Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On sale July 24, 2012, but you can preorder it at your local independent book store or on your e-reader.

Eleanor fears her brother is being held by the “Dead,” the walking corpses that have been plaguing Philadelphia.  She solicits the support of a team of Spirit-Hunters to help her rescue him.  The Spirit-Hunters have invented a bomb that creates a pulse of electromagnetic energy to destroy the spiritual energy of the Dead.  Convincing them they need her help and defying the traditional behavior of a Victorian lady, she abandons her corsets and petticoats for a shirt and trousers to assist the Spirit-Hunters in their quest to fend off the Dead.

The highlight of the novel is Dennard’s success at creating the story around the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876.  This was the first official world’s fair in the United States. The historical exhibition in Philadelphia showcased America’s resources and technological advancements.  Dennard has woven her action scenes around the famous Corliss Steam Engine and Machinery Hall.

This is an unusual combination of historical fiction, steampunk and zombies by debut, young adult author, Susan Dennard.  The author has added elements of romance and humor as well as the gripping horror of zombies and necromancy.  The plot is not as dark as Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and the female characters are stronger than Anna Godbersen’s The Luxe.  Fans of Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel will find a read alike in Dennard’s novel.  A sequel is expected next summer.




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Way to go, Grace Baghdady

Grace Baghdady is the first to post one of her reviews from the 7th grade geography summer reading list.   Grace read,  A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Grace says, "I thought this book was really enjoyable and as proof of it I read it in only two to three hours."

Park, the author of The Single Shard read by every 4th grader at OPS has written a novel based on true stories about two children in Sudan. Salva, an eleven year old boy flees from his village in Sudan to escape political violence.  He walks miles to Ethiopia hoping to find safety in a refugee camp, but is forced out of the country and must travel many more treacherous miles to Kenya.  In her review Baghdady says, "Salva battles to stay alive by running away...he couldn't stay where he was raised because it was far too dangerous with men constantly coming to force men and young boys to fight.  I can't imagine how awful it was with kids killing kids."  The alternating chapter of eleven year old, Nya describes her everyday struggle to walk to find water for her family.  Park has written a compelling novel about survival and hope.  Take a couple of hours this summer and read her story.

The author Linda Sue Park has been writing her entire life.  Her first publication was a haiku in a children's magazine.  Read more about Park in her Scholastic biography.

Thanks, Grace for stepping up to Ms. Tewkesbury's challenge.  By the way, Ms. Tewkesbury  is in Zambia right now so I'm sure she will have some interesting stories to share with us.

Keep reading.  The list includes many stories that will have an impact on how you view freedom as well as the simple luxury of running water.

Looking forward to hearing from others.  If you've read A Long Walk to Water leave a comment on how it has made an impact on your life.

What's New? Cyborgs?

My friend Kim at Indigo Books on Johns Island gave me an advanced copy of Cinder--a retake of Cinderella.  A fractured fairy tale--not quite. In this story Cinderella is a cyborg--a mechanic cyborg repairing other people's technology.

In fictional accounts, cyborgs have biological and artificial parts.  They are usually portrayed as second class citizens, or not quite as good as humans.  Patricia McKissack, well known historical fiction writer and author of the Clone Codes describes cyborgs as no better than slaves.  But in this story, Cinder has special talents.  She knows when someone is lying and she has the remarkable skill of being able to scan the web by just thinking about someone or something!

Some of the plot is predictable.  Cinder falls for a handsome prince while hiding her Cyborg identity and she flees the ball as the original Cinderella did.  There is a wicked stepmother and sisters--but there are some interesting twists as well as a sequel in the works.

Personally, I can't wait to read it.



Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany by Eleanor Ramrath Garner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful story written by an American girl stranded with her family in Germany during WWII. She has remembered many events that impacted her childhood in Germany--7 or 8 years away from the United States. It is a very unique perspective and a must read for those who can never get enough information on this time period. While the story tells of the hardships they experienced, it does not discuss any of the holocaust because as she states, the German people did not really know what was happening. 

I did not realize how devastating the Russian invasion was in Germany and had no idea of the rape and trauma on German citizens. Stories and memories are so important to history. 

War Horse--a holiday treat!

