Something Beautiful

Name of Book:  Something Beautiful

Author:  Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Illustrator:  Chris K. Soentpiet

Publisher:  Dragonfly Books

ISBN:  9780385322393

Audience:  Ages 7-9

Summary:  A little girl in the city is tired of looking at the trash in the courtyard, graffitti on the walls of her building, and the homeless lady who lives in a cardboard box.  She wants to see something beautiful.  She believes that beautiful means “something that when you have it, your heart is happy.” When she asks her neighbors to show her something beautiful, they show her the simple things that surround them: a fried fish sandwich, a tasty apple, a smooth stone, and a laughing baby.  Determined, the girl goes home and picks up the trash in the courtyard and scrubs the graffitti off the front door of her building.  When her mother gets home, the little girl asks her if she has something beautiful and her mother replies, “Of course, I have you.”

Literary elements at work in the story: This story is written from the little girl’s point of view, so the reader never knows her name, which means it could be the perspective of any little girl growing up in the inner-city.  The paintings on each page are bright and colorful and shed light to all the sights that the little girl sees in her neighborhood.  It is a story about the little things that make life beautiful.  It is about community, children’s innocence, the beauty of friendship and the power of hope.

(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The little girl clearly lives in a dangerous run-down neighborhood in the city with few resources.  But even in the midst of crime and poverty, there is hope and beauty.

Theological conversation partners (scripture, confessions, doctrines, theologians, etc):  Whenever we struggle with difficult times such as illness, job loss, divorce, or even death, there is something beautiful that can still be found.  In our darkest times, we must be looking for the blessings of God to give us hope.  Sometimes beauty is given to us and sometimes beauty can only be found if we work for it.  The little girl made a decision to make her building more beautiful and she took the first step by picking up the trash and scrubbing away the graffitti.  We, too, are called to be in community with others working towards building something beautiful.  Possible Scripture texts to accompany this book are: Genesis 12:1-3 and Psalms 139:13-18.

Faith Talk Questions

1. Tell me about something beautiful in your life.  What is it and what makes it beautiful?
2. Is there something close to home that could be made more beautiful?  What is it and what can you do to make it so?  What help and resources do you need to make it happen?

This review was prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Amanda North.

Uglies

Name of Book:  Uglies

Author:  Scott Westerfeld

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

ISBN:  978-1442419810

Audience:  Ages 12 and up.

Summary:  Westerfeld’s page-turning novel opens just weeks before Tally Youngblood’s 16^th birthday. In a near-future utopian society, Tally is an “ugly” – a young person who has not yet been surgically transformed into a “pretty.” As Tally and her friends look forward to the time when they can cross the river, be made pretty, and enjoy a life of beautiful leisure, they play pranks, make mischief, and spy on the new pretties.  But one day, Tally meets the rebellious Shay and is taken on an adventure toward understanding the deeper meaning of beauty. As she pursues her runaway friend into “The Smoke,” Tally finds herself regretting her decisions and wanting to set right a betrayal that proves to have disastrous consequences.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This science fiction novel for teens is rife with conflict; Tally struggles with her understanding of herself, her society, her friends, and everything she knows about the path to adulthood. Westerfeld uses each instance of conflict to develop Tally’s sense of independence, strength, and courage. By the end of the novel the reader appreciates Tally’s self-reliance in the service to others, rather than the simple trickery and adventure-for-adventure’s sake that she enjoyed earlier in the novel. Additionally, Westerfeld provides for the reader a setting that is futuristic but highly believable. The reader can almost imagine riding the hoverboard over the “Rusty Ruins” that are eerily reflective of our own time. Finally, with an overarching theme that questions beauty as an end in itself, this novel provides an excellent source of dialogue about self-image, societal pressure, individual worth, and free will.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability:  Westerfeld explores a dysfunctional futuristic society with a critical view toward contemporary Western culture. While homogeneity and perfection are celebrated in Tally’s world, the reader soon realizes the beauty of free thought, diversity, and complex human relationships.  Although race is not specifically addressed in overt ways, the implication is that upon one’s 16^th birthday, one is made to look just similar to the other new pretties – with some skin lightened and some skin darkened, among other changes. Everyone is ultimately moved toward an appearance that is deemed beautiful by the standards committee. However, Tally and her new friends question the imposed standards that effectively remove individual differences. Throughout Tally’s adventure, Westerfeld celebrates those abilities and qualities that make her unique and that allow the people of The Smoke to live on their own, think critically about societal and ethical issues, and find hope in the complexity of life.

