Category Archives: Book groups

Book groups

Letters to Angie Sage, part I

The fifth grade book group met this week.  This is a new group (there were no takers for the fourth grade book group last year), and so for our first meeting we had two members, and now a third member has signed up for the October meeting.

Our book was Angie Sage’s Magyk, and it met with enthusiastic response from the two girls in the group.  We discussed, we agreed the book is fabulous, and then we all wrote letters to Angie Sage that I will be mailing to HarperCollins in hopes that Angie will actually receive them. 

Since the letters were terrific, I have decided to post them here.  Tune in tomorrow for the first letter, and the next day for the second letter.  If I get ambitious, I’ll also post my letter to Ms. Sage…

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

Time Stops for No Mouse

After it was highly, highly recommended to me by a young lady and her sister, I decided to schedule Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye as the May book for the sixth grade book group.  The young lady in question is an intelligent and discerning eighth grader, and her sister, equally intelligent and discerning, is a junior in high school.  Both raved about how much they loved the book, and got a bit misty eyed as they told me about it.  And then a few days after these girls sold me on the book, the father of another young library patron thanked me profusely for adding the book’s sequels to the collection.  He told me how much he and his daughter adore the series, and how happy he was to see it in its entirety in our library.

The sixth grade book group met this past Tuesday to discuss this book, and the meeting revealed some positives and some negatives regarding Hoeye’s book.  On the plus side:  all attending book group members actually finished reading the book, which hasn’t happened much lately with this group.  Also on the plus side: once I was able to insist that we talk about the book and not sports, we had a productive discussion.  On the negative side: no one, including me, loved the book.  Also on the negative side: we discovered this isn’t the most fertile book for a group discussion.

I was truly surprised by how little I liked Time Stops for No Mouse; I hated Hoeye’s choice of names (sorry, I know he works hard to create his characters’ names, but they just frustrated me, since they are hard to pronounce and hold no meaning for me), I was a bit bored by the story, and the whole package of the plot, the characters, and the names feels a bit too contrived for me. 

As for the kids in the book group, they were primarily bothered by the fact that mice are the main characters in the story.  Several kids had the same reaction: why make the characters mice, if they are living in a world that seems exactly like the human world?  Where are the differences between how mice live and humans live?  And where are humans in this invented world – do they exist, or not?  And then there were the expected grievances: not enough action, not enough violence, not enough fantasy (animal fantasy clearly doesn’t count as fantasy to this group).

I’m left feeling a bit puzzled by Hoeye’s book.  Would I have liked it better if I hadn’t gone into it with such high expectations?  Would the book work better with a different group of readers, perhaps younger readers?  Would I appreciate the book more if I were to read the three sequels?  And is the kids’ reaction colored by their bias towards Alex Rider and Harry Potter?

If I have time this summer, I think I’ll read at least one of the sequels and see if I’m swayed by that.  But first I have a stack of books on my coffee table, waiting to be read:  The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry, The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan, and Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.  Isn’t it lovely that there’s always something new to read?

Book groups, Children's literature

For Jean ~ A Wrinkle in Time

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When I told Jean that the library’s fifth grade book group was going to be discussing Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, she mentioned that she vividly remembered the scene with the little boy bouncing a ball.  Since we couldn’t locate the scene in the book at that moment, I made sure to mark it as I read the book for book group.  There are actually two scenes that Jean might be remembering, so I thought I’d quote them below (both are quoted from the Farrar, Straus and Giroux reprint of the 1962 Crosswicks edition):

Below them the town was laid out in harsh angular patterns.  The houses in the outskirts were all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray.  Each had a small, rectangular plot of lawn in front, with a straight line of dull-looking flowers edging the path to the door.  Meg had a feeling that if she could count the flowers there would be exactly the same number for each house.  In front of all the houses children were playing.  Some were skipping rope, some were bouncing balls.  Meg felt vaguely that something was wrong with their play.  It seemed exactly like children playing around any housing development at home, and yet there was something different about it.  She looked at Calvin, and saw that he, too, was puzzled.

“Look!” Charles Wallace said suddenly.  “They’re skipping and bouncing in rhythm!  Everyone’s doing it at exactly the same moment.”

This was so.  As the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball.  As the rope curved over the head of the jumping child, the child with the ball caught the ball.  Down came the ropes.  Down came the balls.  Over and over again.  Up.  Down.  All in rhythm.  All identical.  Like the houses.  Like the paths.  Like the flowers.  (pp. 98- 99)

 Second quote, from when Charles Wallace has fallen under the control of IT:

“Now see this,” he [Charles Wallace] said.  He raised his hand and suddenly they could see through one of the walls into a small room.  In the room a little boy was bouncing a ball.  He was bouncing it in rhythm, and the walls of his little cell seemed to pulse with the rhythm of the ball.  And each time the ball bounced he screamed as though he were in pain. 

