The Masterpiece

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.8
Points – 8
Interest Level –Middle Grades

I am torn.  Torn between whether or not to use this book as a read aloud or a novel unit.  It would be great either way.  So truly I can’t make a mistake here.  It is more about being selfish really.  Do I want to bring these characters to life through my own voice and expression?  Or do I want the kiddos to be able to do that themselves.  Sigh… decisions, decisions.

So I guess you can figure out that this one is a keeper.  A keeper in my collection of literature for children.  Actually I admit it is pretty good for adults as well. 

James’s eleventh birthday party is a flop.  His mother arranged it, invited all of the guests, and didn’t bother to ask James for any input.  Worse yet, the guests are all somehow connected to his mother’s real estate business prospects.  Pretty selfish huh?  James has a horrible time and feels very much like an outcast in his own life.  He appears to be all-around miserable.

Enter Marvin.  The beetle pictured on the front cover.   Marvin and his family live  behind the wall, under the kitchen sink.  They pretty much keep things together in the old Manhattan apartment in order to not be found out by any type of repairman or inspector.  When the microwave breaks, Marvin’s Uncle fixes it.  James’s mother, Mrs. Pompaday loses a contact down the sink and Marvin swims down in the murky drain water to fetch it.  The beetle family is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Pompaday’s happy and away from the phone to call the plumber.

Marvin loves James.  He wants to make his birthday the best one yet.  He just can’t figure out what sort of gift he could give him in order to accomplish this feat.  He decides on a Buffalo nickle and rolls it into James’s room in the middle of the night.  He leaves it exactly where James will find it, in the middle of the floor.  Upon delivering James’s gift, Marvin stumbles upon a gift of his own…in a different sense.

James’s father is an artist.  He bought James a pen and ink set for his birthday.  And while James really showed no interest in the gift, Marvin stumbles upon the set and becomes transfixed while dipping his front legs in the ink and placing them on the art paper.  What he creates while James sleeps is his first masterpiece.  It is a miniature pen and ink drwing of the scene outside the bedroom window. 

Upon waking the next morning James discovers the nickle.  He is thrilled with the find.  But he is even more thrilled to find the drawing.  So is his mother.  And now she wants to show it to prospective real estate clients for possible sales to decorate their homes.  Even worse…she thinks James has drawn the picture….and James hasn’t led her to believe any different.

Marvin and James become close friends even though they can’t communicate in traditional senses. Even more close when James is asked to copy a miniature Dürer masterpiece as part of an undercover art heist at the NY Met. 

This book is thoughtfully written. It includes a perfect mixture of relationships, integrity, virtues, art history, action and suspense.  I love it.

Now…how am I going to decide how to use this one in class this year?

PS…NO questionable content.  LOVE THAT!

Diamond Willow

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.3
Points – 2
Interest Level –Middle Grades

Ok.  It is official.  I may have a new favorite book.  I love, love, love this one.  Diamond Willow by Helen Frost touched my heart.  Actually it reached out and stole it.  12 year-old Diamond Willow lives in Alaska with her parents, brother, sister and Alaskan sled dogs.  She wants to learn to “mush” independently to visit her grandparents.  Her parents don’t think she is old enough.  Classic case of child wanting to grow up even though his or her parents are not really sharing the same interest. 

How is this book different?  Why do I love it so much?  It is original in the fact that it is written almost entirely in diamond poetry format.  Not “Diamente”.  It is really free verse that ends up being shaped into a diamond.  The originality comes in the bolded words that stand out in each poem that gives the reader a hidden meaning in the poem.  I can’t wait to incorporate this style of writing in my classroom.  I can’t wait for the kids to read about Diamond Willow.  And I especially can’t wait to hear their thoughts on the different points of view coming from Diamond’s ancestors.  You see, they have all been reincarnated as some type of animal that watches this story unfold.

Plus…it is about a girl and her dog.  Seriously, I think I am in love…with this book…and of course, Buddy the Dog.

PS: As a side note I am trying to decide how to handle one line in one poem of the book.  I wish it weren’t there.  Suggestions?  It goes like this, “How do little kids learn all the things they’re not supposed to talk about?  Poop and farts and sex, Uncle Henry’s drinking, Mom’s gray hair?”  That is the ONLY questionable content in the book. Ugh, how I truly despise “questionable content” from a teacher’s perspective!

