Rules of Summer (Shaun Tan)

I am surprised at all the poor reviews this book has received on Goodreads. It isn't your average children's book. For the right kid with a great imagination, this could be a great discussion starter. It could be a great starting point for story ideas too. There is a world of stories to create out of the fascinating pictures Shaun Tan has created. I think it would be a fun book to read in September instead of your average dull 'how was your summer' fare.

Son (Lois Lowry)

I loved this book. Although it does stand alone just fine, it made me want to go back and read The Giver again as well as the other books in this series.

In Son, there is an interesting idea that all choices must be for the good of the community. Even when Claire is escaping so she can see her son, she needs to kill a nest full of baby chicks, despite the mother bird's desperate attempts to drive Clare away this theme persists. She has to destroy their home for the good of what she wants to accomplish. However, some people just aren't made to not have feelings. They feel love for their children. And in the end, you can overcome evil if you don't let it overcome you. I also thought the theme of water leading to freedom was interesting. Even Gabe's toy, a hippo, is a strong water animal. Water is a part of all the big events in this story. It is interesting too that Gabe's gift is 'veering' or seeing things from another person's perspective. It changes him. I loved it when he veered into his Mentor's mind to try to get some answers on a test. Instead what he felt was the great love his teacher has for all his students.

Quotes:

p. 107
She turned away, feeling tears well in her eyes. What on earth was the matter with her? No one else seemed to feel this kind of passionate attachment to other humans. Not to a new child, not to a spouse, or coworker, or friend. She had not felt it toward her own parents or brother. But now, toward this wobbly, drooling toddler--


p. 181

"On that day, the day I tended you," Alys said to Clarei, "I saw your wound."
 "Wound?"
"Your belly."
Claire placed her hand there protectively. She looked at the ground. "I don't --"she began, then flatered.
"It's a grievous wound. Someone tended it, stitched it up. There are the marks."
"I know," Claire whispered.
"One day it will come back to your mind, like everything else."
"Perhaps."
"But I fear this: that you will not be able to give birth. I think it has been taken from you."
Claire was silent.
 Alys leaned forward and turned the flame higher in the oil lamp. It was darkening outside. "There are other ways a woman finds worth," she said in a firm, knowing voice.

P. 367 He was right to refuse. It was my journey and I had to do it without help. I had to find my own strengths, face my own fears. And now you must.

Awake and Dreaming (Kit Pearson)

I asked the folks at the place where I buy books for my Grade 3 book club books for recommendations the other day, and this book was one of their recommendations. I hadn't read it so decided to find it.

I'm not sure it is right for my Grade 3 book club, but what a fabulous book! The edition I read had an introduction by Kenneth Oppel that was amazing as well.

Here is the Goodreads Summary:

Theo and her young, irresponsible mother seem trapped in their miserable, poverty-stricken life. Theo dreams of belonging to a "real"family with two parents and brothers and sisters, and her dream seems to come true when she is mysteriously adopted by a large, warm family, the Kaldors. For the first time in her life, Theo has brand new clothes and things of her own, security and good friends. But as time passes, the magic of Theo's new life begins - literally - to fade, and soon she finds herself back with her mother. Were the Kaldors real, or just a dream? And who is the shadowy figure who haunts Theo's thoughts?

I love the magic in this book. A ghostly writer haunts the Kaldors house and comforts Theo. I love the hope. Theo rises survives her tough life and even finds ways to grow despite the challenges. I love the connection to reading. Theo loves reading and her ghost friend was also a writer. I'm generally not a fan of finding out a part of a story was just a dream - but in this book it seems to work. I wouldn't say it totally has a happy ending. It has a 'we'll do the best we can' ending. It certainly fits. I love that it is set in BC as well.


Favorite quotes:

P. 224 Cecily:  "I think an open book symbolizes imagination. Only imagination will save people from their narrow, cramped expectations of life-like those my parents had." She chuckled. "But enough of my philosophizing. When you've done nothing but think for forty years you get pretty pedantic. 

P. 244 "Oh, Theo, forgive me - I keep forgetting how young you are. Material is what a writer calls the - the stuff, the ingredients for a good story. Your life may have been awful and it may become awful again. But it makes for a much better story than the Kaldor's easy life. Do you understand?

Theo's head was spinning. "No I don't."

"You will one day. But for now just keep observing the richness you have - Vancouver and Victoria, your mother and your aunt, the Kaldors, ....Watch it, use it. The bad times and the good times, too. If you watch carefully, there are always what I call shining moments, even in hard times - moments of sheer joy, when you're just glad to be alive.

