main character’s age, as in one book it was 10 years old and in the movie he is about 40-50.

    The Hardy Boys reminded me of the Johnny English movies. They were both about secret agents but had humor in them as well. In the Hardy boys its two teenage crime fighters as the main characters. The Johnny English movies had the main character much older. That is why these two books reminded me of each other.

    ReplyDelete
  30. In the book “Heartbeat” by Sharon Creech I can connect Annie to a character from "Shark Girl" by Kelly Bingham. In the other book, the main character Jane is going through a really tough time and needs to get over it, just like Annie has too. Jane had a much tougher time and change to go through. She lost her arm to a shark attack. Annie only got a new sibling, a forgetful grandfather, and an annoying friend. All in all, they were both tough times. Each had a way to get over them. Annie’s was to run and Jane’s was to think over the situation and learn to accept reality.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Samantha, Class 4:
    The verse novels, "Locomotion" and "What is Goodbye" connect to each other. For example, the main characters in both novels must learn to cope with the recent loss of a loved one. In "Locomotion," Lonnie must deal with his parents' passing. He learns to open up about it with the help of his teacher and his sister. In "What is Goodbye," Jesse receives help from his sister, Jerilyn, when their older brother, Jaron, passes. The characters from both books are able to find their strength in another character. The novels also connect through theme. In both novels, the theme is that love is stronger and will overcome pain. Overall, the two verse novels connect to each other through the plot and through the message that is sent.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Katie Suter
    Class 5
    Kat and Mouse connect to The Hardy Boys Books because they are both solving problems to benfit other people. They both solve mysteries through out and get something in return in the end. All of the characters enjoy solving mysteries and do it for fun but when they actually solve the mystery and solve someone’s problem it makes it all the better.


    The Hardy Boys Graphic Novels relate to the Nancy Drew Series By Carolyn Keene. Both of the series are about solving mysteries but Nancy Drew is more directed towards girls and The hardy Boys are more directed towards boys. The series are both about solving mysteries. There is normally one mystery per book but there is an occasional one with two stories in the book.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I can relate the book "Shark Girl" by Kelly Bigham to the movie 127 hours. In both pieces somebody looses an arm. In 127 hours a man is hiking in Utah and his arm gets stuck under a rock. He has to make a choice between his arm or surviving and he chooses surviving. Due to his choice, he had to take a knife and cut off his own arm to get to safty. This mans will to survive amazes me.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Grace, Class 4

    In both books, the girls are around 14 years old and they are the only child in their family. Each of them have either lost their mother or father. Billie Jo in “Out of the Dust” lost her mother and her brother. LaVaughn in “Make Lemonade” lost her father to drugs. Also, they both struggle through life because of the tragedies recent deaths of family members. Fortunately, they both wiggle out of the tight hole to a ray of hope. Both of them learned how to cope with their loses and be grateful for what they have left and to make the most out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thomas Winter Class 4

    All the Broken Pieces to Diary of A Wimpy Kid

    In both these works of literature, the main character’s life is affected by bullying. In All the Broken Pieces, Matt is bullied by kids in school because he is Vietnamese. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Gregory is bullied by the upperclassmen because he is small and wimpy. In both books, bullying is a big part in the character’s life.

    Becoming Joe DiMaggio to The Two of Them

    Both of these books show a relationship between grandpa and grandchild. In The Two of Them, the grandpa make his granddaughter a ring when she is little. As she got older, and their relationship grew, he gave her the ring. In Becoming Joe DiMaggio, the grandpa and grandson listen to the Yankees games together as an escape from the tough times in their life. All in all, both of these stories tell a tale of a grandpa and grandchild relationship

    ReplyDelete
  37. Brian Fischer class 6

    Ender’s Shadow, by Orson Scott Card, is a book about a boy named Bean who is born smarter than everyone else. Bean is an 11 year old homeless boy who lives in hellish streets of Rotterdam, during the time period of 2170. In the book, Bean is discovered by a nun, who realizes his capabilities. He is sent to an outer space battle school to train with other students. One of the first things that they are given there is is tablet with a game on it. The game is actually monitored when they play, to evaluate their skills; however, Bean sees through the whole trick. He suspects something, does his research and finds answers. This book is also similar to the book, “The Giver”. In this book, and boy is chosen to carry out certain training, and after, lead the people in his community. While he is going through all of this, he questions the ways he is being taught, asks his mentor,and finds his answers. This is similar to “Ender’s Shadow, because Bean does not just go through the motions. He does something about it. It is more though about what he doesn’t do. He never plays the game, but is never enforced to, because then it will prove his theory, and the secret will be let out. It both books, the main characters stand up for what they believe in, don’t just go through the motions, and make a difference.


    In the book, “Prince of Persia”, a group of people are accused of a crime, that they did not do. They were all given a royal gift from the prince of persia, who is connected to all of them somehow. To the king, it looks like a crime. In the end, after everyone tells their story, they fight back and win. They are released, and aren’t punished. This is similar to the book, “The Thief Lord”. In this book, something is stolen from a group of kids, and is put on an island. When they go to retrieve it, they are committed to stealing something on the island. They end up escaping from the jail, retrieve what was rightfully theirs, and return home. These books are similar because none of the characters give up for what is right, receive their innocence, and all return and receive a fair outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This book is similar to another book I read called Drums, Girls, and Dangerous pie. This book is similar to Make Lemonade because it shows a teenager going through a tough time and making new emotional bonds that he didn’t think he/she could make.


    This book reminds me of another book I read called Lost boy, Lost girl because they both center around people who have to have immense courage to overcome their obstacles and succeed.

    ReplyDelete