December Grades 3-4 Book Club: Red

For December's Book Club, we read Red by Liesl Shurtliff. Lucy, Micah, Mira, and Rileigh were present for Book Club. We used a Brightly.com Book Club guide to keep our discussion on track.

Although this story focuses on Red, the author refers to many other fairy tales. How many did you recognize?

-Goldilocks and the Three Bears
-Three Little Pigs
-Sleeping Beauty
-Snow White
-Rumpelstiltskin

Red is both fascinated by and scared of her magic abilities. Why? Share examples of the effects of using magic in Red.

-She almost killed her grandmother.
-She did a spell that made roses go up her nose.
-She made her path through the woods, which worked out well for her.

Granny tells Red that fear, not magic, is what causes trouble. Do you agree? How did fear affect Red? When have you been afraid? How have you dealt with your fears?

-Magic causes trouble because you never know what you'll get.
-Magic doesn't cause trouble; fear can take over your mind and affect your magic.
-It's the fear that is taking over her magic. She's not controlling it; her fear is.
-I confront my fears and breathe deeply.
-I was afraid of the dark but I grew out of it.
-You talk to your fears and tell them not to scare you.

Who is Goldie? What do you know about her from the story? How are she and Red similar and different?

-They're different. One has a mother who is kind of selfish.
-Both have color names.
-They both have something that they own that is the color of their name: Goldie's golden hair and Red's red cloak
-Goldie is an obnoxious Goldilocks
-She's annoying and obnoxious.
-She just wants her mother to like her.

Things are never quite what they seem in this story — beautiful water sprites are dangerous, witches are good, and wolves are more helpful than dangerous. Why do you think the author wrote these characters this way?

-Because everything is misunderstood.
-Everything has a backstory.
-So that a character could do something new.
-So that the reader's expectations would be turned around.

At one point, Red remembers that “Granny said there were always at least two sides to any story, if not a dozen” (page 133). What does that mean? How does that idea play out in the book?

-Because not everything is simple.
-The wolves and witches are nice while the beautiful people are bad.
-The Big Bad Wolf became the Big Good Wolf, which was unexpected and shows more than one side to the story.

Red makes some unlikely friendships throughout her journey. Discuss and compare her friendships with Goldie, Wolf, and Borlen.

-In the beginning, Red is annoyed by Goldie. But then she realizes that they had a connection. And by the end, they are friends.

-She had a special connection with Wolf through the spell. 
-Borlen and Red had a good connection because Red was able to overlook that Borlen is a monster.

Goldie encourages Red to use her magic by saying “Some mistakes need to be made. Sometimes we have to fall down before we can stand up” (page 64). Do you agree? Why is practice important? Are there things you are good at because you practice?

-Practice is important because you might not become good at something.
-You aren't just going to wake up in fifth grade and know stuff.
-Sports because I practice (and I like it).
-Sports because I practice.
-I am so so so good at basketball because my dad is basketball coach.

The concept of death is woven throughout this book. The Well Witch, Red, the Beast, and the Huntsman are all afraid of death. The dwarves and Granny, however, seem more accepting of their fates. What does Red learn about death during her journey with Goldie? What did you learn? What do you think of the choices some characters made to try to avoid death?

-Death eventually comes to get you.
-It's a bad choice to try to become immortal.
-Death is like playing a game of tag. Sometimes it tags other people but at some point it will tag you.
-Death is part of the circle of life. You are born, you grow up and you die.

“Life is like a story. It doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t end” (page 197). What did Beast mean by that? What did you think of Red’s ending?

-It's like the circle of life. 
-You leave the earth but you can still watch your loved ones.
-I liked the ending of Red because it's nice how Goldie came to visit her and her grandma was still alive and her parents came back.

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

-Three 3s
-One 4

For January's Book Club, we will be reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. We will be meeting on Wednesday, January 8 at 3:00 p.m. 

"The author recounts in graphic novel format her experiences with hearing loss at a young age, including using a bulky hearing aid, learning how to lip read, and determining her "superpower."-summary

Copies of the book will be available at the Circulation Desk. Please be sure to sign up for book club so that Miss Lisa can buy enough snacks!

January Grades 3-4 Book Club Suggestions

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

El Deafo by Cece Bell

The author recounts in graphic novel format her experiences with hearing loss at a young age, including using a bulky hearing aid, learning how to lip read, and determining her "superpower."

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.

Wish by Barbara O'Connor

Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite.

But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is, until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.