“That’s the little boy we saw this afternoon,” Calvin said sharply, “the little boy who wasn’t bouncing the ball like the others.”

Charles Wallace giggled again.  “Yes.  Every once in a while there’s a little trouble with cooperation, but it’s easily taken care of.  After today he’ll never desire to deviate again.”  (pp. 136 – 137)

A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all-time favorite books, but I hadn’t read it for a few years and had forgotten just how masterful it is.  And I was very gratified to find out that every child in the fifth grade book group loved it as much as I do; some have even read it multiple times.  We had a great conversation about the book, focusing primarily on the dark thing and what the dark thing means and does.  It was great to have such an in-depth discussion with this group of kids, where we zeroed in on one aspect of the book and studied it in detail. 

And, in rereading the book, I realized that a book I recently discussed on this blog, The Sky Inside, owes much to L’Engle’s novel (for instance, the quote above that describes the sameness of the houses and the children is very much reproduced in the concentric suburb of The Sky Inside), though the newer book doesn’t really even begin to compare with L’Engle’s masterpiece.

Book groups

The Falcon’s Malteser

Tomorrow is the second-to-last 6th grade book group meeting of this school year, and we’ll be discussing Anthony Horowitz’s The Falcon’s Malteser.  I had a moment of inspiration tonight, and checked the library catalog to see if The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, was on hand and available – and it is (Jennifer is pulling it off the shelves for me right now).  So tomorrow I’ll bring in my copy of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (given to me by my big brother years ago, in a very cool slipcase that he made), and I’ll bring in my laptop to play a scene from the movie, and then we’ll discuss the Horowitz book.  I have a feeling that these three ingredients will make for a fun book discussion…we’ll find out tomorrow whether I’m right about that!

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Young adult book review

The Books That Got Away

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I’ve been a bit remiss in the last month and a half or so, and haven’t written my usual detailed posts on book group meetings and the kids’ reactions to the book group books.  So here’s a quick overview of some the books we’ve read and discussed lately: 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt ~ The 5th grade group discussed this book back in March.  To facilitate our discussion, I brought in my laptop and played the first scene-and-a-bit from the recent movie that starred Sissy Spacek and William Hurt.  Prior to playing the selection from the movie, I had read aloud that first lovely, perfect chapter from the book, then we settled in to compare and contrast.  To my dismay, there were several kids who preferred the movie’s opening (and there was a competitive scramble to see who would be the lucky one to take the DVD of the movie home that day), but there were also the kids who loved the language of the book and spoke eloquently about it.  Our discussion did end up focusing on the pros and cons of eternal life, and I was very impressed by what the group had to say.  (Too bad that the distance of a month has blurred my memories of their specific comments, but suffice it to say that they’re a smart, well-spoken bunch of kids.)

A Girl, A Boy, and a Monster Cat by Gail Gauthier ~ Discussed by the 3rd grade book group just a week and a half ago, this book proved to be a disappointment to both me and the kids.  We all had the same thought: the book didn’t live up to its title, and would have been better served by a different title.  All of us had expected the Monster Cat to play a major role in the story, and when it didn’t, we all felt a bit cheated and let down.  Not that this was a bad book – it was just less than we had hoped it would be.  On a side note, it’s fun for me to observe the formation of a new book group with these third graders, to see them learning to work together as a group and to share the discussion time with each other.  I’ll miss working with the younger kids when Jennifer picks up the 3rd and 4th grade groups in the fall.

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke ~ Once again, I chose to go the multi-media route for the 6th graders’ March discussion of Funke’s modern classic.  Using the surprisingly excellent and entertaining movie of the same name, I played the merry-go-round scene for the kids, then read selected parts from the book (the merry-go-round chapter of the book is quite long, and it would be tough to read all of it aloud for an even comparison, so I had to pick and choose bits to share).   Our discussion was fairly good, but with the distance of a few weeks, I can’t honestly remember what we talked about.  I’m hoping that the next two 6th grade books will inspire an animated conversation that involves all group members…

March’s teen book group discussion centered on Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, a book that I chose to appeal to the boys in the group (who, ironically, either no longer attend or attend only sporadically…).  Surprisingly, given that I chose the book based solely upon my need to find a good book that wasn’t a “girl book,” it’s one of the best books we’ve read this year.  Taut plot, great premise, heart-stopping suspense – I loved this book, and so did everyone in the group.  One boy did attend that day, having picked up a copy of Airborn on the day prior to our meeting, and he said something like, “Finally!  A book that I liked in this group!”  The girls shared their happy surprise at having thoroughly enjoyed the book, and admitted that they would have never picked up this book on their own, but were very glad that they had been steered towards it.  We all agreed that we’d like to read the sequel, and E. was the lucky one who got to take the sequel home with her that day. 

