Well, I have not been so good about keeping up to date with my blogging! I do have a couple of good excuses: my computer was out of commission for a couple of weeks, and . . . um . . . well . . . it's summer!
I have been lazy about posting, but not too bad about reading. For the Caudills I've read Project Mulberry, The Green Glass Sea, A Drowned Maiden's Hair, Blood on the River, Black Storm Comin', Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters, and Wolf Brother.
I enjoyed all of these titles - I think the one that was the most fun to read was A Drowned Maiden's Hair. It had an old-fashioned feel and a bit of spooky ghost story to it.
For the Battle books, I re-read Ella Enchanted and The Hobbit. I read The Hobbit many times growing up, and I still love that book. I think when you've read something over and over there's a comfortable familiarity that's almost like drinking hot chocolate on a cold day. You just want to go "ahhhhh".
Then, just for a break from Caudills and Battles, I read Mister Monday by Garth Nix (now I'm going to have to read the rest of that series - what a grabber!), Son of the Mob: The Hollywood Hustle by Gordan Korman (a gangster comedy), Eggs by Jerry Spinelli (an unlikely friendship between two troubled kids), and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (a sobering story of the Holocaust).
Over the next couple of days I'll try to post short summaries of all these books!
Keep reading!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Off and reading!
Whew! One week down and I hope you've all been having as nice a summer as I have! When it hasn't been raining, Penny Paul and I have been lounging in the back yard reading. (Well, she lounges, I read!)
This week I made it though two Caudills (Letters from Wolfie and Alabama Moon) and four Battle books (Squashed, Red Scarf Girl, Travel Team, and Memory Boy)
Caudills:
Letters from Wolfie is about a boy who decides to donate his dog to the Army to help the troops in Vietnam. Mark's brother is fighting in Vietnam, and Mark wants to help somehow with the war effort. As soon as Wolfie is gone, Mark regrets his decision. The soldier assigned to Wolfie writes letters to let Mark and his family know how things are going. I have to admit that I always have trouble with dog books (if I think they're not going to have happy endings). This was very well written and had lot of good food for thought - especially with all the controversy surrounding the current war.
Alabama Moon was a book I didn't really enjoy. It was interesting, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen, but it was a little depressing. Moon is 12. He and his father have always lived in the woods - his father is paranoid about the government. Even though Moon has great survival skills, when his father dies he doesn't quite know what to do next. Moon has several run-ins with a cruel and demeaning policeman. He ends up in jail, then a boys' home where he is bullied and belittled. Even escape doesn't seem like it will bring Moon any relief. The author paints a terrific picture of a difficult life - not very comfortable to read!
Battle Books:
Memory Boy is an "end of the world" kind of story. It's the sort of survival tale where the characters find out what they can do under extreme pressure. Volcanoes on the West Coast have exploded shooting tons of ash into the air and changing the atmosphere of the planet. Will's family decides that the violence and looting in their home city of Minneapolis are getting too dangerous and they head north. But when their safe retreat turns out not to be so safe, it's up to Will to help his family survive. I loved this one!
Red Scarf Girl is the story of a girl growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. The government has decided that old ways are bad and everyone must help bring the new ways to China. People who are suspected of keeping old customs, old clothing, old treasures have their homes looted and their possessions taken away. Children are encouraged to "tattle" on each other and their own families. Parents are taken to prison camps in the middle of the night. This is a true story, written by a girl who lived through it.
Travel Team is a fast moving sports book about a kid named Danny who has always been the smallest kid on his team. It's never mattered before, because he plays with such heart and passion - but this year his height keeps him from making the travel team. Danny's dad (who led the travel team to the Nationals when he was young) can't stand to see his son's heart broken, and surprises the whole town with his solution. This is a story of friendship, heart, family, secrets, and most of all basketball - I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Squashed is a funny little book. It's the story of Ellie and her quest to win the town's pumpkin growing contest. Ellie has won the young grower's award several times, but this year she's entered the adult division and she knows she can win. She takes care of her pumpkin, Max, (actually a squash) by watering, weeding, covering him with blankets when it's cold, talking to him and even hiring a mangy dog named Spider to guard him against pumpkin thieves. Her biggest competition is Cyril Pool - who is just the meanest, nastiest, creep you can imagine. A fun read.
This week I made it though two Caudills (Letters from Wolfie and Alabama Moon) and four Battle books (Squashed, Red Scarf Girl, Travel Team, and Memory Boy)
Caudills:
Letters from Wolfie is about a boy who decides to donate his dog to the Army to help the troops in Vietnam. Mark's brother is fighting in Vietnam, and Mark wants to help somehow with the war effort. As soon as Wolfie is gone, Mark regrets his decision. The soldier assigned to Wolfie writes letters to let Mark and his family know how things are going. I have to admit that I always have trouble with dog books (if I think they're not going to have happy endings). This was very well written and had lot of good food for thought - especially with all the controversy surrounding the current war.
