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caroleratzer · 8 years ago

Text

Echo

Bibliography

Ryan, P. M., & Mirtalipova, D. (2015). Echo: a novel. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Plot Summary

Once there was a king who was anxiously awaiting the birth of his first son, who would inherit his kingdom. Daughters were unacceptable because they could not inherit, and the throne would pass to his much-disliked brother. When three girls in a row are born, the king instructs the midwife to take each baby into the woods and leave them to die. He then tells everyone, including his queen that the babies have died. But the midwife, like many in her position (as someone in charge of killing an innocent princess), is too kind-hearted to allow the girls to perish. Instead, she reluctantly leaves each with a witch and a promise that her “fate is not yet sealed.” When the girls grow up and decide to leave the witch, she places an enchantment on them. The story then shifts to a boy who has purchased a book and a harmonica from a traveling gypsy. Otto becomes lost in the woods and meets the three girls. They tell him that they must take their voices, carried by the harmonica out into the world and pass it on when the time is right. So begins the harmonica’s journey from the woods of Germany in the early 20th century to Nazi Germany, pre-WW I and II America, and 1950’s New York City. Along the way, the harmonica magically finds its way to whomever needs it the most at that moment.

Critical Analysis

The fairy tale that opens this novel could stand right alongside any gathered by the Grimms and leads into a magical journey connecting four vastly different characters from both Germany and America. As different as each story seems on the surface, each character possesses many of the same qualities: a love of music, faithfulness to their family, and a distinct lack of many of the prejudices exhibited by the adults around them. In the final chapters, readers see all characters and stories come together in what is truly a spectacular symphony.

Review Excerpts

NEW YORK TIMES - John Stephens After reading Pam Muñoz Ryan's enchanting new novel, you'll never think of a harmonica the same way again…Long before the three stories came together in the book's last, triumphant section, I'd been won over by the complex, largehearted characters Muñoz Ryan has created and the virtues—bravery, tolerance, kindness—that the novel espouses. But Muñoz Ryan…is also a writer who cares about sentences…Start to finish, the book is a joy to read. PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY ★ 12/22/2014 The fairy tale that opens this elegant trio of interconnected stories from Ryan (The Dreamer) sets the tone for the rest of the book, in which a mystical harmonica brings together three children growing up before and during WWII. Friedrich, an aspiring conductor whose birthmark makes him an undesirable in Nazi Germany, must try to rescue his father after his Jewish sympathies land him in a prison camp. In Pennsylvania, piano prodigy Mike and his brother, Frankie, get a chance to escape the orphanage for good, but only if they can connect with the eccentric woman who has adopted them. In California, Ivy Maria struggles with her school’s segregation as well as the accusations leveled against Japanese landowners who might finally offer her family a home of their own. Each individual story is engaging, but together they harmonize to create a thrilling whole. The book’s thematic underpinnings poignantly reveal what Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy truly have in common: not just a love of music, but resourcefulness in the face of change, and a refusal to accept injustice. Ages 10–14. Agent: Kendra Marcus, BookStop Literary Agency. (Feb.) From the Publisher Awards and Praise for Echo: New York Times Notable Book Publishers Weekly Best Book ILA Notable Book for a Global Society ALA Notable Children's Book SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL *“The story of Otto and the cursed sisters honor timeless and traditional folktales [and] Ryan has created three contemporary characters who, through faith and perseverance, write their own happy endings, inspiring readers to believe they can do the same.”

KIRKUS *“A grand narrative that examines the power of music to inspire beauty in a world overrun with fear and intolerance, it's worth every moment of readers' time.” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *“Each individual story is engaging, but together they harmonize to create a thrilling whole.” “A masterpiece.” --Christopher Paul Curtis, author of Newbery Medal-winning Bud, Not Buddy “Daring and beautiful.” --Linda Sue Park, author of Newbery Medal-winning A Single Shard Children's Literature - Paula McMillen Five intertwined story lines wend from a magical forest to various locations during WWII; each story leads into the next. Each set of characters’ fates is intertwined with those in the stories that follow—all connected by a small musical instrument. Three babies, who should have been princesses, are hidden away in a witch’s house. Otto discovers the young girls when he gets lost during a game of hide-and-seek. They are trapped in the forest and can only be freed if Otto takes the gift they offer and passes it along. It carries a prophecy of saving a life. Many years later, a young aspiring musician and conductor finds an unusual harmonica in the Hohner factory where he works. The music it makes is unworldly and beautiful, but the harmonica must be left behind when Otto leaves his small town to ransom his father from a concentration camp. The harmonica next finds itself in the hands of two boys, adopted from an abusive orphanage in Pennsylvania. The older brother, Mike, plays his way into the famous Hoxie Philadelphia Harmonica Band. The harmonica is later donated to needy children as Mike’s musical career takes off. In California, budding musician Ivy must leave behind friends and a supportive teacher when her family takes up curatorial responsibility for the farm of an interned Japanese-American family, the Yamamotos. She is shocked to find that while in her new home, she must attend a separate school with other Mexican children even though she was born in the United States. Still, her compelling harmonica solo earns her a place playing the flute in the school orchestra and she passes the harmonica along to the oldest son of the Yamamotos, who is a Marine. The harmonica stops a bullet aimed at his heart. The final part of the book bring closure to all these stories, notably when a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1951 features the conductor Friedrich, the newest flautist, Ivy, and guest piano soloist, Mike. This book deals with difficult issues in an accessible way, thereby inviting discussion about prejudice and the fears and actions that can follow on both personal and national levels. Reviewer: Paula McMillen, Ph.D.; Ages 10 to 15.

