April Grades 3-4 Book Club: Regarding the Fountain by Kate and M. Sarah Klise

For April's Book Club, we read Regarding the Fountain by Kate and M. Sarah Klise. Spencer was present. This is what we talked about:

It is important to be honest at all times :This novel deals a lot with honesty. Sally Mander and Dee Eel have not been honest for the past thirty years and it has ruined their community. Their dishonesty is negative. The students are also dishonest when they write the letters to Florence when they are told not to.  These letters help Florence to understand what is going on with the situation. These are two different types of dishonesty. Should you always tell the truth?

-Yes. If you don't tell the truth, you might lie yourself into a corner and then you might have to show what you were lying about. That would be worse than the original lie. The students writing Florence was kind of in the middle. They told her that they weren't supposed to write her but they felt they had to. 

(We then had a conversation about white lies and how you might even get out of telling white lies by using language in an effective way. Instead of lying to a friend to say that their new shoes are great (when they are clearly horrible), you can just say "they totally suit you." That gets you out of any lying and maintains your polite demeanor.)

Giving is better than receiving :Often we think the best thing is to receive a gift. In this novel, Florence Waters gives without ever receiving anything in return. She gives everything to these students without expecting to be paid. Her “pay” is in the joy of the students. Which do you prefer and why?

-Receiving makes me feel happy. But giving makes me feel better. What you are giving might have sentimental value. You might realize that the person you are giving an item to will like it more than you.

It is important to be an active member of the community :The students in this novel are the people who discover what happened to their community. It is because they were involved in their community that they now have more water than they know what to do with, and the whole town is a better place. Describe your place as a member of your family or of your community.

-I am the youngest in my family and since I'm the youngest, sometimes people outside of the family treat me like I'm two. My brother gets treated like he's actually there. My mom was the youngest in her family. It's hard to leave your friends from the school community when you are part of a military community. You move every three years. I try to keep in contact with my good friends from my past schools. 

If you do something wrong you will always get caught : Sally Mander and Delbert Eel have gotten away with their crime for nearly thirty years, but they eventually get caught. Will they be caught if they do bad things? It might not be immediate consequence, but a consequence in some way or another is likely to come; it could just be a guilty conscience. 

-In my mom's old school, a lot of kids didn't get caught for all the years that they were there. They probably had a guilty conscience.

Things are not always what they seem : Sally Mander and Delbert Eel appear to be profitable, charitable people. However, they turn out to be criminals. Florence Waters at first, appears to be a spacy lady that does not understand the rules of the school. She however, turns out to be an important character in that she is the one who helps the students figure out the secret, and helps bring the community back to the way it was.

A gift is always free for the receiver : According to this novel, a gift is free for the receiver. The students receive several gifts from Flo, but do not give anything back to her.However, because they received the gifts, they were able to give the community the gift of restoring back to its previous (and improved) state. Gifts can be considered free, but oftentimes we do something in return‐not necessarily for the giver of the gift, but for someone. 

-After a further discussion on gifts, Spencer pointed out...If the kids only eat cotton candy and corn dogs, how are they still alive? (I think that they only eat that on Dry Creek Days).

Adults are always right - In this novel adults are not always right. Sally Mander and Delbert Eel obviously lie about who they really are. Mr. Walter Russ also is incorrect about his dealing with Florence and the fountain, and perhaps even with how he treats Goldie Fisch.Would you try to tell an adult if they were doing something wrong?

-It depends on what an adult is wrong about. If what they are wrong about is going to be a big deal, I might say something.



What would you rate this book, between 1 and 5?

I would rate this book a 4.

In May, we will be meeting on Wednesday, May 6 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss the book 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.
As always, we will have snacks and discussion along with our chatting and blogging session.

May Grades 3-4 Book Club: The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

For May's Book Club, we read The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. Owen and Spencer were present. This is what we discussed.

Spencer noted that his book cover isn't accurate to the portrayal of the Indian in the book.

1. Why doesn't Omri want Patrick to have the little men? 

-Omri didn't want Patrick to go overboard. Patrick was prone to being immature. Omri didn't want Patrick to turn more figures to life.
-Omri hesitated because Little Bear was kind of bossy and he was worried that Patrick might do something to him.
-Patrick would not like being bossed around.

2. Why is Mr. Yapp so suspicious of Omri?

-Since Omri took Little Bear and Boone out to see the women and then put them in his pockket, Mr. Yapp thought that Omri stole them. Patrick and Omri had actually purchased them before.
-Mr. Yapp had a lot of shoplifters.

3. How does Patrick save Omri from Mr. Yapp?

-He says that he had paid for them before and could describe them. Plus, Mr. Yapp knew Patrick's family and was less likely to think that he would steal.
-Patrick worked hard to get Omri out of trouble. It was important that the figures not be taken away by Mr. Yapp because they'd be nearly impossible to get back.

4. Why does Little Bear shoot Boone?

-Boone was making remarks about the TV show.
-Little Bear was making more remarks about cowboys (and Boone). If Boone had ammo, he might have shot Little Bear earlier.

5. Why does Omri think it's fun when the art teacher sees Boone's drawing?

-Because the art teacher thinks Omri did the drawing and no human hand could have drawn what he did.

6. Why is Omri surprised that Boone and Little Bear Want to go back to their own worlds?

-Because they don't like it there. They are used to their own worlds where people are their own size.
-They want to go back because the humans are like giants, lumbering around.

7. How does Little Bear show his concern about Boone?

-After meeting, Little Bear doesn't want Boone on his land. And then he shot Boone's hat off. But then he felt bad.
-He also goes under the floorboards to get the key in order to bring the medic to life to save Boone's life.

8. How do Omri and Patrick resolve their conflict?

-I think they resolve their conflict because Patrick gets Boone for a certain amount of time, and sharing them.

9. How do you feel about the way Mr. Johnson reacts to Little Bear and Boone? How would you have reacted?

-He stuttered and got faint. He couldn't believe his eyes. And then he left work. 
-I would have yelled at Patrick and tried to get the figures back
-I wouldn't have been able to believe my eyes either.

We had a nice discussion about what happens to their bodies when they are in the current world.

10. Do you think Omri and Patrick are right to send Little Bear and Boone back to their own time?

-Yes.
-Maybe. I don't know.

11. If you could live in another time, when would it be?

-World War II
-pre-colonization of America
-Native American time period

13. What did you learn from this book about being responsible for other people?

-You shouldn't boss people around (from Little Bear's perspective).
-Omri didn't want to put more figures in the cupboard because he didn't want to take all of his time taking care of others. He had to do a lot to keep Little Bear and Boone okay.


13. Rank

3
4.9999

We will be meeting sometime in July (date to determined) and be reading The Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. This book will count toward Summer Reading! Copies will be available in early May and again in early-mid June to read (reread).

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! 

-

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. . . .