juvenile literature

It’s Fate

Posted by

2

tangle of knots

During one of our icy snow days, I read a new book called A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff. It wasn’t the best book I have ever read but what did stick with me were the connections between the characters. The quirky characters rent rooms in a run down building without knowing they all have a relationship to each other. As the book progresses, little clues are revealed that help the reader solve the mystery about how the characters’ lives intersect. By the end, we know how and why the characters were meant to be together.

Holes

A Tangle of Knots made me think about other books I know that have this fate element to them. Books that weave character stories together to create a clever puzzle of relationships. It is a little bit like a modern (and shorter) version of Great Expectations by Dickens who always intertwined lives so cleverly. Here are the books I like that have an element of fate or destiny or secret connections.

  • The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
  • Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  • Remarkable by Elizabeth Foley
  • The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford
  • A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
  • Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
  • The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
  • When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
  • Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I just ordered The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech, which I think may belong on this list too. Can anyone confirm?

destiny rewritten

I Will Survive

Posted by

7

island of the blue dolphins

A “gateway book” is my name for any book you read completely on your own (maybe around 3rd or 4th grade) that really turns you on to reading. Island of the Blue Dolphins and My Side of the Mountain are two of my gateway books. My gateway books are the old school survival books where the main character is alone in the wild and must use creativity, ingenuity, and problem solving to survive. I wanted to be one of these characters. I wanted to build my own shelter, figure out how to hunt for food, and make clothing. Maybe I did not want to do the food hunting thing, but I definitely wanted to get a peek inside Sam’s tree and Karana’s whale bone home.

In my experience, kids love reading about young characters who are completely self-reliant and can take care of themselves with little adult help.

the sign of the beaver

Classic Survival Books

These are the books people name when discussing survival books. Most of these follow the classic story of a main character who has to survive alone in the wild with very few resources– my favorite plot line.

  • Far North by Will Hobbs (and others by this author)
  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (and sequels)
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
  • Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
  • Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey
  • My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (and sequels)
  • The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
  • Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Alternate Survival Books

These books stray a little from the kid on his own against the elements. There might be a group fighting together to survive, or the characters are in a populated area rather than stranded in an isolated location. They are good but not quite as magical for me.

  • The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
  • Conspiracy 365 series by Gabrielle Lord (6th grade+)
  • Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (6th grade+)
  • Getting Air by Dan Gutman (my students like this book; I think the writing is poor.)
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (6th grade+)
  • The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
  • Journey into Terror by Bill Wallace
  • Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer (7th grade+)
  • The Lion’s Paw by Robb White
  • The Maze Runner and sequels by James Dashner (6th grade+)
  • The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse
  • Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong (non-fiction)
  • Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
  • The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (6th grade+)
  • A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements
  • The White Mountains by John Christopher (and sequels)

my side of the mountainDo you have a gateway book, and if so, was it a survival story of some kind?

Through Space and Time

Posted by

7

pi in the skyI just finished reading Wendy Mass’ latest book, Pi in the Sky. I have not decided if I like the book or not. Some parts confused me, but other parts about beings who oversee our universe and are responsible for keeping the planets in orbit kept me reading. There is a space/time element in the book as well.

magic halfI started thinking about books I have read where characters travel through time to a different reality, and the character’s world is still running in a parallel universe, so the space-time continuum is disrupted. I kind of like the circular thinking of a person returning to the past, disrupting an event that occurred, and then meeting up again in present day a la Back to the Future. It has the ability to blow your mind if you really concentrate on the whole concept of time. Here are a few book choices that deal with dropping in and out of time.