Alabama Moon was a book I didn't really enjoy. It was interesting, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen, but it was a little depressing. Moon is 12. He and his father have always lived in the woods - his father is paranoid about the government. Even though Moon has great survival skills, when his father dies he doesn't quite know what to do next. Moon has several run-ins with a cruel and demeaning policeman. He ends up in jail, then a boys' home where he is bullied and belittled. Even escape doesn't seem like it will bring Moon any relief. The author paints a terrific picture of a difficult life - not very comfortable to read!
Battle Books:
Memory Boy is an "end of the world" kind of story. It's the sort of survival tale where the characters find out what they can do under extreme pressure. Volcanoes on the West Coast have exploded shooting tons of ash into the air and changing the atmosphere of the planet. Will's family decides that the violence and looting in their home city of Minneapolis are getting too dangerous and they head north. But when their safe retreat turns out not to be so safe, it's up to Will to help his family survive. I loved this one!
Red Scarf Girl is the story of a girl growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. The government has decided that old ways are bad and everyone must help bring the new ways to China. People who are suspected of keeping old customs, old clothing, old treasures have their homes looted and their possessions taken away. Children are encouraged to "tattle" on each other and their own families. Parents are taken to prison camps in the middle of the night. This is a true story, written by a girl who lived through it.
Travel Team is a fast moving sports book about a kid named Danny who has always been the smallest kid on his team. It's never mattered before, because he plays with such heart and passion - but this year his height keeps him from making the travel team. Danny's dad (who led the travel team to the Nationals when he was young) can't stand to see his son's heart broken, and surprises the whole town with his solution. This is a story of friendship, heart, family, secrets, and most of all basketball - I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Squashed is a funny little book. It's the story of Ellie and her quest to win the town's pumpkin growing contest. Ellie has won the young grower's award several times, but this year she's entered the adult division and she knows she can win. She takes care of her pumpkin, Max, (actually a squash) by watering, weeding, covering him with blankets when it's cold, talking to him and even hiring a mangy dog named Spider to guard him against pumpkin thieves. Her biggest competition is Cyril Pool - who is just the meanest, nastiest, creep you can imagine. A fun read.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Account and Password Info
Hi, Hubble Readers!
If you are interested in leaving comments on this blog you will need the account name and password. Just e-mail me at kpaul@cusd200.org, tell me your name and your language arts teacher from this past year and I'll send you back the account name and password.
I know it's not quite summer yet (2 and a half school days left!) but I did read a little gem of a book this week: The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo. It looks like a gift book - maybe 100 silver-edged pages, full color illustrations, not a lot of text. The story is told by a writer reminiscing about her first big interview. She gets the opportunity to talk to a world famous violinist and is warned not to ask him the "Mozart question". The writer is both nervous and excited to meet the eccentric musician. With her first question ("What made you first pick up the violin?") she opens a floodgate of memories and gets more than she ever hoped or bargained for. The violinist paints a picture of the dark days of the Nazi death camps and the sustaining power of music. It's a quick read and a touching story.
If you are interested in leaving comments on this blog you will need the account name and password. Just e-mail me at kpaul@cusd200.org, tell me your name and your language arts teacher from this past year and I'll send you back the account name and password.
I know it's not quite summer yet (2 and a half school days left!) but I did read a little gem of a book this week: The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo. It looks like a gift book - maybe 100 silver-edged pages, full color illustrations, not a lot of text. The story is told by a writer reminiscing about her first big interview. She gets the opportunity to talk to a world famous violinist and is warned not to ask him the "Mozart question". The writer is both nervous and excited to meet the eccentric musician. With her first question ("What made you first pick up the violin?") she opens a floodgate of memories and gets more than she ever hoped or bargained for. The violinist paints a picture of the dark days of the Nazi death camps and the sustaining power of music. It's a quick read and a touching story.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Summer's Comin'
Hi, Hubble Readers!
I think we're all pretty excited about summer's arrival (especially after the crazy winter we've had). I always look forward to summer - mostly because I can read as much as I want! Right now I have a couple of piles of books on my living room floor that are calling out to me.
This summer I thought I'd try something different and blog about the stuff I'm reading. I'll be working my way through the Battle of the Books list, the Rebecca Caudill list, and assorted other things that come my way. If you'd like to respond to any of my book ramblings or if you'd like to tell me about a book you think I should read, you can leave a comment or e-mail me from the Hubble website. (I'd love to hear what you're reading, too.)
Here's to summer!
Ms. Paul
I think we're all pretty excited about summer's arrival (especially after the crazy winter we've had). I always look forward to summer - mostly because I can read as much as I want! Right now I have a couple of piles of books on my living room floor that are calling out to me.
This summer I thought I'd try something different and blog about the stuff I'm reading. I'll be working my way through the Battle of the Books list, the Rebecca Caudill list, and assorted other things that come my way. If you'd like to respond to any of my book ramblings or if you'd like to tell me about a book you think I should read, you can leave a comment or e-mail me from the Hubble website. (I'd love to hear what you're reading, too.)
Here's to summer!
Ms. Paul
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