Category Archives: Book groups

Book groups, Children's literature, Young adult literature

1 day, 2 book groups

Of Wintersmith and Clementine, one book was a hit, and one book was a flop.  Any guesses as to which was which?

Once again, I demonstrated my deep understanding of the appeal of children’s and young adult literature: my opinions on the two books were polar opposite to the kids’ opinions.  Granted, the third grade book group had never met before, and only two kids showed up (and a newspaper reporter stayed for the whole meeting), so they tended towards shy rather than forthcoming.  I’d like to think that’s why they claimed to love Clementine, but I think I’ll have to face the sad truth that they actually DID love the book.  They loved the humor, they loved Clementine’s character, and they made some thoughtful observations about language and connections to their lives and other texts.  All in all, a successful first meeting.  (And I decided not to spoil it by saying that I hated the book. 🙂 )

As for the teen book group’s discussion of Wintersmith: by the end of our meeting, they had convinced me that the book is a bit flimsy, with weak characterizations and an abrupt ending.  I had been swept along by Pratchett’s language and the humor (especially the humor of the Feegles, and especially the scene in which the Feegles talk about women – the pursin’ o the lips, the foldin’ o the arms, and the tappin’ of the feet), but the girls in the book group saw past the humor and found many flaws with the novel.  They’re right.  The witches are rather interchangeable, lacking real character, and the plot flounders in the final third of the book.  I still like the book, but I agree with the teen book group that it should be given a B- or C+, no better. 

That’s what I love about these book groups – the kids who come to the meetings are open to and freely participate in intelligent discussions that ultimately expand the appreciation of the book for all participants, me included.  The teen book group mentioned yesterday that they’d like to read some classics (Pride and Prejudice was specifically named), and they will each be sending me lists of books that they’d like to be considered for our February, March, April, May, and June meetings.  I’d love for us to discuss a truly great piece of literature, and see where our discussion leads.

(keep your eyes on the Book List page of this blog, since I’ll be adding many new titles in the coming days)

Book groups, Young adult book review

Slogging along

Not much of an entry today, since I’m still slogging through Wintersmith.  And I don’t mean slogging in a derogatory way; it’s just a thick, dense, meaty book, and I haven’t been able to skim through it.  But I do love it, and recommend it highly.  (Just don’t expect to read it quickly.)

Book groups, Young adult book review

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

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Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, and Tuesday is book group day, so I’m having to double up on book groups this week.  The third grade book group will be meeting from 4:00 to 4:30, then the teen book group takes over from 4:30 to 5:30.  A lot like teaching school, and also a lot like the year I tutored a student at the high school first block of the day, then hurried over to the elementary school for my “real” job, and started right in with a third and fourth grader who I taught each morning.  It’s actually kind of fun to have two such different age groups right next to each other: breaks up the day, and keeps you on your toes mentally.

Clementine, which I butchered in my last post, is the third grade book, and Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett is the teen book.  As of this writing (I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon – one of the secrets of blogging is writing posts ahead), I’ve only gotten one third of the way into Wintersmith, so all opinions appearing here are subject to change upon completion of reading.  The initial chapter of Wintersmith was a real struggle for me; I was turned off by the language, the obtuseness, and the Feegle Glossary that appears on page three.  “Grumble, grumble, grumble,” I thought to myself, “clearly I’m going to hate this one, and it’s a lot harder to skim than Clementine.  Grumble, grumble, grumble.”  I’ve changed my tune, though, after reading more without allowing myself to think of my available reading time.  Pratchett uses a lot of subtle humor, and once I got into the rhythm of his words I could actually hear the Feegles and the witches speaking.  Yes, it’s a dense book, but it’s also masterfully written fantasy in the manner of The Owl Service or The Hobbit or any other great piece of fantasy. 

Looking at the two-page “Also by Terry Pratchett” list, I’m rather astounded that I’ve never read anything by him before.  We’ve purchased several of his books recently for the library, both for the young adult room and for the children’s room, yet I’ve never looked past the book reviews to the actual books.  One definite down side of my job is that I simply don’t have enough time to do all my required duties AND read the new books.  Any reading of books that I do has to be completed at home, and being a slow reader and generally busy person, that limits me to one, maybe two books a week, which works out to be the book group book for each week.  And maybe a New Yorker article, too, if I’m lucky.  Though having too much to read is a better fate than too little to read.

The teens who are in the book group have just as many demands on their free time, if not even more demands, than I, so I do hope that they’ll all have time to read at least part of Wintersmith.  I’ll post their reactions to the book after we meet on Tuesday.

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

Clementine

Oh dear.  Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

I’ve been recommending Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (illustrations by Marla Frazee) to coworkers, patrons, and friends for quite a while now.  Of course, I hadn’t actually read it, but I’d read all of the reviews, listened to a third grader who loved it, and been dazzled by the cute cover.  So I chose it as the first book for my newly formed third grade book group, and sat down Friday night eager to finally read it.