Hachiko Waits

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.7
Points – 2
Interest Level –Any Grade

Ok…apparently I am one of the only people who didn’t know about this book prior to reading it.  How did I stumble upon this little fun fact?  I closed the book last night right before turning out the lights as my daughter came in to my bedroom ready for a “tuck-in”.   I told her that she would really like this book since she is pretty much a lover of any dog that will give her the time of day.  She took the book, looked at the cover, and said, “Oh, Hachiko…yeah…the dog who waits for his owner at the train station.  You know they even have a statue of him.”  You can only imagine the look of surprise on my face as she said this to me since I had never heard this story.  The conversation really took a turn when I asked her how she knew about Hachiko.  She informed me that he was on an episode of Scooby Doo.  Geesh.  So that means the entire youth of America knows the story of hachiko through the eyes of Scooby and Shaggy…nice.

Well my review continues…

I enjoyed the story.  I didn’t however enjoy the writing style of this book.  It was pretty dry in my opinion.  It read more like a Basal Reader excerpt than a novel, but I honestly don’t think kids who love dogs would mind.  In fact, I truly think that any student who has a connection with a pet will be able to identify with this story.  Not to mention learn about loyalty, friendship, honor, and Japanese culture all thrown in for good measure.  I would definitely use this book in my classroom to incorporate all of the aforementioned themes into a literature based unit.  I think it would be VERY cool to be able to find a Japanese school that would be willing to let us interview them via Skype about the statue and what it represents to them in their culture.

Oggie Cooder

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 5.1
Points – 3
Interest Level – Lower Grades

This is definitely not the type of book I would choose on my own.  But since it is up for the newly created Bluestem Award in IL, I decided to give it a shot.  Oggie Cooder is quirky, at least that is what his teachers have indicated on his report cards in the past.  His schoolmates refer to him as a weirdo or dork.  He is definitely an individual…that is for sure.  Oggie’s parents own the local second-hand thrift store and supply him with his eclectic gently used wardrobe.  He can be found wearing seersucker pants with a plaid duck hunting shirt to school with confidence that he is indeed dressed.  That is his only concern…fashion and fitting in is not.  He is shunned by the popular girls and never invited to play basketball with the jocks until he is discovered by the Hidden Talents television show for “charving”.  That is a combination of chewing and carving.  Oggie is able to take an American cheese slice and “charve” it into the outline of any state in the US.  Definitely quirky. 

What I loved about this book…Oggie’s individuality and the fact that he is comfortable with it.  He does not conform for any reason.  In fact, he doesn’t even realize that he is different.  I like this possible connection for kids who think they are different in any way.  It is a cute, quick read with some quick witted humor. I also like that it has a higher reading level with content for a less mature audience.  Sometimes a perfect mix for a 4th grade boy.

What I didn’t love about this book.  It sort of read like any Nickelodeon kid show.  Think dim-witted parents and teachers, snot nosed popular girls, and sarcastic insults between students.

While this is not necessarily on the top of my reading list for the upcoming school year, it might make for a quick read aloud during milk-break time if we have an Oggie in our class for which a connection needs to be made.  After all, he is a pretty likable kid that some kids just never take the opportunity to get to know.  Ya know?

The Mailbox

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

AR Level – 5.0
Points – 6
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

“Vacation” allows me a little more time to sit on our porch and read.  I did just that this weekend and was able to complete my first “student” novel of the summer.  It was “The Mailbox” by Audrey Shafer.  A first novel by Shafer but I am sure not her last.  The genre is hard to pinpoint, something between a mystery and gripping drama.  The main character is a middle school aged boy named Gabe.  He has had a difficult childhood being shuffled from foster home to foster home until he is placed with his gruff elderly Vietnam veteran uncle.  The two have what seems an unconnected relationship until Gabe comes home from school one day to find his uncle dead.  Afraid he will be placed back into foster care and unsure of what to do, Gabe decides to do nothing.  The next day as Gabe is coming home from school he discovers a note in the mailbox that reads “I have a secret, don’t be afraid.”  He is afraid (who wouldn’t be…right?).  He walks in to his house to find that his uncle’s body is missing, and whoever took the body also took his gun collection.  What happens next is only described as touching.  A deeper relationship that rarely surfaced while Gabe’s uncle was living is discovered; unconditional love for a new “family member”, a large black dog named Guppy, flourishes; and Gabe’s rocky living arrangements finally appear to have a smooth ending.

I will not be choosing this for my book club this year, but not because I didn’t like it.  I think it is a little too deep for 4th graders.  And while I was able to connect to the story on many levels, I am not sure most 9 year olds would be able to do the same.  My connections stem from the fact that the teachers are VERY involved throughout this story and I find myself empathizing with the school staff regarding this quiet troubled boy during the school scenes (most teachers have been there, done that regarding kids who sneak their way into your heart with little you can do to help them in their personal lives). Gabe’s relationship with Guppy is warm and fuzzy and heart wrenching all rolled in to one.  While most kids can relate to the pet connection, I was easily sucked in since I am in love with a certain dog named Buddy.   And finally, I was also able to connect to the military portions of the story through Mom’s Army Brat child rearing. 

