Ten+Ways+to+Make+My+Sister+Disappear

Shannon Williams



Ten Ways to make My Sister Disappear By Norma Fox Mazer Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic ISBN: 9780439839839 Cost - $4.99 Ages 9-12 Grade four plus 148 pages
 * Bibliographic in****formation:**

Grace, who is known to all as Sprig, is an average ten year old girl, whose lucky number is ten. Dakota, her old sister, is her major problem. Dakota is older, can do everything that Sprig is not allowed to do, is better at what Sprig can do, and teases Sprig just like any older sister would. Sprig wishes she could simply make Dakota disappear believing that her life would be better without her. On top of problems with Dakota, Sprig is tired of dealing with a new long term substitute teacher, friends, her elderly neighbor (who seems to value Dakota more than Sprig), and the difficulties of having a father away on long business trip to dangerous Afghanistan. As Sprig grows as a person, she realizes that her enemy sister may actually be an unexpected ally whose life is not as perfect as she had imagined it to be.
 * Summary:**

Norma Mazer uses a very developmentally appropriate writing style for children. The book, __Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear__, is told in multigenres including narrative text, dialogue, and short essays, all of which make this a very approachable text. Mazer uses Dialogue that is very approachable for young readers because she uses words and phrases that young children use on a regular basis in their daily lives. Also, the conversations Mazer is portraying through her use of dialogue are based on conversations, problems, and solutions that all preteens, especially girls, are experiencing in their own lives. For example, Sprig is talking to her sister Dakota about an essay she was going to hand in for school the next day, “’Dakota, I can’t mess it up with cross-outs.” Sprig smooths out her paper. “I told you, I have to hand it in tomorrow.” “No way you’re going to hand in that I comb my hair for an hour every morning. That is an utter, total //lie.”// “You comb it for a long time” “Not an hour.”’ (Mazer, 37). This small argument between Sprig and her older sister Dakota is written in language that is appropriate for a young audience, and the situation is relatable to most preteen girls with siblings. Similarly, Mazer inserts small essays that Sprig must hand into class, lists or notes that Sprig writes about dreams and ideas, and small notes that would be passed in class. These excerpts help the make the book relatable because they are writing forms that all young girls use in their own lives, the situations are relatable to real life, the vocabulary is appropriate, and she includes spelling and grammar errors that any preteen girl would make in her own life. For instance, Sprig begins a personal essay for school with, “Hello! I am Grace Blue Ewing, but I am called Sprig by everyone. I espechally like my middle name, since blue is and always will be my favorite color. My family is me, my sister and my parents, and they are mostly great, but when I think about it. I realize everyone has a problem” (Mazer, 39). The spelling and grammar errors along with the essay format makes it very easy for young readers to connect to, and also shows them that making mistakes on school work is okay and normal. Overall, the multigenres writing style that Mazer uses throughout the book, __Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear__, work together to make the book approachable and relatable to young readers.
 * Literary Element Analysis:**

__Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear__ is a wonderful book that depicts the life of a middle-school girl to the T. The struggles of getting along with your family, sibling rivalries, succeeding in school, friends, and the introduction to boys are problems that seem like they could be the end of the world to any girl in late elementary school or early middle school. Mazer seamlessly depicts these struggles and the emotions that come along with them through the main character Sprig. This book will be extremely relatable for any young girl and will teach them age appropriate lessons regarding honesty, friendship, decision-making and morals that they can carry with them throughout their own struggle through elementary school and the preteen years.
 * Book Review:**

Norma Fox Mazer was born May 15, 1931 in New York City and grew up in Glens Falls, New York where she attended and graduated from Glens Falls High School. She then continued her education at Antioch College where she met Harry Maze. They married in 1950, and they have four children. Mazer continued with her education once more by attending Syracuse University. Mazer was a teacher, but began to write professionally with her husband for pulp magazine and several novels. Mazer’s books are geared towards children and young adults. They are known for their dialogue, and her ability to have the characters grow and follow suspenseful paths instead of finding simple solutions. Mazer furthered her teaching career by teaching at Vermont College in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program. Mazer has earned several honors for her work including a National Book Award nomination, an American Notable Book citation, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Edgar Award, German Children’s Literature prizes, and Newbury Medal.
 * Author Bio:**

http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/9780439839839.asp
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