* Owl Moon Jane Yolen
This is a great read. It is about a young boy who is finally able to go owling with his father, an indication that he is mature enough to go. During his travel it is cold, and dark and has to follow quickly to keep up. Once they get to the designated spot, the father gives out a hoot and calls for an owl. The owl returns the call and shows itself. The young boy is thrilled and so is the father. Soon they head back, and they know their relationship will forever be different. The son knows that his father looks at him no longer as a young child, but as a mature kid. The sons affection for the father changes as well, because now he has done something special with him and will forever remember. The illustrations in this are gorgeous, the snow looks as if it is real and you can just feel the coldness of the night, and the darkness engulfing you. It is a great read for kids of all ages, but is especially nice for young children who are about to reach that age of knowing and maturity, of coming of age. 2nd grade and older are best suited for this excellent read. The content is not hard to understand but it might bring up questions from the younger children.
Showing posts with label award-winning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label award-winning. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
* The View From Saturday E.L. Konigsburg
This is an excellent realistic fiction novel about coming of age for four very different middle school young adults, who all join the quiz bowl team with the encouragement of a very special teacher. Mrs. Olinski is a teacher who is left parapeligic who comes back to school to teach. In her class are 4 very different students. Nadia who is in the middle of divorcing parents, Noah who spent the summer with his grandfather, Julian who has just moved into a bed and breakfast, and Ethan who lives on a farm and has a very different family. They come together and compliment eachother nicely, and over tea become "The Souls." These 6th graders soon take the quiz bowl world by storm and win the acedmic bowl, which is un heard of because this group is younger than everyone else on the teams they compete against. This is a great story of coming of age and learning to be comfortable in your identity. It is easily relateable because some of the kids are bullied by the big mean kids in the school, and others are sensative and are learning to cope with it. This story is best for 5th grade and up do to the content of the story, love, understanding and identity. It is also a novel and can be long, with some mature content.
This is an excellent realistic fiction novel about coming of age for four very different middle school young adults, who all join the quiz bowl team with the encouragement of a very special teacher. Mrs. Olinski is a teacher who is left parapeligic who comes back to school to teach. In her class are 4 very different students. Nadia who is in the middle of divorcing parents, Noah who spent the summer with his grandfather, Julian who has just moved into a bed and breakfast, and Ethan who lives on a farm and has a very different family. They come together and compliment eachother nicely, and over tea become "The Souls." These 6th graders soon take the quiz bowl world by storm and win the acedmic bowl, which is un heard of because this group is younger than everyone else on the teams they compete against. This is a great story of coming of age and learning to be comfortable in your identity. It is easily relateable because some of the kids are bullied by the big mean kids in the school, and others are sensative and are learning to cope with it. This story is best for 5th grade and up do to the content of the story, love, understanding and identity. It is also a novel and can be long, with some mature content.
* A Year Down Yonder Richard Peck
This is realistic fiction. This is a fantastic story about a young girl during the depression in chicago. She is sent to live with her grandmother in the south because her family can not afford to keep her and are forced to move into a small one bedroom apartment. The young woman moves in with her very unique grandmothe, and has to become accustomed to life in a small town in the south. She begins school and does not have very nice clothes, and her clothes are different because she is from a big city, not like the others in her class. She begins a crush on this boy, who a very popular girl has a crush on too. She invites him over to help her with her math and duriing his visit a snake falls from the attic and scares the daylights out of him and he takes off home. She thinks she is never going to see him again and will die from embaressment. Soon after he is going to go away to college and he comes calling on her again and asks if she will wait for him. She goes back to Chicago to be with her family, and during the summer she goes back to her grandmothers farm to marry that boy and start her life in that same little town she dreaded. This is such a great story of finding something great during a time of duress. This is a great read for young adults who are independent readers and enjoy a love story. 5th grade up through 12th grade could all enjoy this story equally, while getting different things out of it.
