Literature Circle/Book Clubs – Page 35

Teacher Appreciation Blog Tour with Review, Excerpt, Video, and Giveaway!: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson

June 17, 2016 by Kellee

Ms. Bixby’s Last Day
Author: John David Anderson
Published June 21st by Walden Pond Press

Summary: Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers. The good ones. The not-so-good ones. The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard. The ones you’ll never remember, and the ones you want to forget. But Ms. Bixby is none of these. She’s the sort of teacher who makes you feel like the indignity of school is worthwhile. Who makes the idea of growing up less terrifying. Who you never want to disappoint. What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind.

Topher, Brand, and Steve know this better than anyone. And so when Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she is very sick and won’t be able to finish the school year, they come up with a plan. Through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand just what Ms. Bixby means to Topher, Brand, and Steve—and what they are willing to go to such great lengths to tell her.

About the Author: John David Anderson, the author of many books for young readers including Sidekicked, Minion, and The Dungeoneers, returns with a story of three kids, a very special teacher, and one day that none of them will ever forget. A dedicated root beer connoisseur and chocolate fiend, he lives with his wife, two kids, and perpetually whiny cat in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can visit him online at www.johndavidanderson.org.

Click to read a 48 page excerpt!

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review: Ms. Bixby is one of those teachers that you read about and you want to be (if you are a teacher) or you want to have (if you are a student). As you can see from all the praise it has been receiving, John David Anderson wrote a home run book with this one. Our three main characters are diverse, funny, sweet, and stubborn, and Anderson’s voices for each are unique and alternate beautifully throughout the book. Though I must warn: This is a roller coaster book. You will laugh, smile, cry, get angry, and cringe. It is all there.

But this tour is about more than just the book, it is about focusing on our Ms. Bixby. Ms. Bixby is described as a “Good One” in the book. A “Good One” is a teacher who “make[s] the torture otherwise known as school somewhat bearable. You know when you have one of the Good Ones because you find yourself actually paying attention in class, even if it’s not art class. They’re the teachers you actually want to go back and say hi to next year. The ones you don’t want to disappoint.”

My Ms. Bixby: We all have a wide variety of teachers; however, there are those that change your life. When I was in 12th grade, I was a high school fish just floating my way through school. I was a high achiever who was okay with only doing okay in classes. I didn’t know what I was good at. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just thought I was another face in the crowd; nothing special. Then I entered Miss Hazel Haley’s classroom. When I had Miss Haley in 1999-2000, he had been teaching for 63 years, 61 of them at Lakeland High where I took my academic classes and 54 in the same classroom (in a building named after herself). She was a spit fire: She showed the Romeo and Juliet film from the 60s even though it showed a breast, she would speak her mind no matter what, and she cared and remembered every single person she’d ever taught. We were her kids. She never married or had children of her own, and she would tell you it was because she didn’t have to–we were her kids.

But it wasn’t all of this that made Miss Haley my Ms. Bixby. Actually, at first I really didn’t like her. She didn’t put up with my talking or note passing. She didn’t tolerate my Cs and Bs when she knew I could do better. She saw something in me. Finally, on one of the assignments I’d halfheartedly completed, she made me stay after school to work on with her. She told me I couldn’t get away with working the way I had been with the brain I had. She told me, “You are a good writer.” And she told me, “You are smart.” And for some reason her telling me stuck. And everything changed. I now knew that I was good at something. That I could accomplish something. And I have.

Lakeland Ledger article on Miss Haley’s legacy

NPR soundbite and transcript on Miss Haley’s retirement

When I decided to become a middle school teacher, I thought right away of Miss Haley. I know she would be proud of me. I wish I could tell her. And mostly, I hope that I can be someone’s Miss Haley, or Ms. Bixby. I hope my students know I care for them as if they are my own children. I know first hand that one teacher can definitely make a difference.

Walden TV Episode 17 — “LIST IT: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day:”
Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Maybe someone as AWESOME as Ms. Bixby? Mike & Julian certainly have! Follow along their list of favorite teachers–real and fictional!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In addition to a wonderful classroom library addition and a read aloud, Ms. Bixby is just one of many teachers I’ve read about that show how a teacher can change a life. Ms. Bixby’s Last Day would be a perfect addition to a “Teacher Appreciation Text Set” along with Wonder, Fish in a Tree, Bluefish (YA), Love that Dog, Jumped In (YA), and The Summer of May.

