Module 4: Dead End in Norvelt & Island of the Blue Dolphins

Dead End in Norvelt

By Jack Gantos

2012 Newbery Award Winner 

and

2012 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Citation:

Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Summary

This story was written in the summer of 1962 in a small town called Norvelt. Jack Gantos is a boy who is “grounded for life” for shooting his dad’s Japanese sniper rifle (that he didn’t know was loaded). Instead of the summer plans he has been looking forward to (including playing baseball). He is caught in the middle of major disagreements between his mom and dad including his dad ordering him to mow down corn that his mom was growing so he could put in a landing strip. His parents can always tell if he is lying or very stressed out because he has a major nose bleed disorder. The only way he can leave the house is to help Miss Volker, the town's elderly medical examiner. He helps her by typing obituaries (and driving her around even though he doesn’t have a license). She is unable to type due to arthritis. She is a former nurse and helps to cure Jack’s nose bleeds.

Jack is led on quite the summer adventure once they realize that someone is killing off “Norvelt originals.” He and Miss Volker try to solve the mystery all while writing obituaries that include historically true stories and trying to figure out who will be next. Is it the Hells Angel curse, Miss Volker, Mr. Spizz, or Mr. Huffer, natural causes? Even Jack’s mom thinks she may be responsible because she had made all of the dead people casseroles!

He eventually finds out who loaded the gun and who the killer was. Read the story to find out who it was. Is it the same person?

Impressions

I enjoyed reading Dead End in Norvelt. When I started reading it, I didn’t know anything about it, so I didn’t know what to expect. At the beginning of the story, it discusses wartime, he is shooting a gun, and then when he first goes to visit Ms. Volker, she is melting her hands in the pot (ok, so it is just wax on her hands…). This is a great hook, especially for boys! The beginning was somewhat violent, so I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. However, as I continued to read, I was drawn in. It is full of adventure and mystery. It is also very funny and has a cast of characters that make you want to continue reading just to see what will happen next. I found out after reading the book that the historical information in this book is true. The town is real. There was some fictional information added to create the story, but a lot of the information was true. The information was shared in a conversational way and scattered throughout the story (many in the obituaries).

Professional Reviews

Jack Gantos has the gift of storytelling. In this novel, adolescent Jack Gantos lives in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, the author's birthplace. Norvelt, a fading coal-mining town, is on its last legs in the summer of 1 962, with many residents of the Depression-era town dying off at a brisk pace. Grounded for the summer after a harebrained request from his dad, Jack helps elderly Miss Volker write obituaries for the local paper.This captivating production is read by Gantos without theatrics. So what is it about the Pennsylvania-accented narration that grabs us? Pure genuineness. Gantos leaves his adult self outside the recording studio, bringing his adolescent persona instead, reading into the microphone as if it were his best friend. Gantos' kid-like cadence reveals heart-on-the-sleeve emotions. He sounds grossed out when describing an embalming, expresses repulsion at his deer-hunting experience, and seems earnestly outraged at the injustice of small-town intrigue. Are the evocative adventures autobiographical or inventive fiction? Stay tuned for a bonus CD interview, in which Gantos shares background information and insights into his writing process. A marvelous audio suggested for all youth audio collections. Be sure also to check the exclusive Booklist Online interview with author and reader Gantos. See note below for details. - Mary Burkey

The Booklist

Burkey, M. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt [Review of the book]. The Booklist, 

     108(4), 63.

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In 1962, Jack accidentally discharges his father's war relic, a Japanese rifle, and is grounded for the summer. When a neighbor's arthritic hands get the best of her, his mother lifts the restriction and volunteers the 12-year-old to be the woman's scribe, writing obituaries for the local newspaper. Business is brisk for Miss Volker, who doubles as town coroner, and Norvelt's elderly females seem to be dropping like flies. Prone to nosebleeds at the least bit of excitement (until Miss Volker cauterizes his nose with old veterinarian equipment), Jack is a hapless and endearing narrator. It is a madcap romp, with the boy at the wheel of Miss Volker's car as they try to figure out if a Hell's Angel motorcyclist has put a curse on the town, or who might have laced Mertie-Jo's Girl Scout cookies with rat poison. The gutsy Miss Volker and her relentless but rebuffed suitor, Mr. Spizz, are comedic characters central to the zany, episodic plot, which contains unsubtle descriptions of mortuary science. Each quirky obituary is infused with a bit of Norvelt's history, providing insightful post war facts focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt's role in founding the town on principles of sustainable farming and land ownership for the poor. Jack's absorption with history of any kind makes for refreshing asides about John F. Kennedy's rescue of PT-109 during World War II, King Richard II, Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, and more. A fast-paced and witty read.

School Library Journal
Reutter, V. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt [Review of book]. School Library Journal, 
       57(9), 154.

Library Uses

Dead End in Norvelt could be used for a book talk that would be a great way to introduce the Historical Fiction Genre. It would be great to have a lot of different Historical Fiction books to talk about or available for students to choose from. I would use this for a middle school or high school lesson.

References

Amazon. (2016). [Image of book cover]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Dead-

          End-Norvelt-Book-ebook/dp/B0058TWSB2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=
          1458330375&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+end+in+norvelt+book

Burkey, M. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt [Review of the book]. The Booklist, 108(4), 63.

Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Reutter, V. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. [Review of the book]. School Library Journal, 57(9), 154.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O’Dell

Newbery Award Winner 1961

Citation: 
O'Dell, S. (1966). Island of the Blue Dolphins. London: Puffin B.