Theological Conversation Partners:  Psalm 139; the goodness of creation; the nature of beauty; remorse; free will

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What makes a person beautiful? In what ways can a person’s beauty be destroyed or eclipsed?
2. The goodness and beauty of God’s creation is celebrated throughout scripture. How does Westerfeld’s society in Uglies distort the notion that God’s creation is inherently good?
3. The novel explores Tally’s feelings of regret and remorse over her betrayal of the Smoke. How do her feelings cause her to change?
4. How have you been changed by facing those things you regret having done?
5. Consider Tally’s use of free will and Special Circumstances’ attempt to thwart free will. How do the concepts of free will and beauty intertwine throughout the novel?
6. God gave humanity free will at creation. While free will allows some to thwart God’s intention for creation, it allows others to experience the joy of meeting God’s call to love and serve others. Where do you see these ideas in the novel and in your own life?
7. In what way is Tally’s sacrifice at the end of the novel an appropriate conclusion to her journey?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Catherine Lovejoy.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Name of Book: All Things Bright and Beautiful

Author:  Cecil F. Alexander; illus. Ashley Bryan

Publisher: Atheneum

ISBN: 978-1416989394

Audience: Ages 2-5

Summary:  Cut-paper collages depict scenes of people, animals, and nature that perfectly interpret this wonderful 19^th c Irish hymn. Bryan has created a masterpiece in which art and text work together to God’s glory. Children can sing along (words and music are included) and point out all of the things mentioned in the song.  A fun book for all.

Literary elements at work in the story: Illustrations and words come alive and work perfectly together in this visual presentation of the song, making it especially accessible to the very young. The placement of the text also adds a sense of movement and keeps the book moving.

How do the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story: Bryan’s illustrations include not just the glory and beauty of creation but its diversity as well. All races celebrate God’s creation from the ferris wheel at the opening to the rainbow at the end. This is multiculturalism at its best.

Theology: Psalm 8:1

There could hardly be a better song or better illustrations to serve as an example of this verse. God’s glory shows through every phrase and every illustration. It is as if God reached down, touched the author and illustrator and said, “Show forth my glory”.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Can you think of something “bright and beautiful?”
2. God’s creation is so magnificent. What can we do to keep it so?
3. The end of the song says, “He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell, how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.” How can we see and speak better about God and God’s creation?

This review was written by regular contributor Janet Lloyd.

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone

Name of Book:  The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone

Author:  Timothy Basil Ering

Illustrator:  Timothy Basil Ering

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Audience:  4 – 9 (but could be used with groups of all ages)

Summary:   “Frog Belly Rat Bone, one, two, three…you must be patient and then you will see!” is the delightful, and I do mean DELIGHTFUL, tale of a boy who buries some grey specks all over Cementland, and in so doing yields a most beautiful and bountiful garden.

Literary Elements at Work:  One of the most compelling literary elements at work in this story is color and artistry.  The tale takes place in Cementland, which is filled with junk pikes and more junk piles.  The opening scenes are colored in grey, black, beige, brown, and steel-blue.  The only bright and warm color is on “the very special boy.”  He is wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt.  The tones remain cool and dark until “the very special boy” goes in search of a treasure and finds a “strange and wonderful box.”  The box contains many jewel-toned seed packets and a note that reads, “Put my wondrous riches into the earth and enjoy.”  This instruction sends “the very special boy” off planting, watering, protecting, and waiting for something wonderful.  Timothy Ering uses a contrasting interplay of dark and cool images with bright, warm and colorful images in a back-and-forth manner to illustrate the disparity between sowing and waiting and seeing.

Scripture:  The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, and Luke 8:1-8

Theology:  God sows in the most ridiculous places—a small plot of land between a mighty Egypt and a great Assyria; a stammering Moses; an old and barren Sarah; a Canaanite prostitute; the youngest of Jesse’s sons; a murderous breathing Saul—and in so doing reaps a beautiful and bountiful kingdom!

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit down beside your child.  Go through the book slowly just looking at the pictures.  Talk about the colors and the pictures.  Ask: What does Cementland look like?  What do you think it sounds like?  smells like?  tastes like?  feels like?  Why do you think that?  Who lives in Cementland?  What makes the “very special boy” special?  Who else comes to Cementland?  What happens when the visitors come?  What are the tiny grey specks?  How do Frog Belly Rat Bone and “the very special boy” care for the tiny grey specks?  As the tiny grey specks begin to grow, what colors and pictures do you see?  What does Cementland look like now?  What do you think it sounds like now?  smells like now?  tastes like now?  feels like now?  Why do you think that?  What happens to the “very special boy,” the rabbit, the rat, the fruit fly, and Frog Belly Rat Bone when the tiny grey specks grow into fruits, vegetables and flowers?  Why do you think that happens?  Get some seeds and plant a garden in the most ridiculous of places with your child and wait and see!!

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Kim Lee