Category Archives: Book groups

Book groups, Storytime

No storytime today

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I’ve come down with a yucky cold, and have decided that I should keep myself home this morning instead of infecting my coworkers and the storytime children.  So no storytime today, my apologies; but I’m guessing everyone would rather miss one storytime than get a cold in the midst of this already miserable winter.

I will be in for this afternoon’s Skype visit with Ellen Potter, being very careful not to spread my germs to the fifth graders in the book group.  (Luckily, the author won’t be susceptible to my germs!)  Until then, though, I think I’d better take a nice long nap.  Achoo.  Hack hack hack.  Sound of kleenex being used.  I hate colds.

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Children's literature, Etc.

Reading…ah…

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With all of this blasted snow that’s been falling (and needing to be shovelled) lately, with trying to “start up” my new “business” (it’s all a joke, really, who am I kidding?), with the messiness of the bathroom renovation – with all of that taking up my days and energy, I haven’t had much time to read.  And reading is my favorite winter activity, sitting all warm and snuggly and carefree by the woodstove.

So this morning I decided to get a million things done before breakfast: pay the bills, go to the bank, mail the bills (necessarily in that order), go to Idylwilde for food supplies before the pre-storm crazy people get there, come home and refill the three suet feeders and the three bird feeders, dig out an exhaust tunnel for the furnace vent pipe (again), and bring in a big load of firewood.  And then, start the fire, vacuum up the mess of detritus in front of the woodstove, make a lovely pot of Cheericup tea, eat breakfast standing up because I’m so famished, check in on my Etsy store to see if I’ve made any sales (of course not), and write this blog post.

Guess what comes next?  Reading!!!  Since Ellen Potter is Skyping with the 5th grade book group on Tuesday, I’ve decided to settle in and have an Ellen Potter marathon.  First up is the rest of the Olivia Kidney series [note that there are three separate links to the three sequels], then Pish Posh, then The Kneebone Boy.  I’m really enjoying Potter’s style of writing and quirky take on the world, and I’m really looking forward to Tuesday’s Skype visit.  The only unfortunate thing about a book group Skype visit is that I doubt I’ll have much time to chat with the author – this visit is about the kids, not me, and I’m guessing they’re going to be exploding with questions for Ms. Potter.  And I’ll be busy moderating and trying to aim the webcam at each speaker.  But it will still be exciting and new and different, and it’s inspiring me to read a bunch of books that I’ve been meaning to read for quite a while.

And on that note, I think I’ll get to it.  Happy reading to me!!

Book groups, Teens, Young adult book review

Demons of the Ocean

Jim and our friend Greg are working on the bathroom renovation this afternoon, while I do various library projects like download Skype for the upcoming author visit, read the book for Tuesday’s teen book group, and make a new feltboard story for the Cat storytime.  I’m really, really looking forward to the teen book group book, Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper, and I am so glad that it’s finally time to read it.  The book (and its sequels) have intrigued me since Lisa and I first ordered them for the library collection, and I’ve become even more psyched to read it since I’ve heard so much great feedback from the teen book group members.  Three of the teens in the group have made a point of coming to visit me in the children’s room to tell me how much they love the book.  In fact, they all have loved the book so much that they have gone on to read all of its sequels.  That’s really high praise from a discriminating bunch of readers.

And now I think I’d best stop writing and start reading.  I’ll let you know what my opinion of the book is once I’ve finished it.

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Children's literature

Ellen Potter visit

It’s official – Ellen Potter will be joining the 5th grade book group via Skype on February 8 for discussion of her book Olivia Kidney!! 

As I said to Ellen in my most recent email to her, I had not yet read Olivia Kidney when Ellen first contacted me – the book had been enthusiastically proposed for discussion by a book group member, and I was happy that I had a reason to finally read this book.  And guess what?  I LOVE this book!  It’s quirky, well-written, unexpected, funky, and insightful.  To give the book and its author the best compliment I can think of, I’d say that Olivia Kidney is akin to the best of E.L. Konigsburg’s books. 

So I’m thrilled that we’ll be able to chat with Ellen Potter during the book group meeting.  I’ll be sending out an email to all the group members telling them this exciting news, and maybe they can prepare a bit for “meeting” the author – jot down a few questions they’d like to ask her, and maybe even read the book a second time if they are able.  It will be fun!!  And the most fun part?  The book group member who suggested the book, and who advocated so strongly for it, will be celebrating a birthday on the day of the book group.  What a cool way to spend your birthday, chatting with an author you admire!