...."Here's what I think Theo. writers are both awake and dreaming. They have to pay attention - to be mindful of all the small things in life, the details, whether ordinary or wonderful or terrible. Then they dream of what they can turn those details into. And if your life gets really difficult, Theo, there are two things you can do. You can force yourself to see people at a distance, like someone in a story. Then they'll lose their power over you, or yiu can make up something better and escape to it."

Tags:

Abuse - there isn't a lot of abuse in this story. Theo's mom, Rae does hit her though and Theo learns to stand up to her and lets her mom know it is not okay to hit kids.
Addictions - Theo's mom smokes
Canadian Authors - Kit Pearson is a Western Canadian
Chasing Dreams - Theo wants nothing more than to be in a real family
Children - There are many children in this story
Family - Rae separates herself from her family and tries unsuccessfully to be a family for Theo. Her sister helps out. The Kaldor family is a "real" family to Theo.
Friendship - Theo has difficulty making friends sometimes because of the transient life they've led
Ghosts - Cecily, a dead author, becomes a friend to Theo
Homelessness - Theo and her mom move a lot and have times where they're homeless
Imagination - Theo deals with her life by sometimes escaping it into her imagination
LGBQ - Theo has a friend who has two moms
Personal Growth - Theo does a lot of learning and growing as does her mother
Realistic Fiction - A lot of kids live lives like this!
School - Theo attends many different schools due to moving so much

The Quirks: Welcome to Normal (Erin Soderburg)

It is always fun to get in on the beginning if a good series. It looks like I found one!

The Quirks are a family that have magical powers....or quirks. Everyone has a unique quirk - well, except Molly. She doesn't have any quirks at all. Quirks are a problem because it makes them unique, and sometimes kids don't like feeling different. Their quirks have made it difficult to stay anywhere for very long. They have finally moved to new town that they really like and would rather stay than run off when people start getting suspicious of their quirks. However, they have to find ways to fit in and to look normal in Normal.

Although it is a fun and imaginative book, it has issues that many kids think about: fitting in.

P. 139: Molly buried her face and Penelope's pillow and growled. She was frustrated with her family for getting in the way and being so different all the time. She was annoyed with her sister forgiving up. But mostly, she was disappointed in herself make everything work out the way it should.

      She and Pen lay in the dark, listening to the sounds of their coordinated breathing, each girl thinking her own thoughts. As she began to drift back to sleep, Molly thought about something she'd considered 100 times before: Why had the universe or God or whoever is in charge given her no quirks at all while her sister was stuffed so full of magic that she couldn't contain it?

     Penelope fit in with the other Quirks, but she might never fits in outside their house. Molly might never fit in as a Quirk...and because of her family, she was always going to have a hard time fitting in with the outer world, too.

     It just wasn't fair.

There is an epilogue at the end of this book, which leads perfectly into book 2: Quirkus Circus.

Book 3 is due out in January and then book 4 September 2015, according to the author's website.

Reading Levels

Today I was reading Ten Years in the Tub. It is an anthology of articles written by Nick Hornby on books and reading. Mostly I skimmed and jumped around and read the chapters where he discusses books I have read. Skellig was on his list and he had a great quote from the book. Michael's home schooled friend, Mina, comes over and is looking at some of his books:

"Yea, looks good," She said, "But what's the red sticker for?"
"It's for confident readers, "I said. "It's to do with reading age."
"And what if other readers wanted to read it? ...and where would William Blake fit in? ... "Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright / In the forests of the night." is that for the best readers or the worst readers? Does it need a good reading age? ... And if it was for the worst readers would the best readers not bother with it because it was too stupid for them?"

Nick Hornsby goes on to muse about whether or not he is missing all sorts of great novels because they're not for adults. I'm with him.

Ladybug Girl (David Soman and Jacky Davis)

These are all really cute books. There are quite a number of them in the series. They are all about a girl who overcomes her fears. Great books for character lessons!

Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)

For some reason this has often been a stall book for me. I get half way through it then don't finish it. Despite all the times I started and didn't finish it, I love this book! (I did finally finish it) I love the idea of having stories come to life. I loved how people escape into the stories and escape out of the stories. I loved that reading well can make it all happen. I loved all the references to other books and stories. Fabulous story! Goodreads Summary: Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.   Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie has had her father to herself since her mother went away when she was young. Mo taught her to read when she was five, and the two share a mutual love of books. He can "read" characters out of books. When she was three, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart and released characters into the real world. At the same time, Meggie's mother disappeared into the story. This "story within a story" will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters