May Recommendations for Grades 3-4 Book Club

 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Young orphan Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle on the gloomy English moors. There, with the help of a secret garden, she enters a world she could never have imagined.


The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo


Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . . .

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
 
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
In winning a medal she is no longer there to receive, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson.



The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks


A nine-year-old boy receives a plastic Indian, a cupboard, and a little key for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian comes to life in the cupboard and befriends him.

March Grades 3-4 Book Club: Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

For March's Book Club, we read Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe. Marisa, Natalie and Spencer were present. This is what we talked about:

How did the family choose names for Chester? Bunnicula?

-Chester was named for an author.

-They named Bunnicula because they just watched Dracula and he's a bunny.

Do you know how your parents chose your name?

-We've been to a lot of places with names: Alexandria, Jamestown, Fort Mathers.
-My mom picked my name because it's Natalia in Spanish.
-I was given my middle name because it means island and ocean.
-I have 2 middle names.
-My dog is named Jetty for jetties on the rocks.
-My dog's name is Bogart and he's a famous actor.

Have you ever read to your pet like Toby reads to Harold?

-Yes.
-No.
-No.
-I read to him because he likes it. He barks when I do it. I think he understands what I'm saying.

Did you think this book was scary? Why or why not?

-No. I loved it.
-No.

What is the scariest book you've read? Movie you've seen?

-Star Wars, the third movie.
-My sister says that the Hunger Games is really scary.
-Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

What is Harold's favorite people food? Does your pet have a favorite people food?

-Cream filled chocolate cupcakes.
-He likes grapes and McDonald's fries and chicken nuggets.
-Chicken.
-Pasta.

Garlic scares away vampires. What is your least favorite smell?

-Throwup
-Brussel sprouts

What is the weirdest thing your pet has ever done? 

-He eats his own poo.
-My dog ate his own bathroom stuff.
-My brother put peanut butter on my dog's tongue so he kept chasing it.

Who in your life is most likely a vampire secretly?

-My dad sleeps a lot but he's not a vampire.
-My sister takes a lot of naps.
-My big sister because she wants to be a super-hero.

What about some other secret creature/mythical creature?

-I have the tooth fairy.
-My cousin is a fairy because she's always helping people.
-I have a godfather.
-There's a guy in our school who would be everywhere we went. That must be some kind of mythical creature.

If you were secretly a monster or mythical creature, what would you be?

-I would be a fairy mermaid who can change into a human.
-I would like to be a mermaid.
-I want to be an alien.
-I want to be a bunny rabbit.

What would you do if you thought one of your pets was a vampire?

-I would call the animal shelter or get a net.
-I would whack it with a stick.
-I would jump out the window and yell "My dog is a vampire!"
-If I had a phone, I would call Miss Lisa and she would drive in a magical eyeball and she would go into a cyclops's face and the cyclops would turn Miss Lisa evil with a spell and (child's name) would get saved by a magical unicorn. Miss Lisa asks (child's name) to reverse the spell, which works but makes Miss Lisa forget how old she is. Miss Lisa thinks she's four.


We wrote our own story, using words chosen at random from Bunnicula.

Sitting on the toilet, pooping and reading the newspaper, the toilet broke. A rabbit jumped into the toilet and said "can I have some privacy? I need to go too." The rabbit's family came in and asked "What are you doing sitting on the toilet with this weirdo, Bob?" Bob sweetly said "I will not move off this toilet!" but the rabbit said "It's broken, why won't you get off?" I was reading an article and put my head in the toilet and kissed it.

Newbery Award, here these kids come!

For April's Book Club, we will be reading Kate Klise's Regarding the Fountain.

When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results.

We will meet on Wednesday, April 1 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss the book and have some snacks. Please feel free to sign up and join us! 

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April Recommendations for Grades 3-4 Book Club

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Book Trailer

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . . . 

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.


Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
Book Trailer

The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc.

...We need a new drinking fountain. Please send a catalog.

Designer Flo Waters responds:

"I'd be delighted...but please understand that all of my fountains are custom-made."

Soon the fountain project takes on a life of its own, one chronicled in letters, postcards, memos, transcripts, and official documents. The school board president is up in arms. So is Dee Eel, of the water-supply company. A scandal is brewing, and Mr. Sam N.'s fifth grade class is turning up a host of hilarious secrets buried deep beneath the fountain.

Swindle by Gordon Korman
Book Trailer

After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue.

February Grades 3-4 Book Club: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

For February's Grades 3-4 Book Club, we read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Marisa was present. This is what we discussed:

Why has Sam run away to the mountains?

-Because he wanted to get away from the city. New York City. He lives with his family.

What tasks does he set for himself once he finds the property?

-He wanted to find his grandfather's farm and make it his. He went to a library and asked a librarian for help in finding the farm. And he did. He got food and he found someone who taught him how to make a fire. He also learned which foods he could eat.

Sam uses various survival skills to make a home in the wilderness. What are some of these skills?

-He learned how to get deer by taking the deer out from under hunters' noses. He used the deer for food and clothing. Sam also found a tree stump that was hollowed out and he used it for water.


Why doesn't Sam's father prevent him from leaving home?

