A Book Review & Author Talk: Breakfast with Buddha & Roland Merullo

Today, Roland Merullo came to my university's campus to attend several classes and to read to the public this evening. For those who don't know the work of Merullo, he is the author of 15 books, and his most well-known novel is Breakfast with Buddha.

I first read Breakfast with Buddha as part of my Honors Colloquium last fall semester. Many passages from this book hit home for me, as a college student not fully sure of my independent self, because I could relate to the main character, Otto. This specific course focused on Buddhism in the modern world, so my professor emphasized that we were "on a journey" with Otto and Rinpoche throughout this novel.

For those who have not read this novel, I highly suggest it. If you have read another book by Merullo and disliked it, still pick this one up to try. When he came to speak to the current Honors Colloquium (the professor invited the "alumni" from last year to this session), Merullo talked about how his publisher and editors would prefer for him to write in a similar style continuously, but he says he can't. So if you've read another title by Merullo and wasn't a fan, still take a step into Otto's journey with a Tibetan monk.

I hadn't really considered being able to teach this specific novel in a class because the plot and theme central so much on a spiritual issue. Despite the literary value of this text, I feel as if I would have a difficult time justifying teaching Breakfast with Buddha in a public school. Would I enjoy it if I had the opportunity? Absolutely. However, that might not happen.

While in a question and answer session with Merullo, I was introduced to some of his other books that I would be able to consider as educational texts in a classroom (now I must read them!). The first is a story of a girl with cystic fibrosis, called A Little Love Story.

 Though I haven't read this novel (but I will!), I relate it to the novel Petey that I observed taught in a sixth grade classroom. The main character of that novel goes through many difficulties as a misdiagnosed patient who isn't treated very well. I wonder if Roland Merullo's A Little Love Story couldn't be a text to teacher students that though some people have physical disabilities or constraints, they are still human beings with emotions and dreams.

Banned and Challenged Books

I spent my Thursday night at a Banned (and Challenged) Books Reading that I emceed. The event was hosted by my university's English Honor Society. Afterwards, a reporter from our school's student ran newspaper asked me a question:

In your opinion why is it important to read banned books?

Most banned books have a wide audience and are popular, so I personally read banned books for their literary contributions. 


I am a little disappointed in my answer, because in my Methods course of teaching Middle School English, we just finished our assignment on reading and teaching banned and/or challenged books in our classrooms. Our assessment was to write a one page rationale, with a summary, and a letter to parents of our hypothetical class.

My chosen YA novel was Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes.

Kevin Henkes’ Newbery Honor Book, Olive’s Ocean, portrays twelve year-old Martha’s emotional coming of age story that resonates with relatable experiences for early teenagers. The fast paced young adult novel begins with Martha receiving an excerpt of a journal from a classmate, Olive, who tragically died in an accident a month earlier. Though these two girls did not know each other well, Martha discovers shared interests from the single entry of Olive’s journal. Martha and her family leave their Wisconsin home the next day to visit the ocean home of Godbee, Martha’s grandmother, and Olive haunts Martha’s thoughts as she experiences the dynamics of family relationships, the stirrings of teen romance, and the concept of mortality.

For those who haven't heard of this novel, it was on ALA's Top Ten Challenged Books in 2007. Since then it has dropped from the Top 10, but is still considered in the Top 100 of that decade. The reasons it has been challenged include swearing and a scene with sexual references.

For my assignment, I not only read this book, but also extensively researched it. Olive's Ocean has a reading level of 4.8, but the content of dealing with mortality and the reasons of it being banned make the novel more suitable for middle school students than late elementary.

When I read the book, I came across several literary tropes that students can begin understanding in grades six, seven, and eight, while meeting state standards.The literary devices will be easier to access due to the reading level and the characteristics of Martha’s experiences and emotions that middle school students relate to because they deal with similar issues. The issues deemed inappropriate for elementary students can be addressed with middle school students. 

When I answered the question for my school's newspaper reporter, I was trying to encompass as many banned books as I could with my response, and it felt generic but honest. Banned books from The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and today's popular Hunger Games have all faced challenges because of their content, and yet we continue to find ways to use them to teach in classrooms because of the literary merit or popular success they have seen in our cultures.

So short and sweet was a good answer for a question that seems to carry a lot of weight for a wanna-be English teacher.

From the Mouth (well, writing) of Kylene Beers

I just finished reading the first five chapters (1-5) of this text, When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers.

Write now, I should be writing my required blog that is an equivalent to a two page, informal essay, but my mind is bouncing around from a wanna-be-teacher high. Yes, adrenaline runs through my veins when I read.

This text is unbelievably approachable! Teachers and other wanna-be-teachers should not dread looking at this theory/strategy textbook. It is an indispensable guide that I will utilize in the years ahead of me. At this point in my educational career, I am working in a 60 hour practicum with 6th graders. It was just this morning that I was teaching to a small group of students how to read informational texts, specifically an opinion article. This text introduced me to strategies that I used, which really excited me that I somehow innately knew to teach these skills, and others that I could have used during my 35 minute lesson.

I cannot fully explain how this text has touched my desire to teach; it would be best experienced on your own. I am an independent reader, and I needed the reminder of to teach students to be independent readers.

All wanna-be English teachers, consider picking up a copy!

Out of the Way! A New Blogger!

Alright, so I am a little new at this. I've always wanted to start my own blog (I don't count tumblr) since I remember seeing them in movies and aspiring writers always publishing their little snippets. Well, I never did start one. Maybe I didn't have the time, didn't THINK I had the time, or maybe I just didn't want it bad enough yet.

Well here I am, creating my first official blog post!
I am a wanna-be English Teacher who loves to talk about books but can't always find a friend who wants to talk about them as much as I do.

My plan is to include blogs that are:
book reviews
book themes
teaching strategies
thoughts on literature

Hope you enjoy! Cheers!