Book groups, Children's book reviews

The Seems

Oh, dear.  It’s happened again.  The book for today’s book group is almost as annoying and self-consciously clever as Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.  For today’s book group, the sixth graders almost unanimously chose The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep by John Hulme and Michael Wexler, the first in a series that has been moderately popular at my library.  I was looking forward to reading this book…and then I started it.  Ick.  That’s really the only word I can use to describe it – ick.  The authors have created a fantasy about The World (that would be where you and I live) and The Seems, where the crew that keeps The World running live and work.  There are people working in the Department of Sleep and the Department of Weather, there are Fixers and Case Workers, and there is a connection between The World and The Seems that involves The Door and the Transport Tube (and don’t forget to wear your Transport GogglesTM while in the Transport Tube).  And all of those capital letters are not my invention – the authors did that.  The name of almost every object begins with a capital letter, and many things are trademarked (like the Transport Goggles) or have annoying footnotes explaining them.

I know I’m not the target audience, and that if I were younger I might have a different perspective on this book.  But I also know that I talked to the mom of one of the kids in the book group, and she told me that her child would not be attending today’s group because her child hated the book so much.  So my harsh judgement of this book may be echoed by the kids in today’s discussion.  Even if the kids don’t all agree with me, though, I really do think I’m justified in criticizing this book for trying too darn hard to be cute and clever.  I repeat:  ICK.

Book groups

And the winner is…

Alyson! 

Alyson wins the blog detective award for figuring out the name of the author who will be Skyping (hopefully that’s a word) with the fifth grade book group in February.  And she smartly only listed the author’s initials, since the Big Announcement is yet to come, pending final confirmation with the author.

Congrats Alyson!  🙂

Book groups, Children's literature

Virtual Author Visit

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The details aren’t firmed up yet, so I won’t divulge the author’s name, but one of the authors of one of the February book group books has contacted me (via Barbara at the library, since I’m off this week) about joining our upcoming book group discussion via Skype.  How cool is that?!?!  The author even promised me that he/she would help me with my Skype naivete by doing a Skype dry run prior to the book group meeting (what a nice person, this author!). 

I can’t wait to tell the kids in the group that this will be happening, especially since the book was suggested by one of the book group members who advocated so strongly for the book that she got the rest of the kids in the group to vote for it as one of our choices.  And she’s stood up to a bit of gentle teasing, since the other kids in the group originally thought that she said the book is about a girl who sees goats…she really was saying “ghosts,” but somehow it kind of sounded like “goats.”  And that, dear friends, was a BIG hint for you.  I hope the detectives in my readership can track down which book and which author we’re talking about.  Another hint: I did list the book choices for all of the book groups for the rest of the year in a previous post.  I’d offer a fabulous prize for the person who can figure this out, but, alas, I’m quite broke.  But I will mention you by name on the blog if your detective skills lead you to the right book.

Meanwhile, I’m just thrilled that this author found us and is willing to visit with us via Skype.  Very, very, very cool.

Book groups, Children's literature

The Capture

As I write this, Pippa is sleeping on the ottoman by the woodstove, so totally and completely asleep that her mouth is hanging open a bit and her whiskers are twitching.  Ah, to be a cat who lives in a house with a woodstove…

Which, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the book The Capture by Kathryn Lasky.  As I mentioned in a past post, we discussed The Capture at last Tuesday’s Teen Book Group meeting, and I wasn’t too thrilled about having to read the book (I may have even used the word “procrastinating”).  But I did read the whole book before the book group meeting, and I really don’t have any problems with it.  It’s not my favorite genre – as Jennifer says, talking animal books get old pretty fast – but for its chosen genre of animal fantasy, it is fairly well done.  Lasky is a very competent writer, and I was pleased that there weren’t glaring grammatical errors as I’ve seen in some other recently read children’s books.  I appreciate that the pace of her prose is smooth and clean, though I would agree with one of the teens in the group that character development is minimal, which is a serious flaw of the book.

(Pippa just woke up, suddenly, with glazed and confused eyes and a tiny bit of relaxed drool on her bottom lip.  Ah, woodstoves.)

As for the book group’s discussion on Tuesday – there wasn’t much to be said.  I had fears of this when the group voted nearly unanimously to read this book for the January meeting, but I thought that perhaps my fears were misplaced.  They weren’t.  The teen book group is made up of seventh, eighth, and ninth graders, and The Capture has an intended (and actual) readership of third and fourth graders.  Meaning that the older kids really couldn’t find much to discuss in this book.  I had suspected that we’d have a hard time filling the one hour book group meeting, so I had the DVD player set up and played the first twenty minutes of the recently released movie Legends of the Guardians at the start of our meeting, hoping that the compare/contrast between movie and book would help to fill our allotted time.  It did, somewhat, but conversation was definitely waning long before the group meeting was over.  As we were cleaning up at the end, three of the girls and I talked together about how difficult it was to find anything to discuss in this book.  And we did all agree that it was just plain too young for them, in this book group context.

Next month’s book should be much more conducive to discussion, though: we’ll be reading Demons of the Ocean, first in the Vampirates series, by Justin Somper.  Vampire pirates?  How totally cool.  And I have absolute faith in this book choice for the group, since it was suggested by a group member who has consistently made excellent choices for us.  She’s got great taste, and we all trust her!!

