Saturday, March 30, 2013

Module 10 - The Wednesday Wars

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt

Summary

Holling Hoodhood is trying to survive seventh grade.  He believes that his teacher hates him and all the eighth graders want to kill him, or at least humiliate him.  His father is intent on winning the Chamber of Commerce's Businessman of the Year, in addition to always doing what it takes to win a bid for new business for his architectural design firm.  This story goes through Holling's seventh grade year and takes him from being unsure where he stands in the world to knowing what it takes to try to become a man, and along the way he develops a love of Shakespeare's plays.  
Schmidt, G. (2009). The Wednesday wars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

My Impression

It took awhile to get into this story.  I'm not sure that middle school students will stick with it.  If they do, they will love it. After a slow start, I really enjoyed the author's story.  Holling helps us see what it was like to live in the late 1960's America.  An unpopular war, hippies, missing soldiers, and parents that don't seem to understand are all present.  Holling is trying to find his way amidst the uncertainty of the time.

Reviews

Gr 5-8–While the rest of the seventh graders at Camillo Junior High attend Hebrew school or catechism classes on Wednesday afternoons, Holling Hoodhood, a Presbyterian, must stay with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, and perform janitorial chores. The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement form the background for this powerful novel by Gary Schmidt (Clarion, 2007). Holling is pretty sure that Mrs. Baker despises him, and things only get worse when he proves to be inept at the jobs she gives him to do (he releases her two rats when cleaning their cage and gets chalk dust all over the cream puffs that were intended for the wives of American soldiers serving in Vietnam). The teacher announces that in the future they will spend their time together studying Shakespeare. Despite Holling's reservations, Shakespeare turns out to be not so bad after all, and he acquires a whole new vocabulary for cursing from the bard. This comes in handy when he's dealing with the bullies at school; trying to hold his own with his heartless, all business father; or when he must wear a yellow leotard with white feathers on the butt while performing in a Shakespearean production. Eventually, he realizes that Mrs. Baker really is his friend, and that he must be true to himself and his own purpose in life. Actor Joel Johnstone does a marvelous job as narrator, bringing the believable characters to life. A moving, compelling, often humorous novel.
Miller, K. (2007). The wednesday wars. School Library Journal, Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6474649.html
Suggestions for Use In Libraries
  • American history book talk
  • Use in conjunction with American history lesson about Vietnam War.


Module 9 - Wolf Rider

Wolf Rider by Avi

Summary

Andy is fifteen years old.  He and his dad have just moved into a new home when he receives a "prank call" in which the caller tried to convince Andy that he had killed a young woman.  Andy tries to persuade the authorities that there is a real threat; however, everyone believes that he is "crying wolf."  Ultimately, it is up to him to prove that a crime is about to be committed.

My Impression

Wow! This book was so suspenseful I had to put it down several times.  I caught myself trying to talk the main character out of doing something that he might regret.  This book is an edge-of-your-seat ride.  I started reading it and I did not want to put it down until I found out if everything was okay.  I think that both middle school and high school students will love this book.

Reviews
With a riveting beginning and a captivating follow-through, this book has a wide appeal to the YA audience. In this page turner, 15-year-old Andy innocently picks up the ringing phone, not realizing that his life is about to change dramatically. The caller confesses to having stabbed a student at the college where Andy's father works. No one believes Andy, who dutifully relates the details of this disturbing call to his father and the police. Even Andy is unsure when he discovers that the supposed victim is remarkably well and unharmed. He realizes that the caller has not yet completed his dastardly deed, and it is up to Andy alone to prevent the murder from taking place.

Lesesne, T. S., Beers, G. K., & Buckman, L. (1996). Wolf rider: A tale of terror. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 40(4), 317-317. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216924222?accountid=7113

Suggestions for Use in Library

  • Book talk - include in suspense books.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Module 8 - Divergent

Divergent by Virginia Roth

Summary

This story takes place in a future dystopian Chicago. Society is divided into five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). When a child reaches their sixteenth birthday, they must choose which faction fits them. They will belong to this faction for the rest of their lives and if they choose a faction that is different from their family it is possible that they will never see them again.  Beatrice completes the testing to show which faction she favors and finds that she has an unusual characteristic, she does not fit into one faction, but several.  In fact, the tester warns her to tell no one that she is Divergent, it could be very dangerous.  Beatrice surprises everyone, including herself, when she selects Dauntless.  She begins the initiation process and finds that she has enemies in her own faction.  She survives initiation only to find that she must somehow help the society foil an insurgency without anyone knowing that she is Divergent.

Roth , V. (2011). Divergent . (Vol. 1). New York : Kathrine Tegon Books

My Impression

I loved this book.  It took a little time to really get into it; however, when I finished it I wanted to immediately start reading the second book in the series.  Roth has done an impressive job creating a dystopian society.  This society works on the surface; however, there is trouble brewing.  The author develops the characters in such a way that we enter into Tris's world as her cheerleader.  We want her to succeed, and we want her detractors to suffer consequences.

