Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and it also has many interesting books. In this series, we are sharing some of the books we like from Minnesota, or Minnesota authors.
We are mapping our literary journey around Minnesota, so you can see all the interesting places where our books are set. Follow our progress on our Google Map, accessible by clicking that link or searching for the title CMLE Reads Across Minnesota!
This is a guest post from CMLE member Violet Fox. Want to write a book review for us? Let us know!
I recently finished a six-week beginning American Sign Language (ASL) course through the St. Cloud Area School District Community Education program. I’d highly recommend taking the course! We learned basic ASL vocabulary and grammar from the instructor, who works for the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division.
I’ve been looking for books to help me learn more about Deaf culture, which is why I picked up Wonderstruck. This 2011 book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick is a hefty 637 pages, but many of those are illustrations, so it’s a quick but powerful reading experience. As he did with The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Selznick marries evocative drawings with text, though it’s not a traditional graphic novel or comic, as the narration is moved forward by either art or text, not both simultaneously.
Wonderstruck is the story of two tweens in two different time periods. Ben’s story, beginning in his rural home of Gunflint Lake, Minnesota in 1977, is told through words. Rose’s story, taking place in 1927 in New York City, takes place entirely in pictures. Much of each of the stories touches on the experience and challenges of being deaf in a hearing world. Readers get a sense of the isolation that occurs when deaf people are not able to communicate effectively with those around them. The characters are true to life in trying to find a place where they feel that they belong; I found both characters to be charming in their inventiveness and curiosity.
If you don’t regularly read middle grade children’s books, you might have missed this book when it was first released (like I did!). Consider picking it up for both the well-told story and the expressive artwork!