Publisher’s Educators Guide:

Discussion Questions: Why did the author choose to use three different points of view?; How did Ms. Bixby affect each of the boys’ lives?; What made Ms. Bixby a “Good One?”

Flagged Passages: “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. That’s something my dad told me. Turns out…not entirely true. I mean, the middle part is obviously true. But the last part isn’t true at all.” (p. 25)

Funny story you’ll have to read the book to read (p. 25-27)

“You can pick your friend’s nose. But there’s a difference between can and should.” (p. 27)

Read This If You Loved: Wonder by RJ Palacio, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Bluefish by Pat Schmatz, Love that Dog by Sharon Creech, Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott, The Summer of May by Cecelia Galante, The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart, Remembering Mrs. Rossi by Amy Hest

Recommended For:

Don’t miss out on the other stops on the Blog Tour!

6/2/2016	Nerdy Book Club
6/3/2016	Next Best Book
6/6/2016	Walden Media Tumblr
6/7/2016	Teach Mentor Texts
6/8/2016	This Kid Reviews Books
6/9/2016	Read, Write, Reflect
6/10/2016	Flashlight Reader
6/13/2016	Julie Falatko
6/14/2016	A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust
6/15/2016	About to Mock
6/16/2016	Kid Lit Frenzy
6/16/2016	The Hiding Spot
6/17/2016	Unleashing Readers
6/20/2016	Ms. Yingling Reads
	Novel Novice
6/21/2016	Maria’s Melange
	Novel Novice
	All the Wonders
6/22/2016	Lit Coach Lou
	Novel Novice
6/23/2016	Novel Novice
6/24/2016	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
	Novel Novice
6/27/2016	Librarian’s Quest
6/28/2016	Educate.Empower.Inspire…Teach
6/29/2016	Bluestocking Thinking
6/30/2016	Mindjacked
7/1/2016	All the Wonders

The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial by Susan E. Goodman

June 15, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial
Author: Susan E. Goodman
Illustrator: E.B. Lewis
Published January 5th, 2016 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Goodreads Summary: In 1847, a young African American girl named Sarah Roberts was attending a school in Boston. Then one day she was told she could never come back. She didn’t belong. The Otis School was for white children only.

Sarah deserved an equal education, and the Roberts family fought for change. They made history. Roberts v. City of Boston was the first case challenging our legal system to outlaw segregated schools. It was the first time an African American lawyer argued in a supreme court.

These first steps set in motion changes that ultimately led to equality under the law in the United States. Sarah’s cause was won when people–black and white–stood together and said, No more. Now, right now, it is time for change!

With gorgeous art from award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis,The First Step is an inspiring look at the first lawsuit to demand desegregation–long before the American Civil Rights movement, even before the Civil War.

Backmatter includes: integration timeline, bios on key people in the book, list of resources, and author’s note.

My Review: I really appreciate the abundance of quality nonfiction books about the early civil rights in our country because I fear that so much of the prejudice still remains, so it is important to learn about history so hopefully it will not repeat itself. The First Step is a story that shows how even if you do not win your fight, that doesn’t mean that the effort you put forth was for naught. Sarah Roberts and her family were so brave in standing up for her education and rights, and their fight helped pave the way for the bumpy road of integration in schools. Goodman does a wonderful job starting with Sarah’s story but tying it to the Brown v. Board of Education trial while not taking away any credit from the Roberts’ part of history.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: My first thought is to do a jigsaw type activity with The First Step and other civil rights nonfiction picture books (such as the ones listed below in recommended reading). Students can learn about different parts of the history of civil rights by reading the picture books and maybe even researching extra. They would then either present as a group to the class or you can jigsaw the kids back together (pull one person from picture book and put them together as a group), and they can each teach each other about what they learned. This is one of my favorite activities to do with picture books because it allows students to learn in depth about one subject then teach the rest of their class thus everyone learns about all subjects.

Discussion Questions: How did Sarah Roberts’s family’s fight lead to the integration of schools even though she did not win her case?; How did the author structure the book to go through the history of segregation?; How do the illustrations by Lewis help bring Goodman’s story to life?

We Flagged:

“Adeline and Benjamin Roberts tried to imagine Sarah’s walk to the Smith School, which was for African American children. She would have to zigzag through many streets, crossing one neighborhood after another.

