From Goodreads,
"Pictures of Hollis Woods In this Newbery Honor Book, a troublesome 12-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her. "
Goodreads - Pictures of Hollis Woods
Awards:
- Newberry Honor - 2003
When I was interning I got to see a lot of amazing learning take place. One of the amazing moments was learning that the fourth grade class was reading Pictures of Hollis Woods. I asked the teacher what the book was about and she was shocked that I had never read it or heard of it before. She also informed me that there is a movie version of the book. It wasn't that big of a deal and I didn't have any desire to read the book until I started teaching 4th grade. I figured it wouldn't hurt me to read the book, see what it is all about, and then make a decision on if we should read it together in class.
The book bounces between the story that is taking place and the story in the past which is indicated by the pictures by Hollis chapters. Throughout the book we learn where Hollis came from, how she became the way she is, and her talent for drawing. This entire book is about Hollis, who is in foster care, and how her life is influenced by those around her and how she tries to find a place to fit in.
From an educator standpoint, this book would be a great book to involve visualizing. I would have the students illustrate the photos that Hollis draws. It would be a good way for students to see in their head what they are reading, and then put it on paper. This book is very visual and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. The book also kept me guessing as to what happened at her previous foster house and why she left. The past foster house story is weaved into the current story, which made it drag on for the entire book (which I didn't like).
The downfall of this book, again from an educator standpoint, is that so many of my students live in situations similar, if not worse, situations than what Hollis lives/has lived in. I would worry about this book reigniting questions or feelings that students have learned to cope with and manage because they have been shuffled from house to house. Another thing that I didn't like was the going back and forth from present day story to past story. That was so confusing to keep up with, mainly because I don't read chapter titles unless I'm reading to someone. I wished I would have been given a chunk of the past and then told the present for a while and then given another big chunk. It was just such a pain to keep up with which storyline was taking place and if we were reading present or past events. I worry that students wouldn't pay attention to the two different writing styles and they would mix the entire book together.
This book didn't meet my expectations and I really didn't want to finish reading the book because it wasn't interesting enough for me. I give this 2.5 out of 3 stars. I just expected there to be more to the story, especially since it is a Newberry Honor book. I personally wouldn't use this in my class. So many of my kids experience life worse than Hollis's life and I think my students need a new and refreshing look on stories and experiences in literature.
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