SMILE books, which the school considers to be at the heart of all learning, are used by all year groups. Children complete activities independently in their books showing their own way of learning and presenting their work in a range of styles and formats. As a result, even from the youngest of ages, pupils have become more independent learners who are engaged in their learning because they have been involved in the decision-making process for the topics being taught. Our vision, here at Trellech Primary, is to ensure the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales are at the heart of our children’s learning – particularly ensuring that they are “ambitious capable learners” who: Raina’s mother consoles her by buying her videogames and allowing her to get a couple of ear piercings on her 12th birthday. Meanwhile, a sub-conflict emerges as Raina’s friends pressure her about how she looks. Two of them, Karin and Nicole, make mean jokes at Raina’s expense. When Raina enters seventh grade, she develops a crush on Sammy, another sixth grader in the band class who also wears braces. Soon after that, San Francisco experiences an earthquake but only suffers temporary power loss for the family. It turns out that Sammy has feelings for Raina too but then she develops an obsessive crush on Sean (not mentioned if he is basketball player or otherwise), which causes problems in school with Karin and Nicole until they leave town without telling anyone why they’re leaving.

a b c d e f g h Wildsmith, Snow. “Interview: Raina Telgemeier.” Good Comics for Kids, School Library Journal, June 2010, goodcomicsforkids.slj.com/2010/06/13/interview-raina-telgemeier/. Sarah Ruhl writes about everything with the clarity of a water droplet and the power of a waterfall. I’m not sure I’ve ever read or heard any of her work, in any genre or form, without crying at least a little. Smile: The Story of a Face is no different, though perhaps even more personal and vulnerable, so that reading it feels like being trusted with something fragile and intimate. A reflection on symmetry and divisions, on motherhood and marriage and meditation, on what it is to see and to be seen. A deeply moving, absorbing book; I'd expect nothing less from Sarah Ruhl, and I'm grateful to have read it.Books about coping with disability or disease or some kind of difference are now commonplace, but this book is unique in Ruhl’s coping with the disconnect between inner feelings and the outer expression of those emotions. What is a smile? And why does it seem so important for women to be smiling all the time? Why do we feel shame when we see ourselves as something less than physically attractive? I was reminded while reading it of Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealey. I think Ruhl anticipated that the end of her memoir, people would be wanting some sort of big, satisfying conclusion (which admittedly is what I was feeling), and wrote: a b c d Boerman-Cornell, William. "The Intersection of Words and Pictures: Second through Fourth Graders Read Graphic Novels." The Reading Teacher, vol. 70, no. 3, 2016, pp. 327-335, doi: 10.1002/trtr.1525. Children's and Young Adult Literature: Nevada Young Reader Award.” UNLV University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2014, guides.library.unlv.edu/c.php?g=403811&p=2864262.

Raina is a likable girl with supportive and understanding parents. Though she makes some missteps, such as standing up a boy at a dance, it's her process of correcting those missteps that makes this such a relatable and true-to-life story. Readers will be encouraged and comforted by the path Raina takes to finding new friends that support her. Clabaugh, Rich (December 3, 2010). "4 Great Graphic Novels for Family Entertainment". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved February 12, 2013.Editors' Choice: Recent Books of Particular Interest". The New York Times. May 23, 2010 . Retrieved February 15, 2013.

Smile was published as a graphic novel with eight chapters by the Graphix imprint of Scholastic Inc. in 2010. [2] Stephanie Yue did the color for the novel version of Smile. [1] Summary [ edit ] Character list [ edit ] In a series of piercing, profound, and lucid meditations, Ruhl chronicles her journey as a patient, wife, mother, and artist. She explores the struggle of a body yearning to match its inner landscape, the pain of postpartum depression, the story of a marriage, being a playwright and working mom to three small children, and the desire for a resilient spiritual life in the face of illness. Originally, she intended to be a poet. However, after she studied under Paula Vogel at Brown University (A.B., 1997; M.F.A., 2001), she was persuaded to switch to playwriting. Her first play was The Dog Play, written in 1995 for one of Vogel's classes. Her roots in poetry can be seen in the way she uses language in her plays. She also did graduate work at Pembroke College, Oxford.Wildsmith, Snow (December 30, 2009). "Review: Smile". School Library Journal "it has a shark in it" blog . Retrieved February 15, 2013. Sarah Ruhl’s Smile is a memoir. She’s a playwright, actress, essayist and memoirist. This is her story. I really liked her writing; it’s personal, informative and honest. She was having her second child when she found out they were twins; a boy and a girl. And because of complications she was on bed rest and they were born early and had some serious healthy problems the first few weeks of their lives; as did she. She got Bell’s palsy in her face and had other health issues . She had the type of Bells Palsey where the left side of her face was frozen and she couldn’t smile. We experience each other and judge emotions and feeling through one’s face. With a frozen smile it makes “one seem cold, joyless and non-caring.” She found it hard to communicate to others as a mother and working with actors on emotions as they work a scene. She found that without a smile people saw her as cold and distant. This is a book about dealing with difficult health issues, living with her face when the frozen doesn’t thaw, being a mom of young kids, a wife, a daughter and having an active career. And I’m so glad I read it.

The best smiles are beautiful and open. They connote happiness and good nature. Whether you’re describing a fictional character or writing a piece of creative nonfiction, these descriptions can help. What happens when your life craters, but you have three small children to care for, a husband who loves you, a profession you are committed to? How do you overlay all this with something like Bell's that literally changes the way you see yourself, and others see you? What happens when you can't even smile at your beautiful babies. But as I know or have met some of the family members in her work, I was of course pleased to (as we do at the holidays!) “Catch up” with the news about her and them. A kind of perfect book for Thanksgiving, as probably the main point of the book is how grateful she is to have supportive family and friends. Beautifully written, top notch. Somewhere in the middle, I stopped feeling quite as engaged with the story. All of the real life drama in the beginning provided a lot of interesting content, but after that, her life settled into a more steady rhythm. There are lots of little stories that were fine to read through but didn't necessarily draw me forward to the next, and in between, there was a lot of musings about faces, spirituality, illness, and more. Most of the subjects are mentioned lightly and didn't provide me with any takeaways, with the exception of the topic of faces. I'm still thinking about how it must feel like to have a face that can't express the emotion you feel, the importance we as a society place on horizontal symmetry, and all the things that a smile signifies.Many smiles are more than simply happy or excited. A lot can happen beneath the surface. Try using adjectives that describe tone or feelings. You can describe more nuanced emotions with these words. Then the OB tells her she's having twins. Then the twins arrive, and she suddenly develops Bell's palsy...half of her face is paralyzed. She can't smile. She doesn't look like herself. As she is now juggling three children, and two infants. Although the graphic novel form may provide more opportunities for levity than the traditional novel structure, Smile shows that this literary style can be used to convey serious and emotional events in a compelling manner. [8] Analysis [ edit ] Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award: Awards List.” FictionDB, 1 Feb. 2013, www.fictiondb.com/awards/2013~rebecca-caudill-young-readers-book-award~222.htm. a b Smith, Jennifer M., and Kathryn Pole. "What's Going on in a Graphic Novel?" The Reading Teacher, vol. 72, no. 2, 2018, pp. 169-177, doi: 10.1002/trtr.1695.