Most People (Michael Leannah)

 

This is a great book! My students were really struck by the photo of the LONG line of good people in the world and the room of bad people. Great analogy. I agree. Most people are good. 

Since we can't snuggle up together at the carpet this year, I was please that this book is available as an e-book from my public library. 

Goodreads says:

Michael Leannah wrote Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. Jennifer Morris’s emotive, diverting characters provide the perfect complement to Leannah’s words, leading us through the crowded streets of an urban day in the company of two pairs of siblings (one of color). We see what they see: the hulking dude with tattoos and chains assisting an elderly lady onto the bus; the Goth teenager with piercings and purple Mohawk returning a lost wallet to its owner; and the myriad interactions of daily existence, most of them well intended. Most People is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media.

Amal Unbound (Aisha Saeed)

Wow! This is a compelling story. I think a theme may be doing what's right, even when it isn't easy and things don't seem fair. Life is not fair for Amal, that is for sure. This would be a great story to do when we talk about segregation. The cover is beautiful. It's a page-turner that I couldn't stop reading and ended up reading in one day. The main character remains a good person despite really difficult circumstances. The afterward talks about Malala and the fight for girls to have a right to education. 


Goodreads says:

The compelling story of a girl’s fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude.

Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal’s Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she’s busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when–as the eldest daughter–she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn’t lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens–after an accidental run-in with the son of her village’s corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family’s servant to pay off her own family’s debt.

Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal–especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila. Most troubling, though, is Amal’s growing awareness of the Khans’ nefarious dealings. When it becomes clear just how far they will go to protect their interests, Amal realizes she will have to find a way to work with others if they are ever to exact change in a cruel status quo, and if Amal is ever to achieve her dreams. 

Resistance (Jennifer Nielsen)

I'm a big fan of Jennifer Nielsen. I always tell my students that are great readers about her books. Last year I had a student who read all of the books in The False Prince series as well as A Night Divided. One day I was walking down the hall and he stopped me and said he had book for me. "Wait right here!" he said. He ran off to where his backpack was, found the book and raced back to me. He said, "You have to read this...but I have to go play now." I had heard about this book, but didn't realize it was out.  It has been so fun to read it. I spent about two weeks reading it and he would often find me at recess and ask what I thought of things so far. He spilled the beans to me about what happened in the ending and it made me want to slow down and soak it all up before the bad news unfolded. As a matter of fact, that's how I felt as I read the entire thing. I couldn't believe the things these kids went through and what they did.

You have to read this book!

May we never forget. May we live with honor at all times regardless of our circumstances. And may we choose love, a weapon that will defeat hate every single time because love is the resistance. 

I can't really recommend this book for students in my grade though. She doesn't hold back on the atrocities of war.

Here is a video of the author with the background on the story:


(Justyna's Narrative is a book I need to find!)

Goodreads says:

Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people. 

Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works — in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Though the Jewish resistance never had much of a chance against the Nazis, they were determined to save as many lives as possible, and to live — or die — with honor.

The Storyteller (Jodi Picoult)

It took me a while to get into this book. Actually, I started it, then left it for a while, which caused me to not make some connections - but luckily this was a book club book so my book club friends cleared that up for me!

I seem to read a Jodi Picoult book every summer. This was a lot like the other ones I've read - some big topic (this one was forgiveness), multiple narratives and a twist at the end.

Last year, I read Small Great Things, which is about a white supremacist and a black nurse in a hospital. I was reading it at the same time as the stuff was happening in the USA in Charlottesville. It was surreal. There's a story in the news right now about a holocaust denier. The holocaust was terrible and this book has some incredibly descriptive accounts of it. You can't make that stuff up.

Goodreads says:

Some stories live forever . . .

Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.

Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?

