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.