Reflecting on this past school year, I think the reason I really enjoyed “Shooting the Moon” last summer was because it reminded me of the stories my mom told me about growing up as the daughter of an Army Officer.  I also loved the photography connection throughout the story.  As I read it aloud to my class this year, I could feel the disconnect from my students.  That is something that I have always been able to easily detect when I read aloud to the kiddos in class.  I think “The Mailbox” would have the same impact (or lack thereof).

I do, however, recommend this book for middle school literature circles.  The right group of mature kids would enjoy this book immensely.

The Lemonade War

by recesstec Book Reviews

lemonade-war110.) The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

AR Level – 4.1
Points – 4
Interest Level – Middle Grades

One of Mom’s and my favorite saying is “It isn’t how smart your are…it is how you are smart.”  That is perfect tie-in #1 to this book.  Evan who is getting ready to begin 4th grade is smart.  People-smart.  He is good at making friends, reading people, talking with adults, and knowing when the girls in his younger sister’s class are not being nice.  His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is also smart.  School smart.  She can easily do math problems in her head, write poetry, and read fluently.  So much so that she is skipping third grade and entering 4th grade right alongside her brother.  She is excited…he is not.  However, since Jessie lacks the necessary skills to figure people out, she can’t understand why her brother is annoyed with her.  They maintain a very close brother-sister relationship and are even more protective of each other since their parent’s divorce.  So why IS Evan annoyed with Jessie for being in his class? 

Evan is not good in school.  At all.  He can’t figure out math and is the slowest reader in his class.  He is terrified the other kids will think he is even dumber now that his super-brainy sister will be shining as the smartest girl in 4th grade even though she is suppose to be in 3rd.  But he doesn’t tell Jessie this and she is not socially smart enough to figure it out on her own.  What results from this end of the summer conflict is a brother-sister war.  They have decided to challenge each other to a Lemonade Stand War.  The last days before Labor Day are scorchers and whoever can sell $100 worth of lemonade first is the winner.  Winner takes all.  All the money that is.

The second perfect tie-in for this book is the cross-curricular connection with math.  The author does a fabulous job of integrating math problems with which kids can identify.  Most students have had a lemonade stand at some point in their lives or have wanted one.  These real-world math problems are great lead-ins to solving story problems.  I love that!

This is a great book with not one swear word…yahoo!  It is very current with popular phrases such as “oh snap”.  I think my 4th graders will love it.  Make sure you take a look at the book’s website.  It is fantastic. http://www.lemonadewar.com/

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

crooked_kind_of_perfect9.) A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

AR Level – 3.9
Points – 4
Interest Level – Middle Grades

This book has been perfectly titled.  6th grader, Zoe is living a crooked kind of perfect life.  She has just been replaced with the popular girls by her best friend and is realizing that she doesn’t quite belong…with them.  She has a dream of being a famous pianist like the great Horowitz but when her crooked kind of perfect father goes to purchase her a piano, he returns with a Perfectone D-60 organ…sigh.  Her smart and pretty mom seems to prioritize work before family. And while there seems to be a pattern of conflict within Zoe’s life, she takes things in stride, keeps her head on straight, and makes the most of each situation.  You can’t help but to love this girl.  (Don’t get me wrong, she is not superhuman…she is 11.)  I wish I had her in my class!  I think the best part of this book (within a school setting)  is the fact that it will generate discussion that everyone has his or her own problems with which to deal even if not brought to the forefront at school.  Zoe is inspirational.  I wish I would have been more like her when I was her age.  Great read…add it to your middle grade bookshelf (grades 3-5).  There is no questionable content…ANOTHER reason to love it!  I guess I am still pondering the question, “Why DO author’s feel the need to add the token swear word in an otherwise perfectly good book?”  Thank you to Linda Urban for not doing so.  This will be on the my book club list this year!

Home of the Brave

by recesstec Book Reviews

home_of_the_brave

8.) Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

AR Level – 3.5
Points – 3
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

To those of you who are looking at the 3.5 reading level and discounting this as a possibility for your jr. high book shelves…don’t. Home of the Brave is a book written in poems and while that may not sound like a big deal, I think it is important to expose students to many different types of writing styles.  The poems are not rhyming little kid poems, but stanzas that tell the story of a refugee teenager named Kek.  Kek is sent to Minnesota to live with his aunt and cousin after a deadly civil war attack on his African village leaves his father and brother dead and his mother missing.  Did you just raise one eyebrow and say Minnesota?  I know that is what I thought while reading this book, but as it turns out, 13% of Minnesota’s foreign-born residents are from Africa. (This information was taken from the Author’s Reading guide in the back of the book.  I LOVE the comprehensive guide for teachers to use in the classroom with their students!)