In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future

Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L`Engle)

Reread April 23, 2018
This is the third time reading this book. We did it for book club this month in conjunction with the new movie coming out. I haven`t seen the movie yet. I plan to. In the meantime, I have to say that every time I read this book I appreciate it a little bit more. It wasn`t a huge hit with our grade three students. They thought it was kind of boring. It got low ratings from all but one student (a science crazy student). 

I think there`s a lot more in this book than I even realize so far. I`m looking forward to reading it again one day!


March 15, 2015
There are so many awesome themes in this book. We read it with our grade three book club. I was a little leery to read it with them. I wasn't sure they were old enough. I can't remember how old I was when I first read A Wrinkle in Time, but I do remember that I didn't really understand it and didn't enjoy it that much. When our book club met, after reading it, I was pleasantly surprised with the number of children who read it. Not only that, we had an amazing discussion. Lesson learned. Don't underestimate!

It was a great introduction to science fiction. 

Themes: love, courage, working together, being proud to be yourself, individuality, love conquers all and more.

Later we watched the movie as well. That is an intense movie. It made me want to read the book again!

419 (Will Ferguson)

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to read a book set in the city I live in! The story is quite compelling. It makes me crazy to hear of people who get sucked into online scams. It was interesting to read the story from all sides. In the end, the women prevail. Only right! :)

Goodreads says:

A car tumbles down a snowy ravine. Accident or suicide?

On the other side of the world, a young woman walks out of a sandstorm in sub-Saharan Africa. In the labyrinth of the Niger Delta, a young boy learns to survive by navigating through the gas flares and oil spills of a ruined landscape. In the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the internet looking for victims.

Lives intersect, worlds collide, a family falls apart. And it all begins with a single email: “Dear Sir, I am the son of an exiled Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help ...”

419 takes readers behind the scene of the world’s most insidious internet scam. When Laura’s father gets caught up in one such swindle and pays with his life, she is forced to leave the comfort of North America to make a journey deep into the dangerous back streets and alleyways of the Lagos underworld to confront her father’s killer. What she finds there will change her life forever...

Shiloh Season (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor)

I'm not much of a series person, but I was quite taken by the first book. I'm not really one to get caught in a series, but I had to know what happens to that mean old nasty Judd Travers. He remains mean and nasty in this book. I guess I have to go on to book three now! Will he ever get his just dues?

If you don't like guns, this is a good book to read. There's so much risk and danger thanks to Judd and his hunting. One of the big problems is his drinking. I loved how we see Marty get what he wants through some hard work. This book is also a good lesson in how not everything is black and white. Sometimes you have to do what you think is important despite disapproval by some.

There were some inconsistencies with the first book. They now have a phone (maybe I missed where they said they got a phone...not sure). I listened to this one on a downloadable audio book and wasn't that taken by the reader. He was an older man and that didn't match in my mind since it is Marty telling the story.

I think you'd be okay to read this book without reading the first. The author reviews the details of the first book well enough to catch people up.

Goodreads summary:

After Marty Preston worked so hard to earn the dog Shiloh, he had hoped that his troubles with Judd Travers were over. He could not rescue all the dogs that Judd mistreated, but since shiloh was the one who ran away and came to him, Shiloh was the one he loved. Judd, however, has other problems. Anyone who cheats and swears and lies and kicks his dogs has troubles inside himself, and when the man starts drinking, Marty realizes that Shiloh is in danger once again. As hunting season approaches and Judd begins hunting on their land, the Prestos know that something is bound to happen.

They're right. Marty does the only thing he can think of to do, and discovers just how deep a hurt can go and how long it takes to heal.

I Am Malala (Malala Yousafzai)

I read this book for book club. It was my turn to choose a book and I've dabbled in this one a number of times (Goodreads says I started reading it Aug 20, 2015!) so I decided it was a good one to pick to read and discuss. In the end, I think it was a good book to discuss at book club.

When I read this book, I was struck by her love for education and had to think about how many of us take the opportunities we have for granted.

