Author Archives: allankyoto
The Best Laid Plans
I recently finished The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis. I could see this book being a humorous introduction to Canadian Politics. Its a pretty quick read and I thought very funny. The characters are story line were pretty thin … Continue reading
The Last Unicorn
I really loved this book. I liked how it was written. I liked the characters and I thought it works both on the surface as a generally entertaining story and on a deeper allegorical level. I know some students might … Continue reading
I Am David
Pardon me here guys. I’m playing a bit of catch up. You’ll probably see lots of new posts over the next little while. I’ve been reading a lot but haven’t had time to write up my impressions. I read the … Continue reading
Stardust
I recently finished the book Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I thought it was a wonderful example of a re-imagining of fairy tale stories. Gaiman thrives in doing this as his other books as seen in his other books such as … Continue reading
Japanese aesthetics
For those of you considering traveling to Japan or just those of you with an interest in Japanese culture, I found these comments from Donald Keene’s The Pleasures of Japanese Literature very insightful. A. The first principle is the … Continue reading
Blankets
Blankets is a graphic novel by Craig Thompson. Without a doubt this is something I’d like to have on the curriculum in my classroom. I can see it inspiring a lot of students to express themselves in new ways. There … Continue reading
Speak
I just finished reading Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. With the straightforwardness of the story and the clear relevancy to students’ lives I could see this being a mainstay in many classrooms. The big questions it raises would be a., What … Continue reading
Into Thin Air
I just finished reading this fascinating page turning account by Jon Krakauer of the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest. I can see this book appealing to a lot of students on a lot of levels. Its something I would very … Continue reading
The House of the Scorpion
I just finished reading Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion. A story of friendship, family, survival and hope. I’m not completely sold on having this as a classroom textbook but I would definitely consider it if I had a class … Continue reading
The Book of Negroes
I just finished reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. I thought Aminata Diallo was one of the best characters I’ve come across in fiction; totally believable in every way. The book raises a lot of professional questions for … Continue reading
From the Far East to Down East 