And Pippa is wide awake now, basking contentedly in the bright morning sun that is now coming through the window – double bliss, sunshine and woodstove.

Book groups, Children, Children's literature

Reading

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The 6th Grade Book Group met on Tuesday, and we had such a good meeting (eight attended the meeting – only one member abstained from attending, and that was because he hated the book).  This group of kids is smart, funny, well-read, and increasingly more mature and sophisticated.  It’s a joy to see them growing up and to see them developing and voicing their thoughts and opinions.

We discussed Michelle Harrison’s 13 Treasures, a book that I’ll cover in more detail in a separate post.  Though our discussion did mostly focus on this particular book, my favorite part of the group meeting was when we each answered a question from the book club edition of Table Topics cards:  “Why do you like to read?”  This question really sparked everyone’s interest, and there were some great responses.  As always, it’s hard to completely replicate this kind of intense, rapid-fire conversation, but here’s my best attempt to remember everyone’s comments:

  • “I really like to read, then create a movie in my mind.”  To which I replied, “That sounds like something a teacher might say…”, prompting this passionately spoken follow-up response: “Yeah, but I really DO like to create a movie in my mind.  I like to imagine what the characters look like, what the scenery looks like, and to imagine how the book would come to life.”
  • “I really really like suspense in a book.  I really like it when I don’t know what’s going to happen next, and I’m on the edge of my seat.”
  • “I love fantasy and action – I love imaginary things.”
  • “I love the way that when you’re reading a book you completely and totally forget about everything else in your life – you’re so busy reading and imagining that you can’t think about other things.”  [Lots of agreement to this statement – reminding me, the grown-up, how tough it is to be a sixth grader.]
  • “I’m completely the opposite of Jane – I HATE suspense!!!  I hate not knowing what’s going to come next!!!!”
  • “I love when you finish a book and you can move on to the sequel, and continue to find out more about the characters and what happens to them.”
  • “I love reading and reading and reading, as much as I can, as fast as I can.”

There were many other great comments, which my aging brain cannot, unfortunately, remember.  And then there was a lull in the discussion, and I said, “It’s interesting to me that you all had great responses to this question, but no one had the response that I have – that I love to read because I love to see how authors use language, especially in really well-written books.”  And the kids agreed that yes, they mostly read for plot, not language.  So I mentioned that one of my favorite children’s books has an incredibly lovely first paragraph that makes me misty eyed every time I read it.  Surprisingly, most of the kids had never read Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, though one or two had seen the movie (and I told them there is absolutely NO comparison between the book and the movie).  I could see some of the group was intrigued by the idea of this lovely first paragraph, so I asked Suzy to go out into the children’s room and see if the book was on the shelf, which it was.  And I asked the kids to really listen to the words – to even close their eyes if they were going to be distracted by their neighbors, and I read this wonderful paragraph out loud:

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.  The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot.  It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.  Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.  There is no thunder, no relieving rain.  These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.  (Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975.)

There was a moment of silence when I finished reading this paragraph, then one bright-eyed boy quietly said, “Could you read that again?”  Which I did.  And then there was more silence, and not much discussion of what I had just read, but I could tell that the kids were moved by Babbitt’s language.  Some things don’t need to be talked about – some things can just be understood by everyone in a room.

And then our time was up, and we had to clean up and distribute the books for our January meeting.  As the kids were leaving the room, I thanked them several times for a great meeting – and for being such a great group.  Thanks, guys, again, for your thoughts on books and reading.  It was inspiring!!

Book groups, Etc.

Cranky

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Yes, surprise surprise, I’m cranky today.

  • There’s nothing in the house to eat for dinnner.
  • Jim is at the Patriots game…no extra ticket for the wife…grrrrr…
  • I have to make a feltboard story this afternoon for tomorrow’s storytime – and I’m so NOT in the mood.  (The story is Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London, for the Winter theme Storytime for 2’s & 3’s tomorrow.)
  • I have to finish reading the book for Tuesday’s meeting of the 6th Grade Book Group – and I HATE this book.  It’s all I can do to wade through it.  Blech.  More on this book in a separate post, but meanwhile I have to finish reading the darn thing.
  • Still haven’t gotten over the stupid cold that’s been bugging me for two weeks now. 
  • Christmas is coming, and no one seems to be in the Christmas spirit this year.
  • The mice moved in and made a nest in the flannel sheets I had down in the basement by the washer, waiting to be washed.  Lots and lots of sunflower seeds and little mouse poopies hidden in the folds of my nice flannel sheets.  Grrrr.  More laundry for me today.   Grrrrr.
  • And, did I mention that Jim is at the Patriots game, having an awesome time, and I’ll be watching the game on t.v.?  I did mention that already?  Ooops.

Cranky mood sharing done.  Stay tuned for a nicer post tomorrow.