VOYA, February 2015 (Vol. 37, No. 6) - Pam Carlson Would you believe that a harmonica can save lives? It all begins with a witch’s curse on her three foster daughters. They will never find their way home until a musical instrument is used to rescue a life on the brink of death. Young Otto meets them when he gets lost in the woods. Later his career as a harmonica maker launches their way to freedom when one of his creations is touched with magic. Three children living during the World War II era unknowingly pass that same harmonica along to one another. Each plays not only with skill but also with a beautiful infusion of intensity and longing. Friedrich dreams of becoming a conductor but must first flee Hitler’s Germany. Pianist Mike, an orphan in Pennsylvania, agrees to join the Harmonica Wizards to protect his brother. Excellent student and harmonica virtuoso, Hispanic Ivy misses an opportunity to play a solo on the radio and is then stunned to discover the depths of racism when her family relocates from Fresno to Orange County. Each of their stories ends in probable tragedy. Years later, their lives coincide in a tearful, joyous night of music. Resilient, smart characters refuse to give in to circumstances seemingly beyond their control. Ryan’s stories never fail to touch the heart, but this one is also a resounding argument to maintain music programs in schools. To quote Ivy’s music teacher, “Everyone needs the beauty and light of music, especially during the worst of times.” Reviewer: Pam Carlson; Ages 11 to 18. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL ★ 12/01/2014 Gr 5–8—"Long before enchantment was eclipsed by doubt," a young boy named Otto lost in the woods is rescued by three sisters imprisoned there by a witch's curse. In return, he promises to help break the curse by carrying their spirits out of the forest in a mouth harp and passing the instrument along when the time is right. The narrative shifts to the 20th century, when the same mouth harp (aka harmonica) becomes the tangible thread that connects the stories of three children: Friedrich, a disfigured outcast; Mike, an impoverished orphan; and Ivy, an itinerant farmer's child. Their personal struggles are set against some of the darkest eras in human history: Friedrich, the rise of Nazi Germany; Mike, the Great Depression; Ivy, World War II. The children are linked by musical talent and the hand of fate that brings Otto's harmonica into their lives. Each recognizes something unusual about the instrument, not only its sound but its power to fill them with courage and hope. Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy are brought together by music and destiny in an emotionally triumphant conclusion at New York's Carnegie Hall. Meticulous historical detail and masterful storytelling frame the larger history, while the story of Otto and the cursed sisters honor timeless and traditional folktales. Ryan has created three contemporary characters who, through faith and perseverance, write their own happy endings, inspiring readers to believe they can do the same.—Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY KIRKUS REVIEWS ★ 2014-12-06 A multilayered novel set in turbulent times explores music's healing power. Sweeping across years and place, Ryan's full-bodied story is actually five stories that take readers from an enchanted forest to Germany, Pennsylvania, Southern California and finally New York City. Linking the stories is an ethereal-sounding harmonica first introduced in the fairy-tale beginning of the book and marked with a mysterious M. In Nazi Germany, 12-year-old Friedrich finds the harmonica in an abandoned building; playing it fills him with the courage to attempt to free his father from Dachau. Next, the harmonica reaches two brothers in an orphanage in Depression-era Pennsylvania, from which they are adopted by a mysterious wealthy woman who doesn't seem to want them. Just after the United States enters World War II, the harmonica then makes its way to Southern California in a box of used instruments for poor children; as fifth-grader Ivy Lopez learns to play, she discovers she has exceptional musical ability. Ryan weaves these stories together, first, with the theme of music—symbolized by the harmonica—and its ability to empower the disadvantaged and discriminated-against, and then, at the novel's conclusion, as readers learn the intertwined fate of each story's protagonist. A grand narrative that examines the power of music to inspire beauty in a world overrun with fear and intolerance, it's worth every moment of readers' time. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

The Newbery Honor – The Kirkus Prize – New York Times Editors’ Choice – ALA Notable Book – New York Historical Society Book Prize – National Parenting Publications Gold Award – Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year – Washington Post Best Books of the Year – NPR 2015 Great Reads – New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing – New York Times Notable Book – SCIBA Middle Grade Book of the Year – The Audie Award – International Literacy Association Notable Book for a Global Society – Booksource Scout Award – NCTE Notable Book in the Language Arts – ILA/CBC Children’s Choice – The Américas Award

Connections

http://www.pammunozryan.com/echo/ offers discussion questions, reader’s theater, and author interviews

Pair with other books about Nazi Germany such as “We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement that Defied Hitler” by Russell Freedman in order to make the time period more real for students.

Have students create a timeline or chart the harmonica’s travels.

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