george washingtons socks

  • Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer– This is for a more sophisticated reader. The language and vocabulary is more difficult, and the story pace can be slow. I like this book, though.
  • Children of the Red King, Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo– Many people list this as a Harry Potter read-alike. This book is the second in the series.
  • The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen– Holocaust alert!
  • George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff– If you are a fan of Magic Treehouse. This is like a Magic Treehouse for an older reader. Woodruff has companion books too.
  • The Gideon Trilogy, The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer– I loved the first book; I could not finish the sequel.
  • The Magic Half by Annie Barrows– My favorite time travel book.
  • North of Nowhere by Liz Kessler– Found this because I love the author’s Emily Windsnap series so much.
  • Teddy Powers: The Stone Keepers by Anne Todd– This is a self-published book by a parent at my school. My students (and Mr. Star Wars) love this book. It is available on Amazon.
  • The 13th Reality, The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner– This book can be slow in parts, but the concept of parallel lives existing at the same time held my interest.
  • The Wells Bequest: A Companion to the Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman– I really liked the Grimm Legacy, so you may want to read both books.
  • When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead– This book is so much better if you are familiar with A Wrinkle in Time.
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle– One of the originals for this type of science fiction (in my opinion).

teddy powersI am trying to remember the name of a book I read as a child about a character who would walk down a foggy street and be transported back in time. I think the setting of the story was London. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Please help me out with a title if you read this book too!

Middle School Book Club

Posted by

0

maze runner

I am sponsoring a 7th grade book club this semester at my school. Even though I am having to deal with the 7th grade beast (I so admire middle school teachers), I love reading books for an “older” audience. Book selection has been a little bit of a challenge. I can’t get the students to agree on one book choice, and it has been tricky to find appropriate books.

Below is my working list for the book club. Several I have ruled out because I think they are better suited for a high school kid. A few were recommended to me, and they are in my “to read” pile.

In the end, I probably could have had a dystopian society book club because the students picked between Maze Runner and Divergent as the first book pick, then traded books with each other, then read the sequels. We just moved on to the Fairy Tale/Fantasy genre, which I forced on them because I wanted to go see the Oz movie as an after school field trip.

The students unanimously picked The Recruit to read after we finish the Fairy Tale books. I anticipate that decision will change by the next meeting. Anything I could add as suggestions to my students? Any advice about the books in the “to read” list?

divergent

Dystopian

  • The Maze Runner series by Dashner
  • Divergent series by Roth
  • Matched trilogy by Condie
  • Ship Breaker by Bacigalupi (slow start, high school)
  • The Chocolate War by Cormier (high school level)
  • Life as We Knew It series by Pfeffer (high school level– could not put this book down)
  • City of Bones, Mortal Instruments series by Clare (8th grade+)

peter and the starcatchers

Fairy Tale

  • Entwined by Dixon
  • Wizard of Oz series by Baum
  • Peter Pan by Barrie
  • Peter and the Starcatchers series by Barry
  • The Grimm Legacy by Shulman

the recruit

Mystery/Spy

  • The Recruit, CHERUB series by Muchamore

On My To Read List

  • Gods Among Us (Divine Masquerade Series) by D.C. Belton
  • Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson
  • The Apothecary by Ian Schoenherr
  • Red Scarf Girl by Jiang

Fairy Tale Spin Offs

Posted by

9

grimms fairy tales

One of my students loaned me a book called The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. You might recognize the author name as one of the Glee actors (yes, the TV show). The book sat on my nightstand for over a month before I finally picked it up. The student was starting to ask questions, and I was getting embarrassed. I judged the book by its cover– or rather the actor/author name and had pretty low expectations, but I needed to be able to make a few comments to my sweet student about the story. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a fun spin on the “ever after” of all of the best fairy tale characters.

Throw a library card, and you will hit a fairy tale spin off book. The books are everywhere right now, and I am hooked. Here is my suggested list. I have read only a few and most are on my “to read” list. Which one should I read next?

land of stories colfer

Upper Elementary

  • Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (Enchanted series)
  • The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm series)
  • Happily Ever After by Anna Quindlen
  • The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
  • Rapunzel, The One With All the Hair by Wendy Mass (Twice Upon a Time series)
  • A Tale Dark and Grimm series by Adam Gidwitz
  • The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker (and others by this author)

entwined by heather dixon

Middle School

  • Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Woodcutter series, mixed reviews)
  • Entwined by Heather Dixon
  • The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
  • The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman

red riding hood

And a picture book that I thought looked fun…

  • Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan (and others in this series)