Tuesday, January 12, 2016

January Grades 3-4 Book Club: Savvy by Ingrid Law


In January, the Grades 3-4 Book Club met to discuss Savvy by Ingrid Law. Cadence, Cameron, Claire, Clare, Eleanor, Lillian, and Maida were present. This is what we discussed, guided by some Walden Media questions.






Mibs wishes, at least temporarily, that her savvy could “give [her] the muscle to turn nasty girls into slimy green frogs or to glue their mouths shut tight with a nod of [her] head.” (p. 17) Why do the girls in Mibs’s class make fun of her? What would you do in her place? 

-Because her name is Mississippi and they make rude names from that
-I would stick up for myself
-I would say "don't sass me," "don't call me names," and "don't be mean to me". I would also tell the teacher.
-Don't let words get you down so if I were Mibs

The Beaumonts have to keep their savvies a secret from everyone. Would that be difficult for you? Do you think everyone has a secret? Who would you trust with your big secrets? 

-I would trust God and my cat and dog
-I wouldn't trust my friends or family because they would tell
-My family and my cousins, my other cousins, my best friends
-Everyone has secrets
-I have a major secret
-I would tell a 99 year old because they would be dead soon 


Which scene in their wild adventure is your favorite?

-When Will kissed Mibs in the pool
-When Will and Fish are fighting
-When Will wondered if the turtle was alive or dead
-When Mibs woke her father up (2)
-When they got on the bus -When Bobbie reaches down to get the sandwich and Mibs saw the talking angel

 
In the last year, what have you, like Mibs, discovered about yourself? 


-I can climb over a wall
-I found out something important. I am an amazing butterflier.
-I'm really good at math
-I'm really good at sewing



How does Lill Kiteley end up on the bus? What would you say is her special know-how? How does she use that know-how during her time on the bus and how does it affect the passengers? 

-Lill is a hitchhiker (her car is broken down) and she got fired from her job and then she knew that when she left her boss on the floor of the diner, she knew she couldn't go home. 
-She is good at being kind.


How does Mibs’s relationship with Will and Bobbi change over the course of the adventure? Who do you think changes the most in the story? 

-Bobbi changes the most in the story because she starts out mean and then she ends up being a nice person. She goes from smirks to real smiles.

 
Fish and Rocket have a terrible time scumbling their savvies. Are there any parts of your own personality that you have a difficult time controlling? Is it better to tone down parts of yourself so that you fit in or is it more important to be yourself completely? 

-Be yourself.
-Be yourself.


What do you think makes Poppa wake up at last? Do you think it has anything to do with one of the Beaumont’s savvies?

-It's Mibs.
-Maybe it's all of the Beaumont's savvies combined!


Rate this book from 1-5, with 5 being the best.


-5
-4
-4
-5
-5
-4
-4 

On February 3, we will meet to discuss Savvy's companion book, Scumble.

Mibs's cousin Ledge is disappointed to discover that his "savvy"--the magical power unique to each member of their family--is to make things fall apart, which endangers his uncle Autry's ranch and reveals the family secret to future reporter Sarah.

Please be sure to pick up your copy of the book at the Circulation Desk and register for Book Club. Snacks will be provided but Miss Lisa needs to know how many to purchase!







Wednesday, January 6, 2016

February Grades 3-4 Book Club Suggestions

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech


"You are now entering Ruby Holler, the one and only Ruby Holler! Your lives are never going to be the same—"
"Trouble twins" Dallas and Florida are orphans who have given up believing there is such a thing as a loving home. Tiller and Sairy are an eccentric older couple who live in the beautiful, mysterious Ruby Holler, but they’re restless for one more big adventure. When they invite the twins to join them on their journeys, they first must all stay together in the Holler, and the magic of the place takes over. Two pairs of lives grow closer and are changed forever.


The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein

What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible . . . isn’t it? 


Scumble by Ingrid Law

It's nine years after Savvy, and Mibs' cousin Ledge is on the verge of turning thirteen. More than anything, he wants the power to run like the wind. But when his birthday comes, he discovers that his savvy is actually making things fall apart. It starts out with small things, but then it gets worse. To top it all off, someone outside the family has witnessed his destruction. Now, in addition to trying to figure out how to control - or scumble - his savvy, he's got to worry about how to protect the family secrets. Over the course of one amazing summer, Ledge learns a lot about himself and his family, makes a new - and very unlikely - friend, and learns to appreciate his newfound skills.

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

"If May is a brave, stubborn fighter, the short, free-verse lines are one-two punches in this Laura Ingalls Wilder-inspired ode to the human spirit," raved Kirkus Reviews in a starred review. 

May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

May Grades 3 & 4 Book Suggestions

One-Third Nerd by Gennifer Choldenko "Fifth grade is not for amateurs, according to Liam. Luckily, he knows that being more than one-t...