Module 2 * Classic Children's and Young Adult Literature * Jan. 20-26

The Ghost Eye Tree

by 

Bill Martin, Jr. & John Archambault

Bibliography:

Martin, Bill, Jr. & Archambault, John (1985).  The ghost eye tree.  New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

Summary:

         A brother and sister are sent on an errand down the road to the other side of town to get their mother a bucket of milk.  On the way, they must pass the dreaded Ghost-Eye tree that is halfway there.  They are frightened but run as fast as they can and make it past the tree,  joyously celebrating their bravery and their new certainty that there is no such thing as ghosts.  They get their bucket filled with milk from Mr. Cowlander and realize they have to go back past the Ghost-Eye tree more slowly this time because of the heavy bucket.  The tree seemed to turn and reach for the boy which caused them to run all the way home, dripping milk and dropping the boy’s favorite hat along the way.  The sister bravely goes back and gets his hat, and they are finally safe and sound.  The boy hides when his mom needs milk after that.

My Take:

     Ted Rand’s illustrations along with the authors’ word choices and text layout do a great job of portraying a child’s very real and desperate fear of what goes bump in the night.  This book is quite an adventure for the reader and the childrens’ fear is palpable in the pages.  The unconventional vertical split of the page between words and illustrations contributes to the feeling of the children being trapped between something they are frightened to do and something their mother has asked of them (the “law”).  I love how the brother uses his hat that is just like Mike Barber’s (perhaps a reference to the Houston Oiler tight end from the late 70’s/early 80’s?) to bolster his manly confidence and to feel tough.  I like that the kids faced their fears and overcame adversity- and that the boy was smart enough to avoid the issue in the future by hiding whenever milk needed to be fetched!  I question why the mom waited until night to send her kids to get the milk, but…

Review: 

A gorgeously illustrated spooky story, The Ghost-Eye Tree tells of a young brother and sister sent by their mother to fetch a bucket of milk on a windswept night.  To do so, they must pass the dread “Ghost-Eye tree,” a shadowed and sinister-looking snag which they are sure is haunted.  Brother has a tough-guy beat-up fedora to bolster his courage.  His sister says it makes him look stupid, but brother says he needs it, if he is to accomplish the demanding mission.  On the way home, burdened with the heavy milk pail, the two must again pass the ominous tree.  It (or the owl half-hidden in the branches, or the wind) emits a frightful wail, and the children bolt for the safety of home, both of them scared out of their wits.  Bother’s hat is gone, lost somewhere near the terrible tree.  Sister, who knows what it means to him, runs back, rescues the hat and restores it to the tough-guy little brother.  This beautiful picture book is rich in language, although the attempt to capture dialect occasionally results in grammatical awkwardness.  With its somber shades and deliciously scary spookiness, it wall make a super Halloween read-aloud and has a lot to say about gruff but genuine family affection.

McGrath, J. (1986). The ghost-eye tree (review). School Library Journal, 32(6), 76.

Use in a School Library:

         I think this book would be fun to use around Halloween when kids are primed and ready for something scary.  The part of the story after they get back and realize the boy is missing his hat would be a fun part for the kids to read aloud together, almost like a reader’s theater.  The girls could read the sister’s part and boys could read the brother’s part.  It would be easy to practice reading with inflection and feeling, acting it out with their voices.  This book is also a great example of the use of ellipsis (…).  They are all through the book and reader’s theater-type reading is a great way to explore what the author wants you to do as you come upon ellipsis when you read their work.

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The Outsiders

by 

S. E. Hinton

Bibliography:

Hinton, S. E. (1967). The outsiders. New York, NY:The 
       Viking Press.

Summary:
Set in the 1960's, The Outsiders shows life in a typical city of the times and the conflicts between the wealthy "socs" and the less-priveleged "greasers" from the wrong side of the tracks.  The story focuses on a family of three brothers whose parents died and are living together in the care of 18 year old Darry.  Sodapop and Ponyboy are Darry's younger brothers who are part of a tight-knight group of boys, all greasers and in varying stages of disillusionment and delinquent-ism.  Ponyboy is very smart and is Darry's biggest hope for a positive future for his family, but gets caught up in the violence between the greasers and the soc boys.  After being beaten up over an argument with a soc over a girl, Ponyboy and the also previously-traumatized Johnny were attacked and Ponyboy almost killed.  Johnny defended them by stabbing and killing a soc boy so they had to run and hide in a neighboring town with the help of the very delinquent and damaged friend, Dally.  While on the run, the boys become heroes by rescuing some kids from a fire that they accidentally set at the abandoned church they hid in, though Johnny was mortally injured.  When Johnny succumbs to his injuries, his best friend Dally can't cope and commits suicide by drawing a weapon on the police.  This is a touching story about how the differences between us aren't so great, deep down.  

My Take:
This book is one I have heard of for years but never got around to reading myself.  While greasers and socs don't exist anymore, the story and the lessons the boys learn still resonate today.  More appropriate for middle school kids, it has some violent and mature content that may be difficult for younger students.  I really loved this story!  I especially loved the ending when Ponyboy was writing his cathartic English class essay and it ends up being the beginning lines to this book.  As a kid, I can see both sides of the social class issues in the story.  As a parent- I wanted to spank some of the boys and bring others home with me!  

Review: 


Gr. 7-10. In a book now considered a classic, Ponyboy can count only on his friends when it comes to mixing it up with the Socs, a gang of rich kids who like nothing better than beating up on greasers like himself.

Zvirin, S., & Cooper, I. (1997). The outsiders (review). The Booklist, 94(6), 555.

Use in a School Library:
This could be used along with similarly-themed books to explore the effects of prejudice.  Different types of prejudice could be explored- gender bias, religious persecution and racial profiling.  Perhaps even a book about the class system in England at the turn of the century could be included.  This would be most appropriate for high school-aged kids.