Kek has a gentle disposition and a positive outlook on his new life even though it is extremely confusing at times.  As a reader, we get the opportunity to experience such things as snow and french fries through the sensations of Kek who has no knowledge of such things.  The scenes in the ESL classroom are eye-openers through which students can develop a better understanding of what it must be like to enter our country not knowing one English word.

The struggles Kek endures during his relocation to America is something that every student should read so they understand the need for acceptance.  Both to be accepted as a foreigner and the need to accept others for their differences and what they can bring to our country.  

I will be using this book during our study of immigration.  While our Social Studies textbook focuses primarily on Ellis Island and the history of immigration, I think this will be a perfect addition that will allow a modern day connection.

Kek is the perfect character to make you realize America really is the “Home of the Brave”. 

Book Reviews – Round 2

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

I 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.

georgie

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!

lovelybadones

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.

 

shootingmoon

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. 

Let the Book Reviews Begin

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

Lately I have been reading…and reading…and reading.  I think you get the point.  Since I am always on the search for new novels for my monthly school book club, I am quite picky when it comes to choosing “winners”.  So far, I have read nothing BUT winners!  I am going to quickly run down the books that I have checked off my summer reading list and give a quick opinion for which classrooms it is most suitable. I have also found a couple of fun “tech tie-ins” that have already been published to the web!  Book reports/trailers created by students who are using technology…I LOVE IT!

wednesdaywars1

1.) Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

AR Level – 5.9
Points – 12
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

If you have ever seen the TV show ‘Wonder Years”, that would sum up this book’s feel.  A young man who is neither Jewish nor Catholic is not required to attend Wednesday afternoon’s religion class which means he is the only student staying in the classroom with his very “put-out” teacher, Mrs. Baker.  After all, this would have been her planning period, but now she has to babysit a 7th grade boy. Insert her sigh here!  Each Wednesday is spent reading Shakespeare and watching the odd but lovable relationship grow between teacher and student.  Due to some deeper content and questionable choice of “vocabulary”, I will not be choosing this book for my 4th grade book club.  However, I would recommend it for upper intermediate and junior high level classes.  I laughed out loud on more than one occasion!

 

 

jeremyfink

2.) Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

AR Level – 4.5
Points – 11
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

This quirky story had me hooked right from the beginning.  Jeremy’s Mom receives a package in the mail that is to be given to Jeremy for his 13th birthday.  Inside the package is an intricately carved wooden box that requires a series of specials keys to open it.  What’s so special about this box?  It was carved by Jeremy’s father and has been under the care of his lawyer since his death 5 years ago.  It contains “The Meaning of Life”.  Well, as you can imagine, I wanted to know what was in that box right away…kind of like Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy.  There is just one problem.  The lawyer has misplaced the keys and hopes “they understand”.  Quite a series of events unfold while on the mission to locate these keys which kept me turning the pages.  I loved this story.  However, I will have to read it aloud to my class and NOT make it a book club choice for 4th graders.  Why?  Once again, there is some mature content when Jeremy’s best friend “becomes a woman” and has to seek advice regarding feminine products from Jeremy’s mother.  There are also a couple of swear words that can easily be avoided along with the “womanhood talk” as I read aloud to my fourth graders.  If your students are mature enough to handle the previously mentioned questionable content, I would make this a must-read for your students this year!

nakedmolerat

3.) The Naked Mole-Rat Letters by Mary Amato

AR Level – 4.3
Points – 6
Interest Level – Middle Grades

First off, I must clear up that the “letters” are not in fact letters, but a series of email exchanges between Frankie (actually a girl) and her widowed father’s new “possible” girlfriend, Ayanna.  Dad has recently returned from a business trip in Washington D.C. where he and Ayanna met.  He took one afternoon to visit the zoo during his stay, and as a result of an unexpected downpour went into the small mammal house where Ayanna takes care of the mole-rats.  Ayanna helped him pick out some souvenirs to take back to his family, and Dad ended up with an unexpected and growing friendship.  Frankie is not pleased…AT ALL.  She finds herself making quite a few uncharacteristic decisions and getting herself into a bit of trouble.  One of these poor decisions includes posing as her father in a series of email exchanges with Ayanna in hopes to sabotage the budding romance.  I love this book because it fosters the discussion regarding digital footprints while online.  It will also be easy for my students to connect with this small town, everyone knows everyone else’s business type of setting.  I love the strong female character and how she evolves throughout this book.  This definitely makes the book club list.  DEFINITELY!

Stay tuned…there are more books to come…