Hello lovely people,
I have recently finished reading an amazing book called: "The Inquisitor's Tale," by Adam Gidwitz. The setting takes place in the dark ages of France (although the author doesn't believe this era was dark, but fascinating). If you love books that have historical fiction, fantasy, and are full of adventure, then you will absolutely love this book! I will explain what this book is about by using the BHH model (Book, Head, Heart). This strategy can be used when reading to help you or your students go more in depth about a book. BHH helps people move beyond the summarizing phase. Also, the BHH model will help make connections with the reading.
B (Book)
What's this about? This book is about three kids and a dog, whose lives are connected. They learn to accept one another, and have to conquer all sorts of barriers that come their way. Their lives become intertwined and connected in the story. William is an oblate on a mission from his monastery. He has to deliver some books. William has a massive amount of strength. He is the muscle in the story and is usually killing people. William is half Spanish and half North African. Jacob is a Jewish boy who uses plants and prayer to heal people. Jacob had to run away from his village because it was burned down by a group of evil people, claiming to be Christians. Jeanne, is a peasant girl who gets seizures, and has prophetic visions. Jeanne's childhood dog named Gwenforte, resurrected after being killed by her parents. Her parents thought that Gwenforte was trying to harm her. On the contrary, Gwenforte was trying to protect her from a snake. After the dog was killed, her parents later realized that the dog was protecting Jeanne. The dog later became a Saint, which was the problem that lit the whole chaos in the story. Jeanne, William, Jacob, and Gwenforte, had to constantly be on the run, because people were sent to kill them. People thought them to be witches, due to their supernatural abilities. Another character named Michelangelo Di Bologna, plays a major role in the story too. I later found out in the story that he is not an evil character sent to kill the kids (only rumors), but actually an angel sent to help them. Michelangelo already met Gwenforte in heaven. All of these characters, had all sorts of adventures, from healing a dragon, saving a burning man from dying, helping the King of France, killing off knights, trying to save books from being burned, to saving books written in Hebrew. It is a book with a happy ending. Families are made, and families are reunited. Characters that I thought were dead, ended up not dying after all. This book made me laugh, cry, infuriated, gasp, and I encountered all sorts of emotions.
Who's telling the story? The main person telling the story is a man sent to kill the main characters. This man was later converted to protecting them after hearing other people's views about the children and the dog. Other characters who had encounters with the children and the dog, became narrators. Some examples are: the pub owner, a nun, a knight, a scribe, and many more.
What does the author think I already know? The author knows that I am familiar with the background history of the dark ages, and the hierarchical pyramid that existed during that era. He knows that I was informed about the injustices, and gruesome acts that were committed during that age. He also knows that I am familiar with the English Canterbury Tales, and Joan of Arc.
What changed, challenged, or confirmed my thinking? This book confirmed my thinking by demonstrating the disgusting, and terrible acts that kings, lords, and peasants committed in the past. For example: sending people to prison for no reason, burning down villages, prejudices, burning of books, burning and killing of innocent people etc. The author also confirmed that the character called Jeanne in this story, is similar to the real person of Joan of Arc. The author also confirmed that other characters like William, and Gwenforte were based on real characters of the past too.
H (Heart)
What did I learn about me? My family has survived and lived freely due to the endurance, and preservation of my ancestors. If it was not for my ancestors, I would not exist today. I love my Jewish side even more after reading this story.
How will this help me to be better? This story has motivated me to be more conscious and to be aware of what people are going through. We need to be more open to see other people's points of view, before making conclusions. The Bible, Talmud, and Torah have lasted through the ages. Many people have sacrificed their lives in order for these to still prevail. I have always appreciated written works, but I am going to value them even more now.
The connections that I made with the help of the BHH strategy are: books can go beyond the simple act of summarization. You can learn so much from answering these questions and making connections with your own personal thoughts. This strategy will definitely help me dive in with other books that I read. It will help my students make connections with what they read. It is a strategy that helps us be more profound in our thinking. I will definitely be implementing this strategy in my own classroom, very soon.
Aiming for fruitfulness,
Evelyn Portillo
