Book Reviews – Round 2
by recesstecI hear educators talk about Battle of the Books. I honestly am not sure what that entails, but I think it sounds interesting and right up my alley. That is the first thought that came to mind as I typed this title. There will be quite a few rounds of these book reviews this summer since I have found myself on a reading hot streak that I want to ride out for as a long as I can! Also, these book reviews are in the order that I have read them…not in order of preference. Just wanted to clear that up. Since I have not finished my list, I do not want to make any preconceived decisions regarding my favorites. Maybe at the end of the summer I will do a post that ranks them…we’ll see. Ok…here is 4, 5, and 6.
4.) The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff
AR Level – 4.3
Points – 5
Interest Level – Middle Grades
This is a fabulous book for 4th graders since the main character, Georgie, is exactly the same age. Except there is this one thing…just as the title indicates. Georgie is a dwarf. It seems that every year I have some sort of “friendship drama” that takes place in my 4th grade classroom. Usually it revolves around jealousy when one friend decides they would like to play with someone new. This book is a great beginning of the year read to emulate the possibility of new friendships as well as accept the fact that sometimes your best friend might want to be friends with someone else as well. There is also a pretty great antagonist in this story that you can’t help but to love. Especially after you get a glimpse of her home life. (This is the only questionable content in the entire book. She gets into a name calling match with her brother that results in her being called “Puss Head”.) Her real name…Jeannie the Meanie. I am guessing you will understand how she earned this label within the first pages of this book. Georgie comes from “normal” parents who are now expecting another baby. At first Georgie is excited at the possibility of being a big brother but soon realizes he may not be the “big” sibling of the family in the long run. Georgie’s 4th grade year proves to be a struggle while dealing with all of these personal issues, but something with which I believe most 4th graders will be able to identify. This, too, will make the list of book club choices for the upcoming months. I loved it!
5.) All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn
AR Level – 4.5
Points – 6
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades
Brother and sister, Travis and Corey, are sent to spend the summer with their grandmother in Vermont after being asked not to return to the summer camp they had visited last year. Being the pranksters for which they are so famous, the siblings are delighted to find out the inn that Grandmother owns (and in which they are staying) has been rumored to be haunted. The previous owners sold the inn to their grandmother and then left after a series of odd happenings throughout the old hotel. Grandmother has yet to see anything weird happen and flippantly mentions how business might actually be better if the guests were attracted to the inn for the possibility of seeing a ghost just as they had in the past. Well, that is enough of a spark to light the fire for the ornery siblings to put on a “ghost show” for the inn’s guests. What they don’t realize is the grounds surrounding Grandmother’s inn are haunted and they are about to wake up those sleeping ghosts for the scare of a lifetime. I am not a big fan of ghost stories, so I was a little skeptical of this book, but I really did like it and am glad I have found a book that I can recommend to students with that genre interest. Overly mature readers might find some of the parts in the story a little hokey while younger readers might actually become frightened. So choose your audience carefully here. On a side note, since I scour books as I read them for possible book club candidates, the word Hell does appear several times. Although it sort of fits the theme of ghosts and the supernatural. This is a possible book club choice AFTER I get to know the students who will be participants this year.
6.) Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell
AR Level – 4.5
Points – 6
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades
This book is a bit near and dear to my heart since the 12 year old female character, Jaime, is an Army Brat. So is my mom. While I have absolutely no idea what it must have been like to attend 14 schools in 12 years as did my mom, I got a little insight to Army life from my mom and I was able to connect the stories that she has told me to Jaime, the daughter of an Army Colonel. This book takes place during Vietnam. Jaime’s older brother has decided to enlist and shockingly to her (and her brother), The Colonel is NOT HAPPY! To Jaime and her brother, TJ, this is a contradiction in terms. They had been brought up in knowing that serving your country is the finest honor bestowed upon any individual, yet now that “the time has come for all good men to come to the aid of their country”…TJ is shocked that his parents are not supporting his decision. As the story progresses and TJ goes off to fight, Jaime is left back at the Army base working at the Rec Center for the summer where she befriends young Private Hollister whose brother has recently died in Vietnam. When TJ sends his first letter saying all is well, he includes a roll of film for Jaime to develop. You see, TJ’s most beloved hobby is photogrpahy and now that he is in Vietnam, he is not able to develop his own film. Jaime takes on the responsibility with a fierce determination that she will learn how to develop the film in hopes that she will be able to see the story behind the story in the “boring” letters that TJ sends his parents. I really enjoyed this book, but maybe it was because of my personal connections to Army life. I would love to hear other’s perceptions of this novel. As always, I include any questionable content…The colonel quotes a colleague and uses the word Damn.
Many of you have seen our reinvention of the “Book Bag” by placing important images from the story into a music video via Animoto. I have created one for “Shooting the Moon”. It is a bit wordier than our standard book intro which gives more information than I typically like to give my students. But maybe this could be a trailer/book bag combined. This will definitely be one of my forms of book reporting this year. Can’t wait for the kids to do them.
Book Reviews reflections