Gather Round (David Covell)

 

Short and quick....dad and daughter make a fire, others gather around. 

This book would be a great introduction to metaphor:

(from the back page)
A Campfire is a Living Thing
Just like you! 

A campfire needs air, just like you. Don't get too close. Give it space to breathe.

A fire eats things, just like you. It eats things like paper and wood - not like you. Don't feed a fire too much or it will grow too big. You'll grow big. That's AMAZING! But fires are best staying small.

A fire can get angry. Have you ever felt like that? When a fire throws a tantrum, it can hurt things. Help a campfire stay calm and quiet. It's best when they don't roar.

A campfire has to sleep, just like you. It can't keep going all day and all night. Water helps fires go to sleep and a blanket of dirt can tuck it in.

Goodreads says:

New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award winner David Covell follows up Run Wild with a timely book about the importance of community and coming together.

Crackle. Crinkle. Sizzle. POP!
Listen to the fire talk.
It's telling us a story . . .

    Since the magic and warmth of fire was discovered long ago, campfires have protected, aided, and inspired us. Perhaps most importantly, they've brought us together. 

    In this gorgeous picture book, a girl and her father build a campfire together to keep the cold at bay. But as they welcome passing travelers--from musicians to animals--they create a community, fostered by a crackling fire and its comforting warmth.

    Written in sparkling, melodic prose, Gather Round is the perfect follow-up and companion to David Covell's New York Times Best Illustrated, Run Wild.

Hatchet (Gary Poulsen)

I spent a bunch of time thinking, "What's on his head?" Now I finally get it....it's an axe...a hatchet!

I chose this book because my son had read it and loved it. He wants me to get him the entire series (there are three more books). I figured it would be a quick read and needed something for my weekly reading response for my students. 

I was totally taken by the story. Brian is on a plane when the pilot has a heart attack. He has to land it. It crashes, but he survives but he ends up in the Canadian wilderness. I'm not a fan of camping and this was ultimate camping. I read it with one eye closed, hardly able to stand everything he was going through - but I couldn't stop because I had to make sure he made it safely through the whole experience. Sometimes I would gasp out loud when something worse would happen. How could it get any worse?? It did!  It reminded me of what it was like to read Wild. That story was hard for me to read as well, but I had to keep going to make sure she made it through okay.

The ending, although really sudden, struck a chord with me. I loved how he said he was forever changed by this experience. I have had people say that I am different ever since certain events in my life. I am surprised that some people think you should stay the same forever. Some events do change you. And they change you forever.

Re-read January 2020 for Grade 3 book club. I was concerned that the intensity of this story might be a little too much, but some seemed to enjoy it. It was definitely gripping for them. The talk about divorce was difficult.

Going to read The River next! (sequel)

Goodreads summary:

Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present -- and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair -- it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive. 

For twenty years Gary Paulsen's award-winning contemporary classic has been the survival story with which all others are compared. This new edition, with a reading group guide, will introduce a new generation of readers to this page-turning, heart-stopping adventure.

Pax (Sara Pennypacker)

I took a chance on this book. I have a policy that I always have to read a book before we do it for book club at school - but I really wanted to do this one and I hadn't read it. I have heard so many great things about it. I decided to give it a go.


I love this book because it touched my heart and it left many questions unanswered....great conversation starter!


At first I had some regret. We started reading it aloud in class and found the author doesn't mince at all on vocabulary. I was doing a lot of explaining...and eventually we quit reading it in class (not because we decided to abandon it, but just because book club is supposed to be books that kids read on their own or at home, not necessarily a class read aloud). However, kids kept coming to me telling me how much they were enjoying it. I got report after report about what chapter they were on and how they thought it was really great. I would ask, "Is it too tricky? Too many hard words?" and they were adamant that it wasn't. Okay!!


I do agree that this is a great story. It doesn't have the expected happy ending - something that isn't common in J fiction. I had a student come to me after only having the book for a couple days. She had finished it and wanted to talk about it, but I wasn't finished so I couldn't say much. She just kept saying to me, "I can't believe it....after all that work...." I would just shrug....I couldn't really answer. Finally, she walked away, shaking her head. I am really looking forward to chatting with her now about this book!
Peter's persistence was inspiring. There were many things that seemed just not fair to him. Losing his mother is one bad blow. Why would a dad decide to go off to war and leave his son?? That is never answered. And what is up with grandparents not finding him once he runs off? It does follow a common theme of J fiction though - of kids just looking after themselves. Adults are kind of useless - except for Vola. She's helpful - but quite mysterious and hard to understand. Maybe many adults are that way for kids. I liked Pax's faith in Peter. Even though he continues on and thrives in his natural environment, he never loses faith in Peter - unlike the adults in Peter's life.


Other questions:


Why are they living so near a war-zone anyway? It seems to be set in North America - but we have not had wars here for so many years - that seemed a little disconnected for me.


And in the end, when he says: The apple does fall far from the tree....wasn't he actually relenting by not having Pax come with him? He gives in to everything his father has done.


Goodreads summary:


Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.

Sleepless Knight (James Sturm, Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost)

Good summer book! Could also be a great one to read before a first camping trip. Lots of laughs and puns all along the way. Kids will really relate to the worry over losing his teddy bear while sleeping on his own. Fun book! Short sentences and simple language

The back of the book has instructions on how to draw the characters in the book. I can see this one staying hidden in a kid's desk so they can practice the drawing.

Goodreads summary:

The Knight can't wait for her first camping trip! She and her horse Edward pack everything they need--including her beloved Teddy--and head out into the woods. But when it's time for bed, Teddy is nowhere to be found!

A helpful rabbit thinks this "Teddy" sounds familiar, and sends the Knight off to a cave... but that's no teddy bear in that cave. That's a real bear!

In this sweet, simple adventure, basic comics elements combine with the picture book format to create a picture book for the youngest of comics readers, and a fantastic introduction into the world of Adventures in Cartooning