Summary

This is a story of a girl (Karana) living on the “Island of the Blue Dolphins.” In the beginning of the story, she is living there with her family and their tribe. The Aleuts come to hunt for otter. For a while all is well until there is a big disagreement about splitting the proceeds from the hunt. The agreement had been 50/50, but the Aleuts did not stick to their side of the bargain. Instead a huge fight broke out in which most of the men in their tribe, including Karana’s father - the leader of the tribe, were killed. Because there were fewer men, the women started to take over some of their jobs. This did not go over well with some of the men which caused some unhappiness and stress among the tribe.  One of the elders (that had been elected leader) decided to go to the mainland for help. This trip would take a very long time, and they didn’t know if help would come or not.

Finally, a ship did arrive! Everyone got on except Ramo, Karana’s younger brother who went back to the village for his spear. Due to the weather, the ship had to leave. After she was on the ship she saw he was still on the island and was going to be left behind. Even though she was urged to stay on, she jumped off the ship, diving into the water to stay with her brother. The two of them were left alone on the island.

The next day her brother sneaks off by himself to get one of the canoes, but he is killed by a pack of wild dogs. Karana spends the rest of the time waiting for a boat and watching for the Aleuts to return. She also is focusing on survival. Karana takes on the jobs of men including building a home, making weapons, and getting food. She does try to leave the island, but after a few days at sea, her canoe starts to leak, so she goes back to the island.

She does kill some of the wild dogs, but when one doesn’t die right away, she cares for it and helps to heal it. She names him Rontu and become friends. He helps to keep her company. She even has birds for pets. Even though she is alone, it seems that she has decided she will be there for a while, so she might as well make the best of it. She even makes a skirt from feathers, a belt.

Eventually the Aleuts did return, but she hid from them and made her dwelling look as if it had been abandoned. A young girl does find her, and tries to communicate with her, but she doesn’t tell the others about her. The girl brings her a necklace and they become friends. Karana is even lonelier after the girl leaves. She finds a wounded otter that she nurses back to health. She finds other wounded animals and helps them too. She eventually decides not to kill animals anymore.

After the passage of time Rontu (the dog) dies. She sees a dog that looks like Rontu and decides it is his son. Karana decides to capture him and eventually tames him and he becomes her new pet. She names him Rontu-Aru.

In the spring, there are big waves that hit the island after an earthquake. It destroys her canoe. She is working to make a new canoe when the “white man’s ship” returns to the island. They find some of her things and she tries to get to them (because she can tell it is not the Aleuts), but they don’t see or hear her because of a storm. That also means they can’t stay because their ship will be wrecked so they quickly leave.

A few years later another ship comes to the island. They made her a dress (that she didn’t like as much as her feather skirt). She and Rontu-Aru leaves the island and learns that the ship with all of her villagers on it sank therefore; no one knew to come back for her.

Impressions

This was a good book that would be enjoyed by all ages. It was inspired by real events. There was a girl in the mind 1800’s that lived on her own on an island for 18 years. The fact that this did really happen makes the story even more interesting. It is a very well written story about survival and solitude. The fact that a young (12 year old) girl was able to survive for that amount of time completely on her own is impressive. Even with very little dialog in the story, the descriptions of everything she goes through gives a very good picture of what is going on. While I was reading, I was able to visualize everything. The action in the story gives you highs and lows thinking she is finally going to escape or be rescued only to have something happen that jeopardizes it. Then all of the sudden she is rescued. I was almost waiting for something else to happen. After all of that, she gets on the boat and sails away. It did leave me wanting to know what happened to her after that.

Professional Reviews

Bronte, 12, is lonely when her family moves to a small town on the California coast, so she starts a book club, and slowly makes friends with four girls as needy as she is. The first book she chooses is Scott O'Dell's classic Island of the Blue Dolphins. The book is set off the coast where Bronte now lives, and like O'Dell's castaway character, Karana, Bronte loves surfing with the wild seals and dolphins. The four girls quarrel, cry, laugh, and enjoy the snacks together; in fact, Bronte gets irritated when, instead of talking about the book, they talk about personal stuff (Does Willow have trouble reading? Why is Jessie so angry?), until Bronte finds herself revealing her loneliness. Back matter includes suggestions for starting a book group; but more than just about creating a club, this book shows how talking about a great story can spark connections. -Hazel Rochman

Booklist

Rochman, H. (2008). Bronte's book club [Review of book Island of the Blue 
        Dolphins]. The Booklist, 104(15), 44.

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Gr 5-8 –Based on the life of a real Chumash Indian girl abandoned on an island off the coast of California in the 1800s, this story describes how Karana was self-sustaining for 18 years before rescue. O'Dell details how she made clothing from animal skins, constructed weapons to fend off wild dogs, and dried fish to augment her food supply. This remarkable heroine continues to inspire readers and teach them about Native American lore. Audiobook available from Listening Library.

School Library Journal

Reutter, V. (2004). Island of the Blue Dolphins [Review of book]. School 

        Library Journal, 50(5), 64.

Library Uses

This would be a great story for visualization. As students listen to the description of the island, draw it. Other parts of the story could be used for this as well. There are many things that are described in detail that could be pictured or drawn.

It could also be used to discuss how the Karana's character evolves throughout the story.

A discussion about how not having technology available would be difficult. Of course she didn’t know what technology was, but what would they do if they didn’t have technology and were stranded on an island? Could they survive?

References

Amazon. (2016). [Image of book cover]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Island-Blue-Dolphins-Scott-ODell/dp/0547328613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458329912&sr=8-1&keywords=island+of+the+blue+dolphins+book

O'Dell, S. (1966). Island of the Blue Dolphins. London: Puffin B.

Reutter, V. (2004). Island of the Blue Dolphins [Review of book]. School Library 

               Journal, 50(5), 64.

Rochman, H. (2007, April 15). Another Look At: Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue
            Dolphins [Review of book]. Booklist, 103(16) 54. Retrieved from

            www.booklistonline.com.