It was interesting to read an account of what life was like as the Taliban gradually took over.  Honestly, I'm not sure I would have been as valiant a fighter and she and her father have been. They have lived their life in danger simply because they value education, choice, religion and the freedom to choose. I hesitate to be judgmental, but I really wondered about parents who would allow their child to be so outspoken. Clearly, she suffered the consequences. In the end though, she is a hero. I do not know if I'd be as brave as she and her family has been.

Goodreads summary:

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. 

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)

This is one of those books I had thought I should read for a long time. It's also a book that it's great that we read it for book club because I got so much more out of discussing it than just reading it on my own. Some books do not foster a lot of discussion. This book is the exact opposite! There were so many themes to discuss. At our book club meeting, we didn't really get past segregation and prejudice. Those are big ones! 

Other potential great discussions:

Home: Maya and her brother live in many different homes. They are mainly raised by their grandma but have times where they try living with their mother and with their father, who are not together. Many pivotal moments occur because of their lack of a "home".

Rising from the ashes: Maya isn't penned in by the beliefs of society and the people around her. She is matter of fact about her optimism to do anything anyone else can do.

Matriarchal Society: Men in this story are not positive role models in Maya's life (except for her brother, Brother and her Uncle). Women forge on and succeed despite their place in society.

Literature: Books save Maya. Her first love is William Shakespeare. She is well read and highly influenced by literature.

Beauty: Maya thinks she is ugly. She wishes to be whiter in order to be more beautiful. 

I think we could have had a couple of book club meetings on this book!

Goodreads Summary:

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read. 

Goodreads summary about Maya's life:

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. Maya Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969 which was nominated for a National Book Award and called her magnum opus. 

Flora and Ulysses (Kate DiCamillo)

I have read this book before and blogged about it here.

This time when I read it I kept wondering what the meaning of all the craziness was. There seems like there must be some meaning behind the crazy lamp, the crazy kid who is blind, the crazy parents, the other crazy adults, and of course, the crazy idea that a squirrel can be a superhero!

So many questions:

• Why a superhero squirrel? Does the squirrel represent something? And how does that relate to the mundane superhero Flora loves? What is the connection with The Amazing Incandesto? And what is with Dr. Meescham's ability to fix everything? ...on her horse hair couch?? Is she/it also a superhero?
• There's a theme of love happening here somewhere...Flora wanting love from her mom...her mom seeming to love the lamp more...but in the end we find out she really does love Flora more than the lamp...William goes blind after his mom remarries a man who doesn't respect William Spiver and calls him Billy (interesting that it's important to him to be called by his first AND last name...the name his father would have given him) For his step-father to disrespect that was the ultimate betrayal and of course, justifies putting his vehicle in a pond...and it isn't until William Spiver finally talks about this episode that he can see again. He can "see" again. Then there's the love Dr Meescham feels for her dead husband. And Flora's love for Ulysses, and Ulysses' love for Flora....it's easy and instant. I think all these people really need to read The Five Love Languages!
• Words! Words are very important in this book. Malfeasance. Treacle. Incandesto. Poetry. William Spiver helping Phyllis Buckman find just the right words. Words floating above people's heads.
• Fitting in. Being a misfit. Introversion....so many funny people in this book. Flora's mother is concerned she's a misfit. Flora's father is odd. Flora's mother is odd. Their relationship is broken. Then there is the squid in the picture...lonely...ugly....naturally the way he is.
• Good versus evil. Physllis Buckman = arch nemesis. William Spiver's step-father seems evil to William. Ulysses brings about good. Then there's the squid in the picture....\
• Are Flora and her father, and maybe even William Spiver austic??
• Is it called Illuminated Adventures because all these crazy escapades actually bring light to their lives? Flora finds out her mother does love her. William is able to deal with his mother's remarriage. Anyone else see the light??

Little Red's Riding Hood (Peter Stein)

A great take on a classic story, with a fun twist for kids who really love vehicles! I know of a bunch of little boys who'd really love this one. We all had a good chuckle as we read it. My class did a lot of work last year on different versions of stories, so they really love this kind of story.