This is realistic fiction. This is a fantastic story about a young girl during the depression in chicago. She is sent to live with her grandmother in the south because her family can not afford to keep her and are forced to move into a small one bedroom apartment. The young woman moves in with her very unique grandmothe, and has to become accustomed to life in a small town in the south. She begins school and does not have very nice clothes, and her clothes are different because she is from a big city, not like the others in her class. She begins a crush on this boy, who a very popular girl has a crush on too. She invites him over to help her with her math and duriing his visit a snake falls from the attic and scares the daylights out of him and he takes off home. She thinks she is never going to see him again and will die from embaressment. Soon after he is going to go away to college and he comes calling on her again and asks if she will wait for him. She goes back to Chicago to be with her family, and during the summer she goes back to her grandmothers farm to marry that boy and start her life in that same little town she dreaded. This is such a great story of finding something great during a time of duress. This is a great read for young adults who are independent readers and enjoy a love story. 5th grade up through 12th grade could all enjoy this story equally, while getting different things out of it.
* Rumplestiltskin Paul Zelinsky
Rumplestiltskin is a traditional tale, it is a fairytale. The story begins as an old poor man tells the king that his daughter can turn silken string into spun gold, and the king believes the old man. He takes the daughter to his castle in his kingdom and gives her string to spin into gold. She cries and is overwhelmed, because she can not spin string into gold. Then this little man appears and says that he can spin it into gold but he must get something in return. She offers her jewelry and the little man agrees and by morning has spun the string into gold. The following day the king comes and sees that the string has been spun into gold and takes her to another room filled with even more to be spun into gold. He then tells her that if it is not spun into gold by morning he will have her killed. She begins to cry, and that same little man returns. He asks what she will give him to spin the string into gold, but she has nothing left. He then tells her that he will spin the silk into gold if she promises to give up her first born son to him. She does so believing that she will never see the little man again, and also that she will not have a first born son for a long time to come. The king comes and sees that the silk has been turned into gold and instead of killing the young woman he promises marriage to the prince. They are married soon after and soon have a baby son. The little man returns and wants the child. He then says that if she can find out his name then he will forget the dowry of the first born son, and the woman sends one of her servants to follow the little man into the forest. The servant hears the little man chanting his name and saying that the woman will never figure it out and soon he will have a son to teach. The servant quickly returns to tell of the news that the little man's name is "Rumplstiltskin." The following morning the little man returns to collect the newborn and the woman plays name games. She purposely says the wrong name until he is ready to take the son, and then she says or is your name.... RUMPLESTILTSKIN.. and the little man screams NOOO and takes off out the window and the woman is able to keep her secret and her precious bundle of joy. This story is a classic fairytale retold. This story is best suited for older children do to the difficult language and the story line of possibly being killed due to inability to perform a task, and also giving up a child in return for a favor.
Rumplestiltskin is a traditional tale, it is a fairytale. The story begins as an old poor man tells the king that his daughter can turn silken string into spun gold, and the king believes the old man. He takes the daughter to his castle in his kingdom and gives her string to spin into gold. She cries and is overwhelmed, because she can not spin string into gold. Then this little man appears and says that he can spin it into gold but he must get something in return. She offers her jewelry and the little man agrees and by morning has spun the string into gold. The following day the king comes and sees that the string has been spun into gold and takes her to another room filled with even more to be spun into gold. He then tells her that if it is not spun into gold by morning he will have her killed. She begins to cry, and that same little man returns. He asks what she will give him to spin the string into gold, but she has nothing left. He then tells her that he will spin the silk into gold if she promises to give up her first born son to him. She does so believing that she will never see the little man again, and also that she will not have a first born son for a long time to come. The king comes and sees that the silk has been turned into gold and instead of killing the young woman he promises marriage to the prince. They are married soon after and soon have a baby son. The little man returns and wants the child. He then says that if she can find out his name then he will forget the dowry of the first born son, and the woman sends one of her servants to follow the little man into the forest. The servant hears the little man chanting his name and saying that the woman will never figure it out and soon he will have a son to teach. The servant quickly returns to tell of the news that the little man's name is "Rumplstiltskin." The following morning the little man returns to collect the newborn and the woman plays name games. She purposely says the wrong name until he is ready to take the son, and then she says or is your name.... RUMPLESTILTSKIN.. and the little man screams NOOO and takes off out the window and the woman is able to keep her secret and her precious bundle of joy. This story is a classic fairytale retold. This story is best suited for older children do to the difficult language and the story line of possibly being killed due to inability to perform a task, and also giving up a child in return for a favor.
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