Reviews


Cliques writ large take over in the first of a projected dystopian trilogy.
The remnant population of post-apocalyptic Chicago intended to cure civilization’s failures by structuring society into five “factions,” each dedicated to inculcating a specific virtue. When Tris, secretly a forbidden “Divergent,” has to choose her official faction in her 16th year, she rejects her selfless Abnegation upbringing for the Dauntless, admiring their reckless bravery. But the vicious initiation process reveals that her new tribe has fallen from its original ideals, and that same rot seems to be spreading… Aside from the preposterous premise, this gritty, paranoid world is built with careful details and intriguing scope. The plot clips along at an addictive pace, with steady jolts of brutal violence and swoony romance. Despite the constant assurance that Tris is courageous, clever and kind, her own first-person narration displays a blank personality. No matter; all the “good” characters adore her and the “bad” are spiteful and jealous. Fans snared by the ratcheting suspense will be unable to resist speculating on their own factional allegiance; a few may go on to ponder the questions of loyalty and identity beneath the façade of thrilling adventure.
Guaranteed to fly off the shelves. (Science fiction. 14 & up)
Divergent. (2011, April 5). Kirkus Reviews, Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/veronica-roth/divergent/

Suggestions for Use in Libraries

  • Compare/contrast to other dystopian novels (i.e. Hunger Games)
  • Book talk - novels with strong female characters
  • Book talk - dystopian novels


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Module 7 - The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

The Pinderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall

Summary

The four Penderwick daughters and their absent-minded professor father are spending the summer at the Arundel.  The cottage they are renting is on Mrs. Tifton's estate.  She is a very pretentious woman that does not enjoy the girls' escapades.  Her son, Jeffrey, joins the girls in adventures.  The girls spend a lot of time trying to stay out of trouble.   The girls must also try to help Jeffrey avoid military school.  This story has it all: adventures, disobedience, running away, first loves, bunnies, and a hound dog.  

Birdsall, J. (2005). The Pinderwicks:a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy. New York, NY: Knopf : Distributed by Random House.

Impressions

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did!  The Penderwicks was a pleasant surprise.  Even though the book was published in 2005, when viewing the book jacket, I thought it felt like a much older publication.  Once I began reading, it was hard to put the book down.  I wanted to see just what adventure, or mishap, might be awaiting the girls.  This book will definitely be easy to recommend to my students.

Reviews

This timeless tale from a first-time author introduces the thoroughly likable Penderwicks, on vacation in a rental cottage on Arundel, a sprawling Massachusetts estate. Their spirited family dynamics and repartee call to mind those in Hilary McKay's novels, and the sisters' delightfully diverse personalities propel the plot. For instance, when they pull up to the estate's mansion, 10-year-old Jane feels certain she has spied a "lonely boy" in a window and promptly begins a novel about him once they reach their cottage. Skye, 11, elated to have her own room with two beds (she plans to use both), immediately "wrote the bed schedule next to her favorite word problem about trains traveling in different directions." Batty, a shy four-year-old, faithfully wears her butterfly wings and is devoted to her dog, Hound (who "insisted on licking faces in the middle of the night"). The girls' loving, amusingly distracted father is a botany professor with a fondness for spouting Latin phrases. Rosalind, the oldest at 12, has looked after the others since their mother's death (shortly after Batty's birth), and when she meets gentle Cagney, the estate's teenage gardener, he captures her heart. The "lonely boy" turns out to be sensitive, sincere Jeffrey, a talented musician. Tension arises when Jeffrey's pretentious mother and her fiancé decide to send the boy to military school. Certain to be as sorry as the sisters are when it's time to leave Arundel, readers will hope for a return visit from this memorable cast. 

The Penderwicks: A summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy. (2005, July 25). Publisher's weekly, Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-375-83143-0

Suggestions for Use in Library

  • Book talk - unexpected pleasures
  • Display - summer vacations

Module 7 - 13 Little Blue Envelopes

13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson

Summary

Ginny is a shy, introverted seventeen year old. She lives a very sheltered life, but thanks to her Aunt Peg, she has little adventures.  When Aunt Peg dies she leaves Ginny a series of letters that take her through Europe on a discovery adventure.  With each new letter, Ginny must step more and more outside of her comfort zone.  She begins to understand her aunt more as she experiences Europe through Aunt Peg's eyes.  

Johnson, M. (2005). 13 little blue envelopes. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

My Impression

This is an enjoyable novel that is a very fast read.  The letters and adventures keep you involved in the story.  It is a bit unrealistic, not many parents would allow their seventeen year old daughter to travel alone to Europe, without a phone or contact with anyone from home.  
Reviews


Aunt Peg was full of wonder, and 17-year-old Ginny always felt more interesting around her. When Ginny receives a letter from Aunt Peg containing $1,000 and instructions for a mysterious journey, she is propelled into a series of experiences that will change her life. She receives a package containing 13 little blue envelopes, to be opened one at a time and only when she’s completed the task in each letter. She goes to London, Scotland, Italy, Rome, Paris and elsewhere, ultimately realizing that she can be interesting by herself; she doesn’t have to be with Peg to feel interesting. The envelopes draw Ginny around the world and the reader along with her, the letters providing a nice change of pace to the third-person narrative. Johnson’s writing is sophisticated and humorous, her characterizations pitch perfect. Aunt Peg seems as real as Ginny, though we find early on that she has died and exists for Ginny only through her letters and memory. A sure hit with fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. (Fiction. 12+)


(2010). 13 little blue envelopes. Kirkus Reviews, Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/maureen-johnson/13-little-blue-envelopes/

Suggestions for Use in Library


  • Read the novel and tie it into geography lessons 
  • Book talk books that have sequels
  • Display with adventure books