But – you guessed it.  Overly cynical, highly critical Abby didn’t like the book.  Hated it, more like.  How can that be??  Here’s how: I’ve known a LOT of third graders, kids I taught at the elementary school, kids that I tutor in my off-library hours, and kids who come in to the library.  And not one of those third graders has ever been as cluelessly, annoyingly, cloyingly CUTE as Clementine.  Blech.  Ptooey.  Ptooey. Blech blech blech.  Take a little syrup, add some sugar, molasses, and saccharine, and you’ve got Clementine.  She’s an adult’s idealistic vision of what a third grader should be, and about as far away from Sendak’s Max as possible.  Like Sendak, I’d like the characters in children’s books to reflect real children, with their lumps and bumps and streaks of meanness and startling insights and un-cute moments. 

I won’t be talking with the third grade book group about my feelings about Clementine, since it’s our first meeting and I haven’t even met some of the kids yet.  I know that I tend to be a harsh, harsh critic, and I don’t want to burden our very first meeting with that baggage.  Unless, of course, the kids bring up Clementine’s character, and they want to discuss her.  It will be really interesting to see what they think of her. 

Book groups, Children's literature

Magyk by Angie Sage

I’m only about one-fifth of the way through Magyk, but so far I’m really enjoying it.

Magyk and its successors, Flyte and Physik, have been sleeper hits in the library with fourth and fifth graders:  the kids who know about the books passionately love them and read and re-read them, but there are a lot of kids who don’t seem to have ever heard of this trilogy.  So I decided it would be a great idea to read Magyk  for the fifth grade book group (which will be meeting tomorrow).

At 564 pages, it’s a bit of a project to try and read for the book group (both for me and for some of the kids in the group), but the book’s quick pace and smooth style make it more approachable than its girth would initially suggest.  And luckily we can take advantage of this three-day weekend to finish reading…

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s discussion, even though comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable, because this is just the type of book that these fifth graders love to read:  well-written fantasy with a lot of action, suspense, magical terminology, and colorful characters.  And when we’re discussing a book that everyone loves, then everyone participates and the group’s meeting is fun for all, me included.  And, if we’re having a great conversation about the book, maybe the kids won’t notice that I sneakily bought 100% whole wheat bagels and light cream cheese for the book group snack.

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

Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

The 6th Grade book group discussed Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce a week ago Tuesday, and they were very firm in their low opinion of the book, which didn’t surprise me.

Originally, I was going to try to replicate the kids’ comments on the book, but now so much time has elapsed that I don’t think I’ll be able to.  Suffice it to say that not one kid in the group liked the book much, they weren’t engaged by the characters, they couldn’t relate to the lifestyle and culture of the Welsh town in which Framed takes place, and they really didn’t see much humor in the book.  And surprisingly, not one of the kids attending the group that day had been intrigued enough by the paintings cited in the text to follow the link to the National Gallery and look at the paintings online.

Thank goodness that I had thought to bring in my laptop that day, and that I had created links to each painting on my favorites list.  Without question, the best part of our meeting that day was the time we spent looking at the paintings and discussing the paintings.  I even found a short narrated guided tour of the Mona Lisa which allows you to see the back of the painting and the repairs that have been made to the Mona Lisa over the years.  The kids were most engaged and interested while they were viewing the artwork, and I do think that seeing the art added immeasurably to their understanding of the book.  Had I been teaching this book in a school reading group, I would have been sure to introduce the art first and have those images in the minds of the readers as they read the story.

And my opinion of Framed?  I’d like to say that I loved the book.  It’s witty, subtle, totally unique, and laugh-out-loud funny at times.  But as I was reading the book, I had a sneaking suspicion that the kids would not like it.  Much of the humor is very British, and very grown-up.  Things that made me laugh flew over the heads of the kids in my group.  I’d love to know how British and Welsh kids react to this book; was my group’s lack of appreciation due to cultural differences, or to the humor being too sophisticated? 

So once again, I brought a very well-reviewed, highly regarded children’s book to my book group, and it fell flat for them.  Once again, the question arises:  how problematic is it that children’s literature is written by, published by, marketed by, and bought by adults?  I, for one, will never have an answer to that question.

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

Crispin: Cross of Lead

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The 5th grade book group met last Tuesday afternoon to discuss Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi, and the result was an example of how a great book can generate a great discussion.

Crispin has inspired an incredible fan base in this book group, and two of the girls have been so enthusiastic and effusive in their praise of the book that they have led many of their classmates (kids who do not belong to the book group) to find and read the book and its sequel.  As a fantasy-weary adult, I am thrilled to see so many young readers excited about a work of historical fiction, and I decided that it would be fun to steer a chunk of our discussion towards the historical core of the book.

But before we discussed the history behind the fiction, the group first shared their favorite parts of the book with each other.  The character of Bear topped the list of favorites, and we talked a bit about his personality and how lucky Crispin was to find/be found by Bear.  And it became clear from our discussion that one major strong point of this novel is the contrast between Bear and John Aycliffe, and the way that contrast creates a dynamic tension in the story.  The group members loved the forward-moving action of the story, but also appreciated the way that the slower moments of the book build Crispin’s back story and help readers better understand his character (for example, some kids mentioned at first that they were a bit bored by the start of the story, but as we talked, we came to a consensus that Crispin’s character would be difficult to appreciate if we didn’t have a sense for what a non-entity he had been his entire life).

