What do you think I should do? I want to start posting on my moodle forums, but I like these blogs too! Maybe I will just post here, and then cut and copy my postings! I have read A LOT, especially at the beginning of this school year, so bear with me as I try to catch up!
0 Comments
This is a Newbery Honor book. It is a historical fiction novel by first time author Jacqueline Kelly. I think I have a very very specific type of book, and it is one of the reasons I love children's books... they generally have a nice ending where all the loose ends are tied up. UGH, GRRR, and UGH again with THIS book. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, once I got past the part of a girl with an apron looking thing on the cover and it being set in a remote part of Texas in 1899 (which is usually not my cup of tea). The evolution of Calpurnia was clever and humorous at times. It has some great moments of sibling love and annoyance (which being the oldest of 4 I can relate to). It was also very touching to read about the bond that formed between the grandfather and his only grandchild, errr, granddaughter as he mistakenly says once.
The only problem I have, goes with the kind of stories I like the best. It is totally a personal opinion... I just like happy endings where we know what happens and such. I love movies that have epilogues about what the characters did or became in the future. I like books, like Harry Potter, that show us everyone made it out okay. Just a fair warning, although this is a marvelous book, don't expect that kind of ending! Here is another book that I was reluctant to try...but every library has a copy that is just sitting on the shelf. The cover is so intriquing, but I can see why it may scare off the regular reader...
Please pick up this book. It is a WONDERFUL story, and I ended up finishing it much quicker that I thought I would. The text is intersperced with some interesting illustrations, mixed in with great poetry. Poetry usually scares me... but you could even skip over it, and not that you should, but the story of the boy is just as wonderful. Fear is a huge theme in this novel. Fear of the unknown rainforest, of the mean-spirited father, of the neighborhood kids, of the future. There are again, some great "I wonder" moments that the boy has, that make the reader start wondering about their own dreams and future. The ending has a great surprising historical fiction/biographical twist that left me so intriqued I had to research a lot after I finished reading! I love a novel that makes you want to learn more about its subject matter... these types of books will never get old, and will always remind me to keep on learning! This cover has intrigued me ever since we ordered it, and it hasn't been checked in long enough for me to grab it! I finally had the chance, and I was very reluctant. As any kid will tell you, I tell them I really dislike to read scary stories and I shy away from them. To be the best rockstar librarian I can be, I did overcome my fear with this one. But, let me tell you, the fear was quite great, seeing the realistic creepiness of the long witches nails on the cover.
As you read this story, it actually ends up being a lot less about the creepy witch, and more about a 12 year old girl who is found running throguh the forest, with no memory of who she is or where she came from. The story unfolds, and you find out the village the girl has stumbled unto has just chased off, or killed a witch that they suspect has stolen two children, twelve years apart, from one family. I can't tell you anything else, aside from reassuring you that yes, this is a good story, but it is definitely not as scary as the cover would want you to think. Here's a hint about the ending: "Don't judge a book by it's cover!" I usually read the first book in a series, but this one came across my library desk, and I knew I had to try it. It had all the draw of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and even had a great comment from the author of the Diary series, Jeff Kinney, right on the cover!
No worries that I haven't read any Big Nate books, or that I didn't know it was a super popular newspaper comic... this book was hilarious, and I finished it in about an hour (I LOVE my job!)! If I would have to make it simple, this is a Diary of a Wimpy Kid for middle grades (3-5). In as much as I do not like second graders checking out Wimpy Kid books, I would push them head first into this series...which reminds me, I should probably order the whole series for the libraries! It is a school story, with bullies, friends, enemies, girls, siblings, and of course parents. School is a huge focus, and the realistic nature of the characters will let any reader connect at some point. This is a great graphic novel/chapter book that I would recommend to anyone! I have been busy reading this April vacation! I originally picked up this book a few weeks ago, and got distracted by other books, but I am actually glad that I restarted it! Don't let the description fool you. This is science fiction for the regular reader... don't get scared off by the way the narrative is written, in some sort of foreboding when and if kind of way. It is a simple science fiction novel, that is written so well, and with so much realism thrown in that I finished the book thinking that almost anything is possible...
