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Authority figures are realistic for
the year 1880 in which this story takes place. They act
appropriately for their roles in the life of the town of
Treegap. Winnie’s choice to be disobedient leads her
into this adventure with the Tucks, but it is clear she
regrets breaking trust with her family “twice in three
days”. With a family whose staunch pride resembles that
of the Oleson family in the Little House on the Prairie
series, she remains respectful.
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For Readers
Age 10 - 14
Grades 6th - 10th
Any
Which Wall
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Publisher's
Description:
Snyder, Laurel. (2009) Any Which Wall. New York,
NY: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-85561-0. Publisher
recommends ages 9-12. Litland.com recommended ages
10-14.
If you had a magic wall that could take you to any
place and any time, where would you go? Would you want
to visit castles and desert islands? Would you want to
meet famous wizards, terrible pirates, beautiful queens,
and dastardly outlaws? If so, then you are just like
Henry and Emma, and Roy and Susan—and you will probably
like this story a lot. In fact, you might even wish
something similar would happen to you!
In Any Which Wall, author Laurel Snyder proves that you
don’t have to be an orphan, know a dragon, or even be a
child to get a taste of magic. You just have to keep
your mind open and willing to let it happen. And when
you do find magic (like Henry, Emma, Roy, and Susan),
you might be surprised that along with all the fun, you
also find out new things about your friends, your
family, and maybe even a little bit about who you really
want to be.
Respect for self and others: This
includes integrity (adherence to a code of
conduct or value system), honesty vs. manipulation or
lying, compassion, caring for others (characters not
focused on getting their way no matter what) self
respect--main character does not let others
denigrate him or her; use of self control and
self-discipline ; taking charge of own behaviour;
fairness to others (such as taking turns and
avoiding the blame game). Reader should ask themselves
“How does the protagonist depict their peers?” “Would
you want others to treat you this way? Should everyone
act this way?” This includes true friendships
that do not involve regular lying, deceit or
manipulation; considering consequences of actions
prior to acting; owning up to responsibility once
an action has been taken.
This
story is huge in respect for self and others. Through
their banter we see the four kids, two sets of siblings
and all friends, treat each other in a typical,
believable manner yet is never destructive to the other
child. Disagreeing without manipulation or deceit,
acknowledging their mistakes, and thinking through
possible consequences of actions, we see these
characters grow and mature. Emma is very young; yet
rather than talk down to her or take advantage of her
innocence by playing tricks on her, the older kids treat
her affectionately and include her in the things they
do. Susan is the oldest, a tween. She is beginning to
wrestle with the idea of being cool and popular, worried
about how she might be seen by her peers. There is every
opportunity for her to be cruel and act haughty, but
does not. All of this takes a back seat as she joins in
their adventures and finds her true self again. That
the others recognize Susan is “just an older sister
doing what older sisters do”, shows understanding
between friends and siblings and avoids to digressing to
meanness or otherwise poor behavior.
Rather than being egocentric, the
kids pump up and encourage one another. This is extended
to the characters they meet on their adventures too.
The friends have the courage to stand up to one another
when needed. For example, when Henry wants to use the
wall for a good reason but in an inappropriate way, the
others talk him into doing the right thing. When his
sarcasm gets on Roy’s nerves, Roy lets him know and
Henry apologizes. All of this implies solid, meaningful
relationships between the four.
Portrayal of Authority
figures: The positive portrayal of parents, teachers, police officers and other “good” authority figures common in a child’s life is a positive influence upon the child’s own moral development. This includes
actively-parenting mother and father figures. Minimization of parental involvement in the character’s activities or the portrayal of authority figures as
inferior present poor role models. Also to be avoided are main characters that
deceive parents and teachers to accomplish goals, and overuse
sarcasm towards authority figures. Ask yourself “Are parents seen as positive or negative influence in the character's life?”
Adults
are portrayed as competent based upon their role
(mother, father, castle guard, librarian, etc.). The
author adeptly shows us first the view of the adult
through a typical childlike perceptions, such as mom’s
nagging at them to eat breakfast. As the characters
develop, we see them take on a bit more appreciation and
respect for their parents’ “ways”.