Goodreads Summary:

When Little Red's Granny Putt Putt gets sick, the tiny moped scooter races over the river and through the dark woods to bring her a basket of get-well goodies.

But when Little Red crosses paths with Tank, the biggest, loudest, meanest machine around, that no-good monster truck has plans of his own.

Why, Granny, what big wheels you have!
Why, Granny, what big headlights you have!
Why, Granny, what a big hood you have!

From the sparkplug, creative minds of Peter Stein and Chris Gall comes a full-throttle version of the classic LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD tale that will have everyone revving for more.

Superfab Saves the Day (Jean Leroy, Bérengère Delaporte)

This is a superhero that has no sense of time and looking good takes priority over most everything else. It all works out in the end, proving that if you focus on your strengths, you can accomplish good things. However, the problem of always being late may not be something you want to overlook. I'm not sure kids would really catch that though. They certainly did enjoy a giggle as we read this story though.

Goodreads summary:

Meet Superfab, the best-dressed superhero around. He’s got a walk-in closet, an extensive collection of outfits, and fabulous style to boot. The only problem is, he can’t leave his house to go fight crime until he has the perfect outfit on — and sometimes that takes awhile. Sometimes it takes so long that by the time he arrives at the scene of a crime, another superhero has already gotten the job done. Superfab finds himself less and less in demand, until one day he gets called to the scene and discovers that his exquisite sense of style is just the weapon he needs to beat (and befriend) this particular monster. This original take on the superhero story will have readers rooting for the underdog and celebrating Superfab’s unique pizazz. Whimsical illustrations show off the stylish side of this quirky and loveable character who knows the best way to save the day is to be true to yourself.

The Wife, The Maid and The Mistress (Ariel Lowhon)

I learned about this book from one of my favourite podcasts, Books on the Nightstand: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/books-on-the-nightstand/id278076085?mt=2&i=347675868

In the podcast, the author tells a great follow up story to the book. 

I really loved this book. I had trouble, at first, keeping all the characters straight. I am glad I stuck with it though. There were a number of times I responded out loud with gasps or laughter to things happened in the story. This is a great mystery. It is based on a real life account, still unsolved, of someone who went missing in the 1930's.

Goodreads summary:

One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind this great man are three women, each with her own tale to tell: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize any chance to break out of the chorus line.

As the twisted truth emerges, Ariel Lawhon’s wickedly entertaining debut mystery transports us into the smoky jazz clubs, the seedy backstage dressing rooms, and the shadowy streets beneath the Art Deco skyline.(less)

The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones (Will Mabbitt)

                           

I learned about this book from a list of 'must read' books for this summer. I went to the library website to put it on hold and found that the digital copy was available (the printed form won't be out until later this summer). I am not a huge fan of digital books, but I am starting to see some great reasons to read digitally. As I found interesting parts I wanted to remember and blog about I highlighted the text and took a screen shot. It made putting this blog post together so easy! 

This story would be a great read aloud (some of the words might be tricky for my grade three students and it is not too long...about 130 pages) and would be a fun follow up to The BFG. It is full of awful creatures that steal children...but in a matter of fact way that children delight in! They will love the scary bits. They will love the grossness. It is kid perfect!

It is also full of lines that will make any adult snicker, and be perfectly sensible to children. I chuckled all the way through it.

P. 17 Captain Idryss Ebenezer Split turned to his crew and uttered an oath so foul it could NEVER be written down.

 (It contained a word so rude that if an adult whispered it to themselves after bedtime, under the quilt so no one could hear, they could still be arrested and thrown in prison for a very long time.)

The illustrations are hilarious! They seem like the illustrations that would be in Inkheart. Scary!!!