After a bit, I transitioned the discussion over to an examination of the historical aspects of the book.  Some of the kids were not entirely sure what “historical fiction” means and how it differs from “realistic fiction,” so we spent some time puzzling out a working definition of the term historical fiction.  Once that was under our belt, we talked about which aspects of the story were based upon actual history, and which parts were fiction.  Though this discussion won’t translate well to this blog post, it was incredibly productive and enlightening for most (if not all) of the group members, me included. 

The meeting ended on an enthusiastic upbeat; and the very best part, for me, was that there was not a single mention of Harry Potter for that 45 minutes.  Blissful.

Book groups, Children's literature, Young adult literature

Book lists

After talking with my brother, the blogging genius, I have added a new page to this blog.  Titled “Book Lists,” this page is a compilation of the books that I have been using with my book groups over the past two or so years. 

There are several items of note concerning the book lists, which I also mention on the book list page:

~ Not all of the books on the list are books that I have actually used with my book groups.  Some of the books are ones that I had proposed to my groups, but they have not chosen to read.  Some are books that we will be reading in the upcoming months. 

~ The majority of books on the lists are new (published in the last few years), though there are some classics included.

~ I do not use discussion guides in my book groups (see the book list page for details on why I choose not to), and so I do not provide discussion questions for the books on the list.

~ I will update the lists periodically.  At the moment, my book groups have chosen their books through January, and all of those titles are on the lists.  We will pick the titles for February through June in December, and I will add those books at that time.

~ Some will think that the books on my lists are at a high level for the grades listed.  This is due to the composition of my book groups; my library is in a very literary town, and the kids who belong to my book groups are strong readers.  See the book list page for more details on this subject.

~  Not all of the books we have read for book groups have been successes.  I try to write a post on each book title summarizing the group discussion; to find these posts, search by the book’s title. 

Enjoy the book lists – I hope that they are of use to others!

Book groups, Librarianship, Library events, Storytime, Teaching

Friday wrap-up

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It’s been a busy week, as usual…

Monday was my second toddler storytime, and it was SO much fun!  I’m still using Judy Nichol’s book as a guide (the newest edition arrived at the library for the children’s office professional collection), and I chose her “Bears” storytime this week.  Despite my concerns about learning and presenting “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” I was able to pull it off, and we all had such a great time with it.  As Jim put it, I actually got out of my own way, and tapped into my inner storyteller. 

At this point, I’m not yet limiting enrollment to the toddler storytime, but it’s clear why Nichols recommends that approach.  Three families arrived late, and at different times, and the flow of the storytime was definitely interrupted by those late arrivals.  Perhaps in the future, once this storytime is better established, I’ll be able to require pre-registration and on-time attendance, but I am working in a small town with a limited number of toddlers, and I want to be accessible and open to all.  It’s a puzzle, one that I’ll have to work out over time.

On Tuesday, I hosted two book groups at the library.  Continue reading Friday wrap-up →

Book groups, Young adult book review, Young adult literature

The White Darkness ~ Geraldine McCaughrean

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The teen book group discussed The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean today, and are sitting in as guest bloggers to give you their opinions on the book:

Attendee #1:  I thiught that The White Darkness  had a good plot and some amazing descriptions of Antartica. There were some parts of the book that I just had to keep reading. The narrator was a very interesting character who displayed a very different point of view than those of many narrators that I’ve read before. The one complaint that I had was that the main characters were all very complex and hard to predict. Though that made the story very interesting, It also caused me some confusion, and there were some times that I had to go back and reread. All in all, The White Darkness was an interesting and informative book that created a very good discussion.

Attendee #2:  

The White Darkness was in all a very good book. Although the characters were strange, they also contributed to the overall story because it wouldn’t have been the same if they were all completely sane. Sym was a character I could relate to very well, especially during the first part during which Sym is at school. I was always a shy, weird girl with few friends, so that part brought back memories. Another part of the book I really liked was the idea of travelling. I seem to like books set in different or unusual places right now. Your book really did make me think about what it would be like to travel in Antartica, as I have often wondered what it would be like–it was very thought inspiring. I’d reccomend it to my friends who are more creative and open-minded.

Attendee #3:  I didn’t actually finish the book, but I did find the half I did read very…strange. I don’t know, I guess it was beacause all of the major characters seemed to have internal or mental issues that caused them to act in random ways. I never really understood Sym, or Victor, or anyone else. I also found it weird that Sym would have a friend/lover that is probably imaginary, but no one really knows. And he died 90 years ago! Imaginary friends are fine when you’re little, even if you’re shy and alone they’re understandable at an older age, but the relationship Sym had with Titus seemed very odd to me. Maybe I didn’t appreciate it because I am unable to relate to any of these characters, but I wasn’t really sure what to make of the story.