It was nice to go back and read this book just for fun. A book with a main character named Comfort? with a dog named Dismay? and a family who runs the town's funeral parlor? How could you go wrong?!?
This book was a reread. I had used it as a book club book with a fifth grade group of girls in 2014. We used it as we talked about friendship and change.
It was nice to go back and read this book just for fun. A book with a main character named Comfort? with a dog named Dismay? and a family who runs the town's funeral parlor? How could you go wrong?!?
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by Gary Paulsen This quick read is a great one to capture the attention of any group of middle schoolers and quickly draw them into the atrocities of slavery. This book, more than any other I have read on the topic, quickly gets to the point that freedom should be a privilege for us all. It should be understood that be educated well, helps us know how to hang on to those freedoms and defend them with all our wits and power.
by Kendal Privette
No picture available. Psalms 139:14 127 > 98 >122 We are not a number. No a weight to be measured, or an IQ to be tested, or a age to be gauged. We are people, to be appreciated and enjoyed for who we are and what we do. It is easy to loss the "sunshine on the inside." 74 A great read!! What a great lady to share her journey in such a honest way. by Susan Campbell Bartoletti Would you die for truth? Would you risk your life so that the truth might be revealed to others? Die for the freedom of speech? The main character in this book, Helmuth Hubener, was an actual 16-year-old German living through the Nazi regime during WWII who is sentenced to death for listening to a British radio station for the unvarnished truth of what was happening in the war. (German radios only reported the government's version of what was occurring.) He would then type up pamphlets to be distributed around Hamburg, Germany with the facts. Either of these acts could be seen as treason.
As I read this book, I am surprised at the organization of this book...it is a chapter book with no chapters. Literally, you begin this book and it is a continuous story until it ends. It is also unique in that it italicizes the words as the narrator tells his story in the present. Most of the story develops in the other sections that flashback to the narrator's past to explain who he has landed himself in jail waiting for his own execution. By Jennifer A. Nielsen "Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings." (68)
I have read many, many books about WWII, but this is the first book I can remember reading set just prior to WWII giving us a fictional, first-hand account of Germany's condition. This book is set in post-war Berlin that was divided up by the Allies with Russia taking control of the Eastern section. The Russian government and "Democratic Germany Republic" force a physical separation with in the country's capitol by erecting a concrete wall between East and West, creating one physical boundary for the scene of the Cold War. "Hatred between the east and west was growing, and Berlin seemed caught in the center of what the world described as the Cold War, a standoff of loud threats and puffed-out chests. Hopefully, it wouldn't lead to anyone bringing out their guns." (4) This book begins very slowly, but once you are able to become invested in the characters, the plot becomes tense and the reader is drawn in to see if Greta and Fritz are able to successfully reunite their family in the West. "The tourists couldn't do anything for me. Not even the powerful governments of the west could break through the Iron Curtain. And everyone inside East Germany with any sort of influence stood shoulder to shoulder with Russia. No, there was only one person who could change my situation. Me." (76) This book is a really good read for anyone interested in the Cold War period or interested in how a society can be manipulated or strong-armed into obedience, even if it is forced to behave contrary to their own nature. "I felt like a disease. Just as my father had infected me, I could now infect others. But with what? courage to speak out? To act? To think and question and believe what I wanted to believe? Somehow I lived in a world where these things where these were bad things." (67) By John Stephens This is a story about 3 siblings who have been taken from their parents only to discover, years later, that they were meant to a higher purpose, that they in fact have a destiny to fulfill. So as the work with dwarves, giant men and a wizard to defeat an evil Countess and her legions for the Emerald Atlas. This atlas is no ordinary book. It enables them to travel through time to correct histories mistakes and right the wrongs of the past...hopefully they will be able to rescue their parents and reunite their own family.
Kate, the oldest: "Actually, I think I always could. I just wan't ready. Dr. Pym knew that. He told em the book wouldn't listen to me till my heart was healed...For me, it was wondering is our parents really loves us. How could they, when they'd abandoned us? But when you helped me go back in time, my mother knew who I was. She recognized my as her daughter. I'll never question her love again. It's like knowing where north is. Whatever happens, I'll have that to guide me." (403) Michael, the middle child: "I know more about dwarves than almost anyone. All my life I've read anything I could find. They were the bravest soldiers, the most loyal friends. People were always underestimating them, but they always won because they were the smartest and worked the hardest." (232) Emma, the youngest: "year after year, orphanage after orphanage, Emma had never given up. She's always fought. Because she knew, wherever they went, her brother and sister would be there. They were her family, the one sure thing in her life." (110) When I pick up a book with a one word title, I expect it to be a significant choice. Crow by Barabara Wright (like Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson) did not disappoint.
