I recently read The Bully by Paul Langan, which is the 5th book in the Bluford Series. I first heard about the Bluford series during my brief stint as an 8th grade Engish/Language Arts teacher. The highlight of this employment, for me, was my exposure to literacy methodology by the school's awesome literacy coach (I'll call her Coach G) and my involvement in the SC Department of Education Literacy Initiative (which I owe to Coach G, as well).
Coach G frequently raved about the Bluford series but I never got a chance to really take a look at the books or read one while I was an ELA teacher. Coach G liked this series because she said it was relatively inexpensive for schools and libraries to purchase, of high interest for YA readers, written on an easier reading level than most YA books, making the series perfect for reluctant readers, and also because, like our school, the characters in the series were predominently African-American. (African-American YA books are still a somewhat limited but growing genre, the Bluford series being a perfect example of the growth.)
After reading The Bully, I can completely share Coach G's enthusiasm for these books. The Bully was an engaging, action-packed, fast read. It was skillfully written so that I never had a sense that it was a simple book, even though it was on a low reading level. In a nutshell, The Bully, is the story of Darrell, a fatherless, ninth-grade boy of small stature, who moves cross country with his widowed mother to live near his mother's brother and his family. Darrell leaves behind the school he attended his whole life and the circle of friends that stuck up for him. He enrolls in Bluford High and immediately becomes the target of a bully; a much larger boy with a gang of friends. Darrell's struggle with family issues, fitting in to a new school, first love, and Tyray, his nemesis, is completely realistic and something that most kids (and adults) can relate to.
One of the most outstanding things about this book, from a literacy perspective, was the fact that Darrell's teacher gives him a book to read to inspire him in his struggle with Tyray. The book is Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. I was really impressed by the author's skillful "product placement" of this higher reading level, Newbery winning book in the context of The Bully. This makes The Bully exceptionally perfect for classroom use, where it could be paired with Hatchet and used for teaching all kinds of ELA and literacy concepts. The Bully role-models for readers how a person can go into a text to relate to a character that on the surface appears to be completely unlike the reader and how a book can help inspire a person to make real life changes. It also introduces reluctant YA readers to the prolific work of the Margaret A. Edwards award winning author, Gary Paulsen. Reading The Bully definitely will help me in booktalking these books to YAs. I am eager to read more Bluford books to see if referencing other YA books is a common theme in the series.
The Bluford books are published by Townsend Press. They are authored by Paul Langan or Anne Scharf. For more information about Townsend Press and the Bluford series, read Embracing the Child, a nonprofit children's literacy website's, Outreach, Etc newsletter (2004, Vol 1) at http://www.embracingthechild.org/2004-1%20ONLINE.pdf or visit the Townsend Press website at http://www.townsendpress.com/.
Coach G frequently raved about the Bluford series but I never got a chance to really take a look at the books or read one while I was an ELA teacher. Coach G liked this series because she said it was relatively inexpensive for schools and libraries to purchase, of high interest for YA readers, written on an easier reading level than most YA books, making the series perfect for reluctant readers, and also because, like our school, the characters in the series were predominently African-American. (African-American YA books are still a somewhat limited but growing genre, the Bluford series being a perfect example of the growth.)
After reading The Bully, I can completely share Coach G's enthusiasm for these books. The Bully was an engaging, action-packed, fast read. It was skillfully written so that I never had a sense that it was a simple book, even though it was on a low reading level. In a nutshell, The Bully, is the story of Darrell, a fatherless, ninth-grade boy of small stature, who moves cross country with his widowed mother to live near his mother's brother and his family. Darrell leaves behind the school he attended his whole life and the circle of friends that stuck up for him. He enrolls in Bluford High and immediately becomes the target of a bully; a much larger boy with a gang of friends. Darrell's struggle with family issues, fitting in to a new school, first love, and Tyray, his nemesis, is completely realistic and something that most kids (and adults) can relate to.
One of the most outstanding things about this book, from a literacy perspective, was the fact that Darrell's teacher gives him a book to read to inspire him in his struggle with Tyray. The book is Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. I was really impressed by the author's skillful "product placement" of this higher reading level, Newbery winning book in the context of The Bully. This makes The Bully exceptionally perfect for classroom use, where it could be paired with Hatchet and used for teaching all kinds of ELA and literacy concepts. The Bully role-models for readers how a person can go into a text to relate to a character that on the surface appears to be completely unlike the reader and how a book can help inspire a person to make real life changes. It also introduces reluctant YA readers to the prolific work of the Margaret A. Edwards award winning author, Gary Paulsen. Reading The Bully definitely will help me in booktalking these books to YAs. I am eager to read more Bluford books to see if referencing other YA books is a common theme in the series.
The Bluford books are published by Townsend Press. They are authored by Paul Langan or Anne Scharf. For more information about Townsend Press and the Bluford series, read Embracing the Child, a nonprofit children's literacy website's, Outreach, Etc newsletter (2004, Vol 1) at http://www.embracingthechild.org/2004-1%20ONLINE.pdf or visit the Townsend Press website at http://www.townsendpress.com/.
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