So that’s the update on the books that we’ve read since March.  Three out of the four are exceptional reads, highly recommended by me and by the book groups, and the fourth is acceptable, though not fabulous.  There are only four more book group meetings this school year, and I’ll do my best to write posts on those as the groups happen.

Book groups, Children's literature

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

Yesterday’s 5th Grade Book Group book was Brian Jacques’ Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, a book that had been recommended by one of the group members.  Though I started out not liking the book much, by the end I was hooked by its vivid writing, great characters, and unique premise.  Divided into three unequal sections, the story begins with a young mute boy who winds up on the ill-fated ship The Flying Dutchman as he escapes from his cruel stepbrothers.  This first section of the book sets the stage for the boy’s future: when an angel condemns the captain and crew of the ship to wander the world for all eternity, that same angel spares the boy and his dog, granting them eternal life and youth in exchange for their helping those in the world who are in need.  Dog and boy are also granted the ability to speak and communicate with each other. 

The second small section of the novel covers the time that Neb (the boy, who later calls himself Ben) and Den (the dog, who later calls himself Ned) live with a poor shepherd in South America.  Neb and Den bring joy and love to Luis’s life, and though he dies a few short years after they arrive at his cottage, the angel tells them that they gave Luis the happiest years of his life.  Mission accomplished, time to move on.

The largest section of the book is the third, which fastforwards a couple of hundred years to an English village that has been threatened with destruction by an unscrupulous man who wishes to raze all of the homes and open a limestone factory.  Now called Ben, the boy and the dog, now called Ned wander on to the scene when they both feel called to the place (surely guided by the angel).  In my opinion, this chunk of the story is by far the best, as Ben and Ned work with the villagers to defeat the evil developer and to prove that the villagers own their properties.  Following clues in an ancient scavenger hunt, they work as a team to solve the mystery of where the deed to the village has been hidden, and of course Ben and Ned make many wonderful friends in the process.

There is a happy ending, but also a sad ending: the developer is thwarted and defeated, but Ben and Ned must move on just as the happiness begins, driven on to their next destination by the angel’s ringing of a bell, unable to bid goodbye to their new friends or to even pick up Ben’s rucksack before leaving.  Jacques has written two sequels to this adventure, which I’m anxious to read (and ashamed to admit were missing from our library’s collection).

As always, the real question here is: what did the book group think of the book?  Though more than half of the book group members hadn’t come close to finishing the book, we were still able to have a terrific conversation about it.  Surprising.  The kids who had read the whole book were gushingly enthusiastic about it, and some of those who hadn’t finished it were inspired to renew their copies and take them home once again.  (I suspect that those kids who didn’t read the entire book simply ran out of time, because the writing is denser than any of our recent books.)  In discussing the book, we teased out the reason that Jacques put Ben and Ned on The Flying Dutchman, made connections to movies and books (like Pirates of the Caribbean and Tuck Everlasting), and shared the bits of the story that we liked best.  There were no earth-shattering revelations in our book discussion, but it was lively and fun, and the kids proved once again that they have matured and grown into an excellent and intelligent book group. 

And if you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it.  It’s not often that I do that!

Book groups

Book lists updated

For those of you looking for suggestions of books to use with elementary and teen book groups, I have updated this blog’s page titled “Book Lists for Book Groups.”  The update includes books I’ve used in recent months with my book groups at the library, as well as books that the group members have suggested for future meetings.  There are some great titles on that list; I hope that you’ll find a few that interest you!

Book groups, Children's book reviews

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

While not the best book that I’ve ever read, I did think that Wendy Mass’s Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life would prompt an interesting discussion in Tuesday’s 6th grade book group.  But I had not taken into account what it’s like to be a sixth grader half-way through the school year: the questions raised by the book were far too personal and introspective to be answered in a group setting with this age reader.  When I asked the question, “Have any of you ever thought about what the meaning of life is?  About why you’re here on earth?”, I saw flashes of acknowledgement in many eyes around the table, along with every head around the table vigorously shaking “no.”  I gave myself a mental slap on the forehead at that point, as I realized that there is no way my sixth grade self would have ever answered that question in a library book group.  Maybe I would have discussed it with my family or close friends, but not in a vulnerable setting like a book group. 