Sarah would have to go all that way for a school that never taught subjects like history or drawing. All that way for Boston’s only school without a play yard. A school that owned only one book.”

Read This If You Loved: Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh, Freedom Summer (Kellee’s Review, Ricki’s Review) by Deborah Wiles, Seeds of Freedom by Hester Bass

Recommended For:

Candlewick Nonfiction Picture Books: Who’s Like Me? by Nicola Davies; Can We Help? by George Ancona; Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey & Bettye Stroud; and The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower by P.J. Lynch

June 12, 2016June 8, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Who’s Like Me?
Author: Nicola Davis
Illustrator: Marc Boutavant
Published February 28th, 2012 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: Lift the flaps and learn about animal life in this fresh, fun-filled book for curious preschoolers.

A bunny is furry and breathes air. Who else is like that — a pigeon, a fish, a chameleon, or a fox? Some animals have fins to swim with, some have feathers and a beak, some have skin that is scaly, or smooth and wet. But whatever features a creature has, someone else has them, too. Can you guess who? Big flaps and a matching spread at the end make animal classification fun.

My Thoughts: This flap book is going to be a big hit in my house both because it is entertaining and because it is informative. First, the author does a great job making the identification of animal types a game including flaps and comparisons/contrasts then she ensures that factual information follows the matching to explain the type of animal and the characteristics of the type.

Can We Help? Kids Volunteering to Help their Communities
Author: George Ancona
Published August 25th, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: Real kids make a real difference in their communities in this vibrantly photographed chronicle by George Ancona.

George Ancona celebrates the joy of kids giving back. In one after-school program, middle-school students mentor and tutor younger children. Via a special partnership, schoolchildren help professionals train assistance dogs for people with disabilities. At a community farm, families plant, grow, and harvest produce for soup kitchens and charities. In these and other examples of volunteering, kids of all ages work together knitting hats and scarves for those who could use warm clothes, packing hot meals to deliver to housebound people, and keeping roadways clean. Young humanitarians reading these accounts may well be inspired to find ways that they can help, too.

My Thoughts: I think this picture book would be a wonderful one to read in conjunction with the 31 Ways to Change the World because that book includes suggestions while this one gives us narratives about those actually making a difference. I love the variety of ways the author highlights: from knitting to a community farm to training dogs and mentoring. These stories are inspiring and will make the reader (adult or child) want to do something to make a difference!

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend
Authors: Calving Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud
Illustrator: John Holyfield
Published September 13th, 2011 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: A true story inspires the moving tale of a mule that played a key role in the civil rights movement– and a young boy who sees history anew.

Sitting on a bench waiting for his mother, Alex spies a mule chomping on greens in someone’s garden, and he can’t help but ask about it.””Ol Belle?” says Miz Pettway next to him. “She can have all the collards she wants. She’s earned it.” And so begins the tale of a simple mule in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who played a singular part in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. When African-Americans in a poor community– inspired by a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.– defied local authorities who were trying to stop them from registering to vote, many got around a long detour on mule-drawn wagons. Later, after Dr. King’s assassination, two mules from Gee’s Bend pulled the farm wagon bearing his casket through the streets of Atlanta. As Alex looks into the eyes of gentle Belle, he begins to understand a powerful time in history in a very personal way.

My Thoughts: This story adds an extra truth to the story of Martin Luther King that many of us know. MLK was an advocate and leader and activist for all African and Black Americans and this meant a lot to so many communities of people around America including Gee’s Bend. To learn about Belle and King’s reason for having Belle pull his coffin really just shows how true his intentions of being a man of the people while fighting for the rights of all. And I loved how this story was told as a story from a Bender to a young boy visiting the town. Gee’s Bend is such a historical place, and I love this new part of their history that I didn’t know. (I love the quilts produced in Gee’s Bend! If you haven’t viewed them, Google it now!)

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland’s Good Fortune
Author and Illustrator: P.J. Lynch
Published September 22nd, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: In the first book he has both written and illustrated, master artist P.J. Lynch brings a Mayflower voyager’s story to vivid life.

At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England? John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story. P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

My Thoughts: I have to start my review with discussing the art work. Describing P.J. Lynch as a master artist is a perfect statement. His watercolor and gouache full page plus illustrations are so lifelