Module 5 Killer Pizza

Title of Book: Killer Pizza; Author: Greg Taylor; ISBN: 978-0312373795; Published by: Feiwel & Friends 2009


Summary:

Toby, Annabel, and Strobe were all hired to be employees of Killer Pizza. After a few weeks on the job, they are ushered into Killer Pizza’s basement and offered their real job- hunting down monsters. Guttata horridus horridus to be exact. Guttata monsters bit unsuspecting victims and turned them into more Guttata. The three accepted the assignment and had several showdowns with the monsters. Amanda is kidnapped by them and in the process of her rescue, the Alpha Male Guttata was killed. This destroyed the colony of Guttata who needed his saliva to survive. (Ewwwwwww!!!)

My Impressions:

Yeah Greg Taylor! This is his first books and I hope not the last! Killer Pizza is sort of like Men in Black without the cool uniforms. This is absolutely perfect for those children in 5th-7th grade who want to read horror stories, but aren’t ready for true terror. In one scene, Toby, a secret foodie, battles a Guttata with his $12.41 pizza slicer, chili peppers and the cord to a food processor! There is even an actual recipe for a pizza inside the back cover. FYI- Some very light (if there can be such a thing) cursing and a Guttata did feast on one kid, but nothing graphic is ever discussed.

Flashlight Reading Under the Covers Rating: 5 out of 5

Reviews:

Screenwriter Taylor's first novel seems birthed from an idle thought about pairing pizza making and zombie hunting, a weird mix that actually doesn't play off in as dissonant a manner as one might expect. Toby gets his first summer job making pies at the brand-new Killer Pizza. What he soon learns is that the chain is a front for a secret underground organization dedicated to battling the monsters hiding among the general populace (and, oh yeah, monsters hide among the general populace). A group of guttata (sort of shape-shifting zombies imbued with various ill-fitting powers and convenient weaknesses that make them perfect targets for young monster-hunters) threatens the unwitting citizens, and it's up to Toby and his fellow initiates to train relentlessly and take out the beasts. Toby's transformation from a confidence-light loser to heroic day saver is handled less smoothly than the cinematic and sometimes genuinely scary scenes of guttata bashing. Overdramatic and totally ridiculous, yes, but done in a way that perfectly complements the cheesy horror.--Chipman, Ian May 1, 2009 Booklist (Retrieved from Bowker’s Books in Print)

Suggestions for Use in a Library:
I can’t imagine anything more appropriate than a movie showing of Men in Black (part one) and snacking on pizza.

Toby’s secret desire is to be a chef and he tried out several new pizzas, so have a pizza tasting party at your library. Ask your local pizza places to donate (or sell you very cheaply) one or two different kinds of pizzas. Take them back to the library and let the kids sample away. You can even make up different silly categories to rate them on like “most likely to cause someone to pass out from sheer bliss.” Make sure to have your pizza sponsors posters and business card displayed with your pictures and voting results. Remember to send the businesses a nice letter they can frame in their shop.

Module 5 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Title of Book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; Author: Kate DiCamillo; ISBN: 978-0763647834; Published by: Candlewick 2009

Summary:
Edward Tulane is a three foot tall china doll that belongs to Abilene Tulane. Edward is very self-absorbed and arrogant. Edward falls overboard while on a cruise with his young mistress and there begins his transformation from a narcissistic bunny to a bunny who deeply cares about his owners. Through a series of adventures, he passes through the hands of a fisherman and his wife, a tramp named Bull and his dog Lucy, an old woman, and a little boy named Bryce. In the end, there is a happy reunion when Abilene, now all grown up with a child of her own finds Edward for sale in a doll shop.

My Impressions:
I know this book received glowing reviews from everyone on the face of the planet, but I hated it. There it is, now you know. Who cares about an arrogant china doll? I know we are meant to rejoice at his transformation from a hard hearted bunny to one who cares about people, but I didn’t. I was more concerned about the sad, sad lives of the people who shared Edward. The tramps who whispered the names of their children to him, the fisherman and his wife who were so desperate for company that they talked to him like he was real. And what about poor little six year old Bryce who ran away from his abusive father after his little sister Sara Ruth dies from neglect? What about them? Who gives a flip about a porcelain rabbit when there are all these people hurting? If you are looking for a bunny book about love, stick with the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

Flashlight Reading Under the Covers Rating: 2 out of 5

Reviews:
School Library Journal Retrieved from UNT Electronic Resources Bowker’s Books in Print Gr 3-6-This achingly beautiful story shows a true master of writing at her very best. Edward Tulane is an exceedingly vain, cold-hearted china rabbit owned by 10-year-old Abilene Tulane, who dearly loves him. Her grandmother relates a fairy tale about a princess who never felt love; she then whispers to Edward that he disappoints her. His path to redemption begins when he falls overboard while during the family's ocean journey. Sinking to the bottom of the sea where he will spend 297 days, Edward feels his first emotion-fear. Caught in a fisherman's net, he lives with the old man and his wife and begins to care about his humans. Then their adult daughter takes him to the dump, where a dog and a hobo find him. They ride the rails together until Edward is cruelly separated from them. His heart is truly broken when next owner, four-year-old Sarah Ruth, dies. He recalls Abilene's grandmother with a new sense of humility, wishing she knew that he has learned to love. When his head is shattered by an angry man, Edward wants to join Sarah Ruth but those he has loved convince him to live. Repaired by a doll store owner, he closes his heart to love, as it is too painful, until a wise doll tells him that he must open his heart for someone to love him. This superb book is beautifully written in spare yet stirring language. The tender look at the changes from arrogance to grateful loving is perfectly delineated. Ibatoulline's lovely sepia-toned gouache illustrations and beautifully rendered color plates are exquisite. An ever-so-marvelous tale.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY Copyright February 01, 2006 2006 Reed Business Information.

Suggestions for Use in a Library:
Go to some garage sales and get a few great stuffed bunnies (most will go through the washing machine just fine, just stick in a pillow case). Get some index cards and decorate them up like postcards. Let the bunnies and a postcard go home with patrons. Parents can help their children fill out the postcard with an adventure the bunny had (I went to Wal-Mart today) and then return both bunny and postcard to the library. Pass the bunny to the next patron until those who’d like a chance have had one. Make a little display with the postcards you have received.

Get a fabulous looking bunny (borrow one if you need to). Photograph the bunny at different locations in your town (Wal-Mart, front of the library, post office, local school, museum, etc…). Make sure it’s not too obvious where you are. Make a display of the photos and allow patrons to guess where each photo is taken. (Great for your local history week if you have one). Winners with the most correct answers get a special pass to check out one more library book than they would normally be allowed to.