"Teach This" Reponse #1 - The London Eye Mystery

The London Eye Mystery – a Young Adult/Amateur Sleuth tale

The story follows Ted Sparks, a twelve-year-old diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, as he and his older sister Katrina (Kat, for short) work to solve the mystery of visiting cousin Salim’s disappearance from a sealed pod on the London Eye. In his first-person narration, Ted tells readers that his brain works differently than other people’s brains; he likens it to a computer that works on a different operating system and describes himself as a meteorologist - or rather, he will be when he grows up (Dowd 11). He also takes references to idioms literally, so his social interactions can be a bit trying and even frustrating, especially if those references come in the guise of weather hyperbole (like “talking up a storm”). As the story begins, Ted’s parents Faith and Ben are about to get a visit from Gloria, Faith’s sister, and Salim, Gloria’s son. This visit creates a stir in the Sparks’ household for a few reasons:

1.     Ted’s house is small and he worries about having to share his room with Salim

2.     Ben, a demolition expert, refers to Gloria as “Hurricane Gloria” – because she leaves a trail of devastation in her wake (Dowd 5)

3.     The family hasn’t seen Gloria or Salim for about five years, and during the last visit, Faith and Gloria had argued about something

4.     Salim, whose father is Pakistani, and Gloria are emigrating to the United States, because Gloria has been offered a job as an art curator in New York City

A sightseeing excursion for the family to the London Eye is suggested by Salim, who has a fascination with tall structures. Their visit coincides with a school holiday, so everyone save Ben is able to go. (Ted’s father is in the final preparative stages of a condemned building’s scheduled demolition just days away.) While waiting in line to purchase tickets, Kat, Ted and Salim are approached by a man – he has one ticket that he’s not going to use. He offers it to them, for free. Kat and Ted give it to Salim; he enters the pod. At the conclusion of the 30-minute revolution, however, Salim does not disembark with the rest of

the passengers. With the clock ticking down to their New York flight, the story winds up to a dramatic conclusion – small spoiler alert:  yes, Ted figures out what happened, in a manner that would please Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes.

Why I Would Recommend This Book

With germane social issues such as learning disabilities, racism, bullying, divorce, and even climate change, the text I chose for my first “Teach This” response paper was actually suggested by a librarian, after the book I had placed on hold failed to arrive. I explained that I needed an appropriate text to prepare an assignment for the young adult literature class I was taking and wanted something from the mystery genre. She recommended The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, which has won multiple awards, including the Book Sense Children's Pick List Award 2008, the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award 2008, the Booklist Children's Editors' Choice Award 2008, and the Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books Award. As Bucher and Hinton states, “A primary value of literature is that it provides readers with experiences that can help them understand their own lives and the world around them” (135). I believe that is one of many services rendered by this novel.

Increasing awareness of autism is one of the benefits derived from classroom presentation of this book, in my opinion. The Organization for Autism Research designed their pamphlet Kit for Kids with the hope that, through a better understanding of autism, “. . . [Y]oung people will be more likely to attribute the idiosyncrasies of autism to a classmate’s disability rather than a choice and . . . create a more inclusive classroom and overall sense of community.”

Although not specifically stated in the book, Ted appears to have a type of autism known as Asperger syndrome, a rare developmental disorder which affects males twice the rate as females. The Mayo Clinic and other medical authorities define it as a condition on the autism spectrum that affects the ability to effectively socialize and communicate. People with this condition are generally described as higher functioning and socially awkward, and often with an all-absorbing interest in specific topics. Through communication training and behavioral therapy, people so diagnosed can learn to socialize more successfully (Mayo Clinic).

Throughout the narrative, we witness Ted’s struggles with various social interactions (via phone calls, meeting and conversing with new people, or walking somewhere on his own), but we also come to appreciate his unique view of the world. It’s that very viewpoint – his ability to laser-focus his mind on clues and have those clues coalesce into the solution – that enables him to solve the mystery of his missing cousin.

I also believe that The London Eye Mystery, albeit a less-than-complex read, does a wonderful job of tackling other timely issues like racism and bullying, and the social isolation that often accompanies these actions.  Salim is introduced as half-Asian; in his school,

Salim’s friend Marcus is called “Paki-Boy” by the other students, even though Marcus has explained that his mother is from Bangladesh and his father is Irish (39). All too often, these hurtful behaviors are learned from an early age.  Bucher and Hinton advances that perhaps young adult texts which deal with these themes in an open, honest, and realistic manner may help teens/adolescents learn to deal with such situations (125).