Take your family to see the movie, War Horse.  Better yet, read the book out loud with your family and then go see the movie.  This way your children can critique the movie based on the book.  You may be able to find a paperback copy at the public library; however, there is an electronic copy that you can download as you read this blog.  Hub City and  Barnes and Noble in Spartanburg are out of stock unless you have an ereader.  Maybe you can find a friend with a copy.  I’ve got one.  Email me clmonner@gmail.com or call me 680-4306 and it’s yours.

Scholastic published this novel back in 2007.  One of our students, Evans, who has read all the horse books in our library, said she loved reading the book.  A couple years later I finally read it (Sorry, Evans) and I can see why she liked it so much.  There are no vampires, werewolves or wizards; just humans and animals.  And, a strong message of friendship,caring, hope, courage and persistence.

The story does include violence and the historical horrors of WWI battles, however, with a book, the violence is whatever your imagination creates.  Therefore any age would like reading or hearing the story.  Not sure about the movie.  It is rated PG so the battlefield visuals are probably not appropriate for very young children.

Morpurgo has written the story with the horse as the narrator.  At first I was not sure I would like reading it from the horse’s point of view.  But, I loved it.  This is the horse's journey from the farm to the battlefields.     The author has written over 100 books. Five of them have been made into films.  After the army he taught for ten years then left to start writing and set up “Farms for City Children” with his wife. The concept is to bring inner city school children to the farm and teach them to work with animals.

A rewarding story (an hopefully movie) for the holiday break.  Here’s the trailer on YouTube.  Let me know what you think if you go see it.

Illuminate Summer Reading

I guess we can say that summer is over when we celebrate Labor Day. The beach reads are stored on the shelf and students and teachers are back to homework and required class readings. Yet, there is so much more to read!

Just before the long Labor Day weekend, Oakbrook Prep School held their Illuminate Summer Reading discussion groups. In the Illuminate Summer Reading program  a teacher selects a book to read over the summer and students who are interested in the book sign up to read and discuss the book with the teacher.  It is mandatory for all students in grades 6-12 and this year we had 23 teachers participate in the program. The books cover a wide range of genres from graphic novels to Christian fiction and self-help books. Many are contemporary titles, but we had some that were best sellers in their day—for instance 1776 by David McCullough.

My group, Abbie, Julia, Courtney and Chelsea, discussed Jennifer Donnelly’s Revolution as we munched on Milano’s and sipped Starbuck’s frappuccinos. The five of us quickly admitted how little we knew about the French Revolution until we read this book. We discussed how authors create characters we may not like, but in doing so it helps us understand situations that we may face in life. Donnelly’s book is an historical fiction that weaves together two lives—one in modern time and the other 200 years ago during the French Revolution. Everyone liked the book, all 496 pages of it, however, we think it is time for authors to start writing young adult books that show how girls can survive by their own strengths and don’t need a boyfriend to make them happy or successful. This was a major flaw in what I consider an essential book to read and have in a school library (see Kiss the Book Blog on Revolution).

Readers of The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, had fun creating their own rap song about the 2nd novel in The Maze Runner series. They had 40 minutes to create the lyrics and tape the song. Here’s two  of their unedited spots.

Another group read The Amanda Project by Melissa Kantor.  This is a collaborative, interactive mystery series for girls 13 years old and up. I'm going to put this book on my list.  Here's what the teacher said about the group.
 

"Everyone in the group liked the book...some really loved it..  All the girls actually read AND finished the book.  Most of them visited the Amanda project website and did some of the activities.  During our session I pulled the website up and showed it on the TV screen .  We looked at each of the activities (and there are quite a few) on the site and actually completed a personality quiz which was really fun!  We discussed how more publishers and authors are going to create companion websites for books, especially those in a series, since doing so is not only great publicity for the book but also increases the interest of the students.  The girls were excited to see how they could submit art, writing, and ideas for future books on this website. Overall, it was a wonderful discussion time...very positive for me (the best illuminate experience I have had) and I think for the students too."

 

Check out the Amanda Project website  http://www.theamandaproject.com/about

I wonder how we can create "Winter Reading."

Summer's over--but the reading is still required...

This summer while I was in Charleston I had the pleasure of hearing the RockNRoll Chorus, a group of high school singers from all different cities in New Jersey. These teenagers audition and practice to prepare for a summer of weekly performances and a three week tour of several different cities from Chicago to Orlando and up the coast back to NJ.

