February Book Club: Wonkenstein

February's Children's Book Club selection was Wonkenstein: The Creature in My Closet by Obert Skye.

This quick read tells the story of Robert and what happens when his very messy closet gets out of hand. Robert lives with him mom, dad, older sister Libby and younger brother Tippin (Kevin). Robert is a good kid but he tends to let his closet be the place that he throws everything: discarded science experiments, books he's never read, clothes, and just junk. What happens when all of that stuff melts together to create a creature totally out of his control? Wonkenstein, that's what. This little guy who is half Frankenstein/half Willy Wonka creates trouble for Robert but also helps him discover things about himself.

Our third and fourth grade readers really enjoyed this book. We worked together on fill-in-the-blanks of "the character I wouldn't want to share a closet with is____" and "create your own character from a mix of literary characters you've read about". The answers were pretty funny. Andreas wouldn't want to share a locker with Robert (probably because he's so messy!) while Cameron created a creature who is part headless Hansel and Gretel/part unicorn/part butterfly monster. Ben wouldn't want to share a closet with Miss Lisa, though he didn't explain why. :)

All in all, our reader response to this book was good. It averaged a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The book for March's Children's Book Club, to be held on Wednesday, March 7th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. is Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs. Hope to see you there!

January Book Club - Grades 3-4

January's Children's Book Club selection was Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception by Gary Paulsen.

This amusing tale tells the story of Kevin, a perpetual liar who thinks that his lies are told for the good of everyone. When Kevin develops a crush, his lies know no limits so that he can pursue the girl of his dreams. Soon, Kevin lies have his friends, family, and teachers at odds with each other and with him. When the truth comes out, can Kevin admit his mistakes and make it up to everyone? And will this latest whopper be his last?

Our third and fourth grade readers really enjoyed this book. We worked together on fill-in-the-blanks of "the character I wouldn't want to share a locker with is____" and "What's the worst lie you have ever told? (Feel free to fib!)". The answers were both funny and enlightening. Harry wouldn't want to share a locker with Kevin, since he might take Harry's things and lie about it! And Cameron would like Jon Paul or Daniel on his soccer team since they are both very athletic and could help out his team. Andreas didn't get the worksheet but he commented on the book from NYC, saying that "the funny part was when Sarah and Daniel complain about not having their car". I agree with Andreas; Sarah and Daniel are always complaining!

All in all, our reader response to this book was good. It averaged a 3.45 out of 5 stars.

The book for February's Children's Book Club, to be held on Wednesday, February 1st from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.---NOTE THE CHANGE IN DAY AND TIME!!!---is Wonkenstein: The Creature from My Closet by Obert Skye. Hope to see you there!

Grades 5-6 Book Club

December's Middle School Book Club selection was The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Don't be fooled by the movie Hugo or at least the trailers: there is no maniacal station agent perpetually chasing young Hugo or a super-active robot. There is a truly entertaining tale about an orphan boy who lives behind the walls of a train station, fixing clocks all day. Interwoven into this seemingly fantastical tale is the even more magical true history of the father of modern cinema, who ended up working as a toymaker/seller at that Paris train station in 1913. This is the story, the invention, of the boy Hugo Cabret but also the revelation of what friendship, perseverance, faith, and kindness can do to shape our lives.

Our fifth and sixth grade readers really enjoyed this book. We were able to talk about the parallels between Hugo's life and that of George Melies, the toymaker. Discussion of the word & picture format of the book illuminated how the book itself reads like a movie, the original trade of M. Melies. And we discussed how so many of the characters in the book are "broken" and how they are able to be fixed or fix themselves.

5 out of 5!

Stay tuned for the book club selection for January.

December Book Club - Grades 3-4

December's Children's Book Club selection was The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo.

This enchanting tale tells the story of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who lives a fairly grim existence with an ex-soldier friend of his father's who makes him practice drilling and soldiering all hours of the day and night. The young boy is resigned to his life but is always wondering about his sister Adele. Peter was led to believe that Adele died along with his mother during childbirth but he just can't quite grasp that as the truth. When a fortune-teller comes to town and promises to answer a single question for a farthing, Peter spends his supper money on finding out about Adele. The answer that the fortune-teller gives him sets in motion a series of events that changes the lives of many of those around Peter and creates the dynamic for this book.

Our third and fourth grade readers really enjoyed this book. As Emma stated, "I don't read too much but I found this book really interesting. I really liked it." When asked what appealed to her, she replied "I liked the way that it was put together. And I had fun imagining how the author thought up all of these interesting situations, like the elephant falling through the ceiling!" Harry agreed, saying that the author's construction of the book was "very clever." Although Andeas thought that the book was too slow in points, his overall impression was pretty positive, as he rated it 9.5 out of 10!

We had a very nice discussion about the construction of the novel itself, DiCamillo's imagination, how we would feel in similar situations that the characters were put in, and whether or not we'd change the ending. As Harry stated, "there's always something mysterious in the books we read. Mysteries make them better." By having some questions unanswered, readers are forced to think of possible outcomes or future plot points on their own. And they are more than up to the challenge!