This is also a terrific mystery. From Bucher and Hinton: “A good mystery encourages reasoning and problem solving, as well as questioning and examining evidence, fact, and motives” (165).  Once again, as the story progresses, Ted and readers alike uncover clues that, with the proper amount of critical thinking, allows them to reach a solution and solve the mystery behind Salim’s disappearance from the London Eye. I think it also serves as a vehicle that answers many of the “Considerations for Selecting Young Adult Literature Mystery” (as suggested by Bucher and Hinton) in a positive fashion (170). The plot does not seem contrived, the setting provides a great backdrop for Salim’s disappearance, the characters are fleshed-out enough to be convincing, and the book is a fun read. The mystery genre remains an extremely popular choice for all ages, so as educators why not take advantage of that (Chadwick)?

There are other aspects of the book which educators may wish to delve into, as The London Eye Mystery allows for a sort of cross-pollination of various disciplines:  SCIENCE (including climate change and meteorology) – in the chapter titled “Night Talk,” Ted, trying to pick a topic of conversation as he and Salim are getting ready to go to sleep, talks to Salim about his concerns for the future:

The weather system is hard to understand because there are so many variables. And variables are interesting. If the system goes wrong, it’s a disaster. And some people think the system is starting to go wrong and that could mean the end of the human race. I want to be a meteorologist when I grow up so that I can predict things and help the human race to survive (Dowd 34).

Within that same vein, Ted finds a sort of peace and precision with weather, generally accepted to be a chaos system (as defined within chaos theory); he also introduces readers to the Coriolis effect. CARTOGRAPHY – for example, as Ted and Kat make their way around London’s streets and its underground, Ted describes the difference between topological and topographic maps. HISTORY – Ted offers background on historic storms to make landfall, including Hurricane Katrina, as well as an introduction to The Eye itself. (I admit to enjoying the word play between Kat’s full name, the mention of the hurricane by the same name, and the subtle insertion of The Eye as a plot device, not to mention the very center of a hurricane is called “the eye.”) Given the suggestion by Bucher and Hinton on collaboration with other professionals (146), I recognized the value of the novel in that respect. Along those lines, I offer the following suggestions as means for teaching the book in a classroom. They are listed in no specific order.

Activities/Assignments

1.     Sleuthing bag:  what would yours have, and why? With this activity, I’d like for students to use their reasoning skills by asking what would be needed during an investigation. With each addition, I want a description of the item, as well as a couple of instances where/when the item may be useful. For example, when the police arrive at the Sparks’ house to interview the family following Salim’s disappearance, a detective sergeant takes notes. A student may want to add a note pad or some others means of logging interview notes and evidence found during an investigation

2.     Create a map to show movements of Salim, as well as those of Ted and Kat. Explain how you deduced their steps (i.e., describe your investigative steps). With this, I’d like to encourage spatial thinking and map reading, as sometimes cell towers and GPS are not an option

3.     What would your All Points Bulletin [APB] look like? Here, I’d ask students to choose any medium (photo, pen/pencil drawing, etc.) and then provide a detailed description of Salim and any suspect(s). With this strategy, my aim is at least two-fold: reading comprehension (Salim’s physical description is provided, so students should be able to draw or produce some likeness of what they think he looks like) and safety. In the novel, when Gloria is asked by the police for a current photo, she had none readily available. This could help generate class discussion about such topics as the need to have something like a recent photo on hand, how a picture could save authorities time and effort, and even what sorts of changes can be made to a person’s appearance to avoid detection

4.     Detective work often involves interviews, with both helpful and recalcitrant individuals!  Knowing this, what sort of questions would you ask? For this “investigative avenue,” please come up with a list of at least ten (10) questions each for both sorts of interviews. Keep in mind that some of those you interview may also BE involved in the crime, either as another suspect or as someone who aided and/or abetted others involved in the crime

5.     Crime detection and investigative has changed tremendously since the turn of the 20^th century.  Pick one aspect (such as fingerprint analysis), and, in your own words, follow the progress modern crime fighting has taken

6.     Just as crime comes in all forms and guises, so do those whose job it is to investigate those crimes. Police departments will often have detective squads that investigate particular types of crime, such as robbery, missing persons, and cyber-crimes. What sort of detective would you like to be?  Make sure to articulate your reasons! This is a way to have students begin to think about a life after school

7.     The London Eye Mystery is set in modern-day London and, as such, Dowd writes using words and phrases, even alternate spellings, which may be unfamiliar to some readers. Make a list of these and their American counterparts.  For example:

 

Works Cited

AngMohDan. “Separated by a Common Language?” Angmohdan.com, n.d. Web. 03 Jun. 2016.

Bucher, Katherine, and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Chadwick, Kristi. “Following the Digital Clues:  Mystery Genre Spotlight.” Library Journal, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 03 Jun. 2016.

Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery. New York: David Fickling Books, 2008. Print.

“Kit for Kids.” Resources. Organization for Autism Research, n.d. Web. 03 Jun. 2016.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Autism spectrum disorder.” Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 03 Jun. 2016.