So from that point on, I steered the conversation towards more general, less personal, easily discussed things, like the characterizations of Lizzie and Jeremy, whether the plot progression was realistic and believable, and why Jeremy’s dad had arranged for this complex quest for his son.  No one in the group, me included, really liked this book, but we were able to see its value and to discuss it in a productive way.  The kids pointed out that Lizzie and Jeremy were flat characters who do not change or grow much after the first chapter; one group member stated that the lack of complexity in the characters is the main reason the book tends to be dull.  And then another kid in the group made an excellent comparison: she compared this book to Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game (which all the sixth graders have read in school this year), and commented that the characters in The Westing Game reveal themselves bit by bit, so that the reader doesn’t fully know each character until the conclusion of the novel. 

This comment got us all interested in a comparison of these two books, their plots and characters and writing style, and in the end we had quite a productive discussion about what elements make a book great rather than just good.  So the book group meeting ended up being a valuable one, though not at all for the reasons that I had thought it would be.  Once again, I am reminded of why it’s useful to go into a book group meeting with an open mind, not a set agenda and a set list of questions.  Being open makes for a better discussion, and ultimately is more rewarding for all participants.

Book groups, Library events, Storytime

Coming up this month

Lots of great things coming up in the month of March:

A showing of High School Musical 2 the first Friday in March, for which I’m expecting a big turnout.  (Please, please, please, please DO call ahead to pre-register!  It’s hard to buy enough popcorn if I don’t know you’re coming!) 

Scott Jameson will be coming to the library the evening of March 13 for an encore performance of “Magic by Scott Jameson,” the show that brought down the house last May. 

Prior to Scott’s magic show, he will conduct a Juggling Workshop for a limited group of twelve children aged nine or older, teaching them first how to work with one ball, and working up to juggling three balls by the end of the workshop.  (And hopefully the children’s librarian can hide her eye-hand coordination challenged self at the back of the room during the workshop…)

An additional Mother Goose on the Loose storytime has been added on Wednesday mornings, run by Jen.

This month’s book group books are as follows:  Airborn by Kenneth Oppel for the Teen (7th – 9th grade) Group; Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen for the Teen (10th – 12th grade) Group; Being Teddy Roosevelt by Claudia Mills for the 3rd grade group; Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt for the 5th grade group; and The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke for the 6th grade group.  (You’ll notice a switch to classic and modern classic for the 5th and 6th graders for this month.  This is to ensure a good read with a great book, and also we’ll be doing some in-group comparisons of the book and movie versions, viewing certain scenes together on my laptop, then reading the relevant passages in the book for a direct compare and contrast.)

And a new session of Toddler Storytime will begin on the 24th, with sign-ups starting on the 3rd.  This has become my favorite program, and I’m eager to see who registers for the March-April-May session.

Not to forget the terrific ongoing teen volunteer-run Saturday Storytimes and Thursday Game Hour.  Both of these programs have steady, enthusiastic attendance, and I am so grateful to the amazing volunteers who come through week after week to run them.

March is looking good, don’t you think? 

Book groups, Children's literature

Uncovering Avi

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Though the 5th grade book group members love Avi’s Crispin series, there is one thing that really irks them:  Avi’s name.  “What’s his real name?” they ask me.  “Why does he only use the name ‘Avi’?  That’s just dumb,” they say.

So before last Tuesday’s book group, I decided to do a little research and see what I could find out about Avi’s true identity.  On his official website, Avi makes it quite clear that the only name he wants public is Avi.  But I kept poking around, and within fifteen minutes I had discovered his true name (not too hard, it turned out), AND I had also confirmed the validity of his true name through a cryptic quote issued by Avi himself on an online chat with students.  At our book group meeting, I told the kids present what Avi’s real name is, and (sorry, Avi), they giggled. 

Why does this all matter?  Why did I feel driven to uncover Avi’s identity?  Partly because I’m a nosy so-and-so, partly because I despise pretension, partly because the kids asked me over and over and over to do this, and partly because it was a challenge.  It’s almost as if Avi’s real name wouldn’t matter to me or to the kids if he didn’t so firmly reject it.  The rejection of his name is what drives our curiosity: surely the name must be amazing in some way, and surely there must be a really good reason compelling him to cast it aside with such finality.  It’s really none of our business, but we’re humans and we want to know.

In the end, the name was disappointingly ordinary, and once I shared the information with the kids, we all quickly moved on and had a fantastic conversation about the book at hand, never again mentioning Avi’s real name.  We knew, so it didn’t matter anymore.

And though I know now, I won’t be sharing the information here.  If you care to find out, discovering Avi’s real name is an excellent exercise in research (that’s my inner librarian speaking – research is good for your soul).