April Grades 3-4 Book Club Discussion: Switch by Ingrid Law

For April's Book Club, we read Switch by Ingrid Law. Cadence, Claire, Ellie, Isabella, Lillian and Maida were present. This is some of what we discussed.

Who if your favorite character in the story? Why?:

-Tucker because he farts and grows big.
-I like the Captain Cat
-Gypsy because she can stop time and undo the stop. She has a secret stash of candy for Tucker to calm him down.
-I like Tucker because he grew big before he turned 13.


Who was your least favorite character? Why?: 


-Del because he stole someone's phone and it's rude and immature.
-Grandma Pat because she's old and does odd stuff.
-The next door neighbor is my least favorite because she wears too much makeup.


How would you react if your family introduced a new person to live in your house?:

-I would say "no"
-I would ask where they would sleep because I don't want to share a room
-I would be confused
-If you don't know them well, I would be unhappy


Would you like having Gypsy's original savvy?:

-She could see the future and the past.
-I would be able to save people and also go back in time and change things.
-I would always have the right answer for things.


Would you like having Gypsy's new savvy?:

-I would want her new Savvy because I could rob a bank
-I could catch a snake
-I could take candy 
-If something bad was going to happen, I could stop it


Do you think that things will remain "switched"? Why or why  not?:


-Yes
-I think that they will switch back. If Grandma Pat dies, they will switch back.

If you could change a scene in the story, which one would it be? Why?:

-I would change the whole book.
-No, I liked the book.

Please rate this book from 1-5, with 5 being the best:

-1
-4 3s
-1 4


We will meet on Wednesday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m. for the next book club. We will be reading Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.

Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?


Please pick up copies of this book at the Circulation Desk and be sure to register so that Miss Lisa knows how many people to expect.

May Grades 3-4 Book Club Recommendations

Hoot by Carl Hiassan

Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. This time around it's Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it's still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn't for Dana Matherson...

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Miyax, like many adolescents, is torn. But unlike most, her choices may determine whether she lives or dies. At 13, an orphan, and unhappily married, Miyax runs away from her husband's parents' home, hoping to reach San Francisco and her pen pal. But she becomes lost in the vast Alaskan tundra, with no food, no shelter, and no idea which is the way to safety. Now, more than ever, she must look hard at who she really is. Is she Miyax, Eskimo girl of the old ways? Or is she Julie (her "gussak"-white people-name), the modernized teenager who must mock the traditional customs? And when a pack of wolves begins to accept her into their community, Miyax must learn to think like a wolf as well. If she trusts her Eskimo instincts, will she stand a chance of surviving? John Schoenherr's line drawings suggest rather than tell about the compelling experiences of a girl searching for answers in a bleak landscape that at first glance would seem to hold nothing.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma. And Mrs. Frisby in turn renders them a great service.