Mabel is taken in the night by a perfectly frightful band of pirates after she does THE DEED (errr, picking her nose and eating it!) They are aghast when they realize they have kidnapped a GIRL. They didn't realize girls did THE DEED.

P. 19 Any final words, girl?” snarled Captain Split.

He made the word “girl” sound like how the smell of dog poo would sound if it made a noise.

It's matter if fastness reminds me of many conversations I have at school with kids all the time. (Insert wings story and balls story): 

P. 23 This morning Mabel Jones had a feeling that she probably wouldn’t be going to school.

This morning she was sitting on a barrel in the cabin of a pirate ship, surrounded by a crew of excited animal pirates. It was actually surprisingly similar to being at school except, instead of a nice principal called Mr. Dobson, there was an evil wolf called Captain Idryss Ebenezer Split.

(That is pretty much the same, right?)

There is all sorts of good advice too! Like: Never trust a man who washes his underpants after just one use. (p. 63)

Mabel Jones is one tough girl....and she isn't even persuaded by handsome princes. She sees right through his beauty for what he really is:

p. 73 She was the man who wanted her to stay with him forever in his castle. As a princess?

A prisoner, more like!

Spinning away from his arm, she snarled...

And there is even a friendship theme that runs through.....poor Omynuss Hush really does need a friend.

The Princess in Black (Shannon and Dean Hale)

This book is perfect for those girls stuck inbetween wanting to be a princess and wanting to be a rough and tumble tomboy. You CAN have it all! I love the Goodreads Summary:

Who says princesses don’t wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black!

Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! A big blue monster is threatening the goats! Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia. But luckily Princess Magnolia has a secret —she’s also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for her! Can the princess sneak away, transform into her alter ego, and defeat the monster before the nosy duchess discovers her secret? From award-winning writing team of Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham, here is the first in a humorous and action-packed chapter book series for young readers who like their princesses ot only prim and perfect, but also dressed in black.
 

There are even monsters in this book - but they're pretty cute. It does eat plates of toe nail clippings though!

However, in this story there is a snoopy Duchess around who believes everyone has secrets. She is determined to find the princesses' black secret.

Great blog post on Jen Robinson's book blog: 

http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/2015/06/the-princess-in-black-shannon-hale-dean-hale-and-leuyen-pham.html

Eerie Elementary: The Locker Ate Lucy (Jack Chabert)

We are really loving these Branches books in my classroom. It's true. They do give kids confidence!

Goodreads summary:

Sam Graves's school is ALIVE!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

In the second book in the series, Sam Graves's friend Lucy disappears into her locker! Sam and his friend Antonio follow a trail of clues that leads them through the locker and deep inside the school. Will they find Lucy? Will they learn why the school is ALIVE? Sam and Antonio must rescue Lucy from this scary school before it's too late!

In this book we also learn why the school is alive. It is a quick read and there's plenty of humor.

Cat At the Wall (Deborah Ellis)

Deborah Ellis never disappoints. I am always surprised, though, that her books are J fiction. While she does handle difficult issues with ease, they are still very difficult issues. I'm not sure elementary or middle school kids would even come close to "getting it". But then again, maybe that is ok.

What I got from this book was similar to her book, Three Wishes. In the Israeli/Palestinian war there is so much hatred that has gone on for so long and it is so complicated, how can there even be any solution. Hating and killing is just a way of life for both sides.

But, somewhere in it all, there is still humanity. However, there is a lot of heartbreak for all to take in.

This book is definitely worth reading. It handles difficult and complex issues and makes you think.

Goodreads summary: 

A cat sneaks into a small Palestinian house on the West Bank that has just been commandeered by two Israeli soldiers. The house seems empty, until the cat realizes that a little boy is hiding beneath the floorboards.

Should she help him?


After all, she's just a cat.


Or is she?


It turns out that this particular cat is not used to thinking about anyone but herself. She was once a regular North American girl who only had to deal with normal middle-school problems -- staying under the teachers' radar, bullying her sister and the uncool kids at school, outsmarting her clueless parents.