An average of five out of five stars for The Magician's Elephant!

January's Children's Book Club selection is Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception by Gary Paulsen. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Loser

November's Children's Book Club selection was Loser by Jerry Spinelli. This novel follows Donald Zinkoff from first through sixth grades as he navigates the highs and lows of elementary school.

Donald Zinkoff, quickly dubbed "Zinkoff" by all but his family, is a kid who does not know how uncool he is. He yells out "YAHOO!" at the most embarrasing times, constantly trips over his own two feet, spontaneously vomits on himself and others, and just does not act like the other kids. When a bully tries to take away a prized possession, Zinkoff ruins his fun by readily handing over the item, thinking that the bully must want it more than he, himself, needs it. While other kids drag their feet to school, Zinkoff makes sure that he's the first to arrive. When a teacher reverses the alphabetical seating order and places the usually banished-to-the-back-row Zinkoff in the front row, the boy feels like a kid at Christmas. Thankfully, Zinkoff is blissfully unaware of how much he sticks out among his peers. It's only when he gets his "big kid eyes" and realizes that others call him a "loser" that Zinkoff senses a difference. But he doesn't let any difference dampen his outlook on life and on himself.

Our third and fourth grade readers enjoyed the main themes of this book and the main character. They felt that Zinkoff might be a "spaz" but he is a nice kid who just marches to the beat of his own drummer. As Cameron stated, "Zinkoff doesn't care if he wins or loses. He's fun. He's nice." Those sentiments were echoed by Ben. Andreas thought that the book was "funny, because there are funny words in the story, like "jabip!" It was agreed that Zinkoff is behind others in his grade in terms of awareness of others and that he sometimes kills others with kindness. However, if they were to meet him in real life, the book club members feel that they'd be friends with Zinkoff since he would make a great friend: he's funny, loyal and likes to do fun things.

Four out of five stars for this month's selection (would those be some of Zinkoff's beloved silver stars??!!)!

December's Children's Book Club selection is The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Odd and the Frost Giants

October's Children's Book Club selection was Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman.

This novel is based on the traditional Norse mythological gods Thor, Loki, and Odin, and their kingdom, Asgard. Gaiman creates a new twist to the classic tale by inserting a very human, very likable twelve-year old as the main protagonist of the story.

Odd is an unlucky boy. His father has died, his mother has remarried an unkind man, and his village is in a perpetual state of winter. Odd decides to set off on his own, intending to leave behind all of the bickering that has ensued from the bad weather. What he ends up doing is befriending the famous gods who have been banished from Asgard. In the guise of a bear, a fox, and an eagle, the gods and their young human friend travel back to Asgard in order to reclaim their kingdom from the powerful Frost Giants. Unsurprisingly, Odd ends up the hero of the story, using brains over might in order to defeat the dreaded enemy.

This month's Book Club pick was highly praised by its participants. Our third and fourth grade readers loved the plotting of the book, as well as the interactions between the main characters. They all felt that Odd would be a pretty cool friend to have.

Harry liked the fact that the book was a fantasy. As he stated, "fantasies are a good show of your imagination." Essentially, if you have an imagination, you can do anything. Andreas learned a bunch of new words with this book, including "fjord" and "squall". And Cameron loved the way that Gaiman thought out the book as a whole. When I asked the group if there were any flaws in the book, Cam said "there were no waves, no ripples. The tide was flat." Nothing was wrong with this book! In one word, the book was "fantabulous"!

November's Children's Book Club selection is Loser by Jerry Spinelli and December's selection is The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. I look forward to seeing you all there!

When You Reach Me

The September selection for the Book Club for kids grades 5-6 was When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

This Newbery Award winner tells the story of Miranda and her very eventful year in sixth grade. Her best friend freezes her out of his life, her mom is a contestant on a game show, and someone is leaving her very strange notes. The stories surrounding these events in Miranda's life provide the backdrop for this truly original novel.

The participants in this month's Book Club meeting found Ms. Stead's story very original...maybe too original! Although the kids really enjoyed the characters and the science-fiction aspects of the book, parts of it were just too confusing. As one sixth grader noted, "the book just jumped around way too much".

*SPOILER ALERT*

The time travel that lies at the heart of the story (though only realized at the end of the book) was pretty confusing to all of the readers. As one of the readers asked, "Why didn't The Laughing Man go back to the past in order to change something really important, like September 11th, and not just one kid's life?" A great point and a great topic for conversation both on character motivation AND the rules regarding time travel.

Next month's Book Club selection for this age is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, a book which heavily influenced Stead and her writing. A Wrinkle in Time was chosen by the Book Club both because it should help us to understand When You Reach Me a bit more and because it has frequenly been among the works on Banned Books lists. September 24-October 1 is Banned Books Week, which celebrates our freedom to read.