When you first hear the RockNRoll Chorus you look around for the orchestra and then you realize that all the sounds are coming from their voices. This is an acapella chorus, but you would think that there are some hidden instruments accompanying their performances. Their music is delightful. Of course, I am rather biased about the group since my niece sings with the chorus. She’s the one on the right in the picture on this blog. Tell me what you think--listen to one of their performances on this YouTube video.





So, I know you are wondering what all this has to do with reading.

The singers in the RockNRoll Chorus are high school students. They sing in the chorus because they love performing and all summer long they sing at different events. But, they still have summer reading to complete before the start of the new school year. In between performances, traveling to different cities and numerous practice sessions, they still need to complete their summer reading. My niece was just finishing up one of her required books. I imagine several others had packed their summer reads—-even if they only got to the first chapter. Face it --summer reading is required. Just get it done. Maybe next summer you can give your teacher some good suggestions for other titles.


Here’s a review of one of the books I read this summer.


Hero by Mike Lupica

Fourteen year old, Zack’s dad (his hero) is killed in a plane crash when he was returning home from a trip. His Dad was the special advisor to the President, but Zack he really didn’t know what he did when he traveled. Zack doesn’t believe that his father death is an accident. On a hunch, he visits the crash site –an empty field at the end of Long Island in New York. While he is alone looking at the place his father plane went down he is surprised when an older man appears and tells Zach that he knew his dad and he has been waiting for him. Not long after his visit from the old man, Zach discovers he has superpowers. Then the “bads” come and try to attack him and that’s when Zack realizes there was a lot he didn’t know about his dad.

Lupica’s Hero is very different from his other novels that read like sports commentaries. This is a fast pace, action, adventure thriller. And yes, he does throw in some sports innuendos, but not nearly as much as in the past. Definitely look for a sequel to this one.


Book Ratings
L=1, V=2, S=1
Recommended Grades 4-8th

L= Language, V=Violence, S=Sexual Content
1= None or very little
2=Moderate
3-Excessive

Book Cover Pictures from Barnes & Noble

So what does it take to get a 5th grader to read independently?

On Friday mornings I have sixteen 5th graders that visit the library. In spite of the fact that we are now in the second half of the year and most of these kids are too big for the room and are beginning to get the “I know everything 5th grade attitude,” I love them all. However, they continue to surprise me (and frighten me) with some of their comments. Let me give you an example of a discussion that took place yesterday.

On February 11 we will have a pizza party and vote for our favorite books from the list of SC Children’s Book Award Nominees. Students must read at least five books to vote for their favorite book. If they read more than five there are different levels of incentives. To receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the Scholastic Book Fair they must read all 20 nominees.

I asked the group how many of them had read at least five so I could get a count of participants and know how much pizza to get. I saw a show of hands of about 6 students and then I received some of the typical responses that I expected:
“The books are too long.”
“I don’t have time to read.”
“I didn’t want to do it this year.”
“I don’t like reading.”
“We have to read in class all the time.”

But the responses that surprised me were--
“Can someone read the books to me?”
“Is it OK if I read the books to Kathleen?”
“Could I read one page and she reads one page?”

These are not students with any kind of reading disability. In fact, the one who asked if she could read to Kathleen had already read all 20 books. So what does it take to get a child to sit down independently and read five books? They were told about the challenge in August. They had seven months to figure out how to read five books and yet many of them did not participate in the challenge. Of course, it is an optional assignment. All library activities are more or less optional. As we get closer to the date of the pizza party more students wish they had read the books, especially because the pizza is different from the school lunch pizza and they want to be part of the party, but there is no independent motivation for them to read.

So what does it take to change this attitude? Is it OK to let a parent read to a 5th grader? Would any parent want to and have the time for this task? Are we disabling our students by giving them only assigned reading? Does anyone ask students to read on their own and submit a book report? Shouldn’t 5th graders know how to write a book review?

One or two students asked if they could listen to the books on CD or cassette. Yes, absolutely. I believe that audio books work better for some students. Unfortunately, our library does not have any audio books and when I checked the public library catalogue I could only find one available as an ebook. Oh, how I wish I had money for Playaways.

Comments anyone?