But that was before she died and came back to life as a cat, in a place with a whole different set of rules for survival.


When the little boy is discovered, the soldiers don't know what to do with him. Where are the child's parents? Why has he been left alone in the house? It is not long before his teacher and classmates come looking for him, and the house is suddenly surrounded by Palestinian villagers throwing rocks, and the sound of Israeli tanks approaching.


Not my business, thinks the cat. And then she sees a photograph, and suddenly she understands what happened to the boy's parents, and why they have not returned. And as the soldiers begin to panic, and disaster seems certain, she knows that it is up to her to diffuse the situation.


But what can a cat do? What can any one creature do

The Librarian of Basra (Jeanette Winter)

This book had me at the dedication in the front. It says:


"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'"
--Alia Muhammad Baker

The Goodreads summary says:

Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library--along with the thirty thousand books within it--will be destroyed forever.

In a war-stricken country where civilians--especially women--have little power, this true story about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries. Illustrated by Jeanette Winter in bright acrylic and ink.

This is a fabulous story. We read it as part of character study topic: influence. My students decided it was a good book about influence because there are many positives and negatives.  The war is a negative influence, as are the soldiers. Alia Muhammad Baker is a positive influence and inspiring for many people.

We turned this story into a reader's theatre and will be performing it for an assembly. We had five books to choose from. Every child in our class voted for The Librarian of Basra.

Loot (Jude Watson)

This book was recommended to me by one of my former students - a number of times! He stopped me in the hall one day and said he had a great book for book club. Then a couple days later he asked if I had read it. Then again in a couple days. And again. Finally I figured I better get the book!

The story is about a boy who is raised by his dad who lives life as a criminal. He is killed and in his dying words he leaves advice to follow. The rest of the book is a series of twists and turns as a gang of would-be kid criminals go about securing a fortune. Cliff hangers run amok. They are everywhere! 

I can see why kids would love this book. What kid doesn't love kid heroes who get through any tight situations. I found it a little far fetched and figured it could have been told in half the number of pages.....but I do have to give the author credit. It is a fun read!

Definitely best for middle elementary or middle school. A little too complicated for my grade three students, I think.

The Giver (Lois Lowry)

Earlier this month I read Son by Lois Lowry, and after reading that I decided it was time to go back and re-read The Giver as well as the other books in the series.

When I read The Giver in high school, it was really my first go at a dystopian science fictiony type of book. I really didn't get it. I could sense though, that there was something special about this story. Now, reading it again years later, it makes me smile that I have in fact grown up and grown in understanding.

There are many things I love about this book. I love the way it shocks you. Some of the ideas in the book, everyone being equal, for one, are ones that people often view as lofty ideals. Also, releasing people when they've served their time, or are not needed, might on the surface make sense. It works in Jonas' community for many people! However, as he starts to realize what he's missing, he can't swallow living in that community anymore.

This book makes me feel like I need to focus more on what is really in my heart. I need to not worry so much about tradition and ties to expectations from other people. I need to be more willing to do things I want to do. I need to follow my dreams and do what I really love.

Some might assume I'm reading this  because the movie is out right now. I'm a little curious about the movie, but a little afraid it might ruin the special relationship I have with the book (did I ever mention I'm not a huge movie fan anyway?). My book club picked Son for our read for this month, and perhaps that was because of the movie. Not sure. I'm leaving the option open. Still undecided.

It's always interesting to read a variety of opinions on GoodReads. Most people give The Giver a high rating. But there are a few ones. Check one out here. You can search others, if you're really interesting. I only bring this up because I remember talking with a friend who was really upset that her kid was reading this book in school. She thought it was a TERRIBLE book. I can't remember all her reasons. I just remember having the conversation and thinking, 'isn't it great that a book can bring out so many strong emotions?' There's one thing for sure - Lois Lowry does that with this one.