Just a few: Advice from Grandma: “Don’t crow till you fet out de woods. There might be a bear behind the last tree.” (103) Grandma talking about herself: “If you think an unlettered old crow like me can’t see the use in a good education, you be wrong.” (135) Daddy when Moses asks is white people are better than us: “You have heard the saying, ‘Every crow thinks her own bird the fairest?’ It’s common to find one’s own kind the most beautiful. From the seagull’s perspective, what is more natural and beautiful. The opposite is true for the crows. Whose to say what it is more beautiful than black? Who sets the standard? 172 Moses Thomas gets the importance of and discusses at least 2 forms of education, formal and informal: “She (Boo Nanny) taught me things that Daddy, will all his degrees, didn’t know…(tides, stars in different seasons, wonders/powers of nature). 106 Moses is a reader. He says of Treasure Island he got from his father for Christmas, “I for the books from my room and turned to the first page. I knew how the story turned out, for I had to read it several times-twice on my own, and once with Boo Nanny- but still I couldn’t wait to get into the tale again.” 145 Moses studies words and their subtleties. “I did what I always sis with a new word- worked it around in my head so it would stick.” 163 Universal theme of this book is ignorance and its results when left unchecked…the Wilmington Race Riots of 18 being one ugly example in our history… Moses asks, “Why do they hate us, Daddy?” “Ignorance. People hate and fear whet they don’t understand. The best things we can do is get to know our white neighbors, work with him, show him what makes us tick- that we’re no different from him.” 171 …and a boy’s education as he experiences it firsthand: “I could feel my father’s presence in the room, could hear him say, “This is how it starts. One small step, and you ignore what you know to be right, and then the nest time, it is easier to do, and the next time a little easier still, and before you know it, every ounce of your self-worth is gone. 286 LOVED this book!! Ms. Turnage (What a great name for an author…almost like turn the page!) had me from the first paragraph!
“Trouble cruised into Tupelo Landing at exactly seven minutes past noon on Wednesday, the third of June, flashing a gold badge and driving a Chevy Impala the color of dirt. Almost before the dust had settled, Mr. Jesse turned up dead and life in Tupelo Landing turned upside down.” (1) From the colorful phrases, “Trouble cruised” and “turned up dead and life turned upside down” to how she delivers details; “flashing a gold badge” and “before the dust had settled” (from the Chevy Impala). Car lovers would know so much about this character, Detective Joe Starr (Get it? Gold badge+ Starr? She added an “r” to the traditional spelling but gives her investigator a name that signifies his profession), by the fact that he drives a Chevy Impala. The name of the town, Tupelo Landing, could only mean it is in the South, North Carolina to be specific. Just like most southern towns with a population of 148 (5), Tupelo Landing seems to be made up of interesting individuals who all have a story to tell. Each has their own issues and shortcomings that would seem to make them standout or be a misfit, but in a small town like this only gives them enough character to fit in perfectly and mesh as a community. “We got two streets in Tupelo Landing: First Street, where the café sits, and Last, where Lavender lives. We like to say if you’re looking for somebody in Tupelo Landing, you will find them, First and Last.” (42) Turnage goes on to use all that major character’s names to tell us even more about them. Hardly any of the important relationships in the book are straightforward. For instance, the main character was found in a tree during a flood. Her name is Moses who has an “Upstream Mother” and explains early on, “It’s Biblical. Don’t take this wrong, but the last person to make fun of it got swallowed by the Red Sea.”(15) We have to wonder until the end of the book if the one who found her (Colonel) is the hero she always believed him to be or a criminal who was/is running from his past. Mo’s best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III (“whose family knows cars” 5) is named after Dale Earnhardt and one of Wilkes County’s favorite sons, Jimmy Johnson. (45) With so much going on in the plot and written in such a creative, smartly entertaining way, this book has something for everyone. I could go on forever, but let’s just suffice in saying…YOU need to read it! A nonfiction that is loaded with colorful pictures and eye-catching design. This book has four sections that cover the Greek warrior, Roman gladiators, Japanese Samurai, and European knights (not just English). Each section includes its own table of contents for a fast survey of the sections specific topics. This book also includes a glossary and index for easy research. This book is a fast read. It also includes lots of categories covered in each section for easy compare and contrast activities as the reader collects information.
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Kelly HollemanI am the media coordinator at Central Wilkes Middle School. I am in my 5th year here and 10th year in media. The intent of this blog is to post experiences with books as I read them so that I might be able to better share them with all of you! Archives
June 2020
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