-Because he said that he should run away because every boy has to try it sometime. He also thinks that Sam might come back quickly. His father tried leaving home once but it was only for a day. He ran right back home.

Sam says of Frightful, "She was a captive, not a wild bird, and that is almost another kind of bird." What do you think Sam means by this? In what way might Sam's statement apply to himself?

-Maybe because the bird hunts different animals and Sam is kind of the same.


On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, how would you rate this book?

-So far, the book is a 4.

 
For Book Club in March, we will be reading the book Bunnicula by Deborah Howe.
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.-summary

We will be meeting on Wednesday, March 4th at 3:00 p.m. As always, snacks will be provided. Please be sure to pick up your book at the Circulation Desk and sign up for Book Club for each session that you attend!

March Recommendations for Grades 3-4 Book Club

Bunnicula by Deborah Howe

Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Nobody outfoxes Fantastic Mr. Fox!

Someone's been stealing from the three meanest farmers around, and they know the identity of the thief—it's Fantastic Mr. Fox! Working alone they could never catch him; but now fat Boggis, squat Bunce, and skinny Bean have joined forces, and they have Mr. Fox and his family surrounded. What they don't know is that they're not dealing with just any fox—Mr. Fox would rather die than surrender. Only the most fantastic plan can save him now.

Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman

When a tornado watch is issued one Tuesday evening in June, twelve-year-old Dan Hatch and his best friend, Arthur, don't think much of it. After all, tornado warnings are a way of life during the summer in Grand Island, Nebraska. But soon enough, the wind begins to howl, and the lights and telephone stop working. Then the emergency siren starts to wail. Dan, his baby brother, and Arthur have only seconds to get to the basement before the monstrous twister is on top of them. Little do they know that even if they do survive the storm, their ordeal will have only just begun. . . .

January Grades 3-4 Book Club : A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

For January's Grades 3-4 Book Club, we read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Marisa, Natalie, Owen, Sean and Spencer were present. This is some of what we discussed:

  About the author

Charles Dickens, the most popular writer of the Victorian age, was born near Portsmouth, England, in 1812 and died in Kent in 1870. When his father was thrown into debtors’ prison, young Charles was taken out of school and forced to work in a shoe-polish factory, which may help explain the presence of so many abandoned and victimized children in his novels. As a young man he worked as a reporter before starting his career as a fiction writer in 1833. In his novels, short stories and essays, Dickens combined hilarious comedy with a scathing criticism of the inhuman features of Victorian industrial society. 


In A Christmas Carol Dickens wishes to raise awareness of social inequality in Victorian England. Among the many sources of suffering for the poor were the workhouses, public establishments that provided them with housing at the expense of brutal treatment. Social inequality: Who is responsible for the well being of the less fortunate?

-Scrooge.
-Scrooge has more money than anyone else it town.


Childhood: Does an unhappy childhood necessarily lead to an unhappy adulthood?

-Yes.
-If you have a sad life and keep it that way, you will move on with your life that way.
-If you feel down about yourself, you won't feel good in your adulthood.
-If you have a bad childhood and feel sorry for yourself, you won't be excited for adulthood.

 
A change of heart: Can human beings change their behavior for the better as Scrooge does?

-Yes, they can. We saw that with Tiny Tim. He didn't want Tiny Tim.
-His nephew was so joyful when Scrooge had a change of heart.


Why doesn't he go to his nephew’s house for Christmas?

-He didn't want to because he isn't a very jolly person.
-Scrooge doesn't like Christmas and his nephew is all about Christmas. 

 
Marley thinks that some people walk the streets of the world when they are dead. Why does he think they must do that? Do you think there are ghosts around us?

-I think that are ghosts around us because they wanted to watch Scrooge be mean.
-I think that the ghosts come back and walk the streets in the book because they want to change what they have done wrong.
-The ghosts walk the streets.
-If a relative has died, they might be watching us to see how we are. Dead relatives might want to see how their relatives grew up in the future.
-Ghosts probably can't interfere with the future.
-Ghosts can move things. 
-Sometimes in movies, ghosts can become people.
-Ghosts can be hurt by the sun.

 
Scrooge loved the following books as a child: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Robinson Crusoe. What do these books have in common? What are some of your favorite children’s stories?

-These books are all about bad things.
-Once Scrooge understood money, he realized that he wanted it.
-The Magic Unicorn series.
-The Magic Tree House
-The Cat in the Hat books. Now I like the Bone books.
-I like reading sports books or famous people (sports players and teams).
-I like Emily Windsnap because it has mermaids and monsters.

It was agreed that we almost all found this book hard to read. On a scale of 1-5, there were two "1"s and three "3"s.

For Book Club in February, we will be reading the book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.
Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons- amazon.com
 We will be meeting on Wednesday, February 4th at 3:00 p.m. As always, snacks will be provided. Please be sure to pick up your book at the Circulation Desk and sign up for Book Club for each session that you attend!

February Recommendations for Grades 3-4 Book Club

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins: Book Trailer 
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George: Book Trailer
Terribly unhappy in his family's crowded New York City apartment, Sam Gribley runs away to the solitude-and danger-of the mountains, where he finds a side of himself he never knew.

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Struggling with Asperger's, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog, but when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to confront the limits of her comfort levels, even if it means leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.