The story takes place in the past, and there are all these little situations where you pick up clues that allow the reader to make some great predictions and "I wonder" statements. When the climax of the novel occurs, you are left with the answers to many of your "I wonders." Aside from the science fiction, When You Reach Me is the story of a pre-teen girl trying to find her way in life, with friends, boys, weird moms, and the streets of NYC. Go ahead, pick it up and read it! Oh, did I mention it won the Newbery? Love, love, love this book! Forget that it is a great histroical fiction piece about a time in U.S. history, and a group that is very rarely written about in children's fiction... it is just a great story of sisters (and a mom who left them). I could connect on so many levels with the main character, and narrator, Delphine, as she struggles to understand why her mother left her and her two sisters, all the while trying to protect those sisters from the craziness that is surrounding them.
The girls are sent from Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, California to visit with the mom who says she never asked for them to come. The mom is a reluctant participant in the Black Panter party, a group that often fought for the Civil Rights of all people. The girls attend a Black Panter summer camp and have their own adventures in California, without their mother. This story is fabulous! I would recommend it to anyone, particularly if you are a sister, a sibling, or interested in U.S. history at all. Hmmm, what to say about this book. I was excited to try it because I really enjoyed The Watsons... and Bud, Not Buddy, two other titles by Christopher Paul Curtis. When I finally got to an exciting part, one that I was anticipating the whole story, I looked down and saw that I was already on page 275! I felt like, "geesh, what took so long?" HOWEVER, the story was wonderful, and had a great historical connection. I dare you not to be moved by the authors note at the end of the story. I almost wish that it was at the beginning of the book. I think it was wonderful to find out that Buxton was REALLY, for real, in REAL life, a settlement in Canada where escaped slaves and free born African Americans, and white settlers, AND native Canadians all lived together, and even attended the same school, waaaay back in the late 1800's. I would have read this story in such a different way if I had known that fact... but now I want to go to the annual celebration they have in Buxton! Overall, it was worth getting to page 275, but just be warned, it takes some time to get to the good parts! NOTE: The picture above is the one that was on the book I just finished... but the picture below is a newer printing of the book, with a more realistic cover. Makes me approach the story in a whole new way, and makes me think long and hard about the impact covers have on us as readers! Did you know the author doesn't usually even get a say in what the cover is going to look like?! Crazy right? What do you think about it?
Speed Read! I finished this book while taking a bus to NYC to visit the Bronx Zoo this weekend. I was sad I read it so fast because then I didn't have anything to read on the way home :-( BUT, it was a very enjoyable read!
This book recieved a Newbery Honor in 2011! And, come to think of it, I have read other books by the author (Babymouse and Penny from Heaven). What is even cooler is that many of the characters and events that took place are real, or based on real people and events!!!! Love that! This book takes place around the Great Depression, and centers around a young girl who is sent to live with her cousins on one of the Florida Keys. It isn't really paradise at first, but then Turtle realizes that after awhile her idea of paradise has changed, and she in fact is living a great life. The ending seemed like it would be a happy one, which I was actually disappointed with, but a nice twist came at the very end! It did leave me wondering, what happened after? Maybe Jennifer L. Holm will write a sequel?! Check out her webpage here: http://www.jenniferholm.com/index.html Yah, it has been crazy around these parts. Managing six schools is a lot, and in order to make it work, some things have to give. I haven't done my digital book talks in a LONG time, nor have I been updating this. Here is a quick break down of what I have been reading and a little about each (if I am able to remember):
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson Definitly did NOT like the ending! Have to read this within the context and time it was written. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson Sequel to Chains: Forge. Really , really mad there is another book that I will have to read because I loved the first two so much. Great for American Revolution study! Crispen by Avi (this was a re-read) Sixth grade should use as a read aloud or book group choice to mesh with Middle Ages study. The BFG by Roald Dahl (another re-read) I love the whimsy of it, and the message, that all human beans are great, no matter what they taste, I mean look, like. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (yet another) Modern CLASSIC! Love this title. Makes me cry everytime. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Newbery Winner, awesome themes...when DID this story take place? Could be Troy, NY now?! The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs by Betty Birney Kinda random, but enjoyable Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Revisiting an old standby for Literature and Lunch Book Club The whole rest the Hunger Games Series (AWESOME) by Suzanne Collins. Read this, discuss this, love this! Where the Mountain meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Newbery Award) took me a long time to get into it, but glad I finished! |
AuthorMrs. Holmes is a rockstar Library Media Specialist/Library Teacher/Librarian (pick a name). I currently work in the Troy City School District. Archives
September 2011
Categories |