They also come across
interesting, somewhat scary characters from the past and
treat them with respect and intrigue. When escaping,
whether it be castle guards or bank officials, they do
so through ingenuity and without malice.
Recognizing that the nature of the story is the kid’s
having a magic wall which they hide from all others
including their parents, this is secondary with little
attention paid to the acts of deceit. By doing so, the
author has created this situation for the necessity of
the story’s setting and not abused it, avoiding the
parlaying of it into the characters pitted against their
parents or other authority figures as is so common in
children’s literature and entertainment today.
Citizenship and
Patriotism: Loyalty to family, team or group, school, community and world; caring for and being considerate of these
groups. Pride to be part of that group or nationality.
There
is a strong loyalty amongst this group of friends,
looking out for one another’s safety and interest. At
the same time, there is an underlying feeling of
belonging to each of their respective families as well,
eager to be at home while excited to be gone on an
adventure. An overt demonstration of this is when Susan
uses skills she has seen her mother (a doctor) use in
order to address an urgent medical situation...there is
an underlying sense of pride in self and mother.
There is strong loyalty between siblings as well. Henry
is a good older brother to Emma while Susan is also to
Roy, each sure to include the other. Bonds are strong.
We also see some of the
magical characters demonstrating loyalty and
citizenship, such as Sam the pirate’s son defending his
father.
Good citizenship is also implied, such as when the kids
find out that Emma has lots of “friends” with whom she
has become acquainted around town. This “odd collection
of friends” in the community implies good behavior on
her part as it would be an outcome of the same.
Justice and Balance: A just distribution between good and evil (with
good outweighing evil in the presence of the storyline);
demonstration of right and wrong; making decisions to enact the above values rather than simply choosing from two bad possibilities; Ask yourself “Is the emphasis on the positive elements or negative?”
In
a very believable fashion and without being preachy, the
characters in this story demonstrate over and over again
inclusion and taking turns, a just balance of decision
making and choices. Negative elements become lessons
learned, and childhood fantasies do not overcome real
responsibility. “Henry always thought it would be neat
(to be a pirate), that is, until he experienced what it
felt like to be pirated from”. He realizes that pirates
are bullies. He also rescues Sam in spite of having been
bullied by him, continuing the theme of always doing the
right thing.
Aesthetic aspects Of
life ExperienceLook for a storyline portrayal of
beauty, health, and selfless love vs. hedonistic behaviours (sexuality, selfishness, obsessiveness, materialism),
profanity, gore and violence. Are nature and environment respected or exploited? Look for
dark elements; watch out for humor that is negative, denigrates others excessively, uses metaphors to
denigrate the sacred.
This author is great at
portraying the feeling of the action. Whether it is
riding hard on a gravel path, wind blowing past, or
speeding through stalks of corn, we can feel it as if we
are there. Also adding to the beauty of the story is the
subtle humor, such as Sam (the pirate’s son who is a
bookworm) having authentic certificate as a pirate but
can’t grow a beard! Other authors try to twist character
stereotypes into the unexpected to make their story
unique, but doing so typically falls flat. In contrast,
these twists in this book add to its fun.
Many lessons are learned by the four kids. An important
one for Emma is that beauty isn’t everything (at least
when it comes to queens), and for Susan, the beauty of
connecting with one’s soul.
Other things to
Consider:Other aspects of this book of interest or importance. For example, does it portray Wiccan practices and accurate use of tools of which some parents might object, does it contain
hidden meanings in metaphors that may prove offensive to some families; does it address
personal issues such as puberty or pregnancy.
Magic in the sense of
this story is in the traditional, folklore approach
which has no grounding in the objectionable but, rather,
is grounded in the imagination. Well done!
We
highly recommend this book!
So what do YOU think? Read our thoughts on the book and join in the discussion
on our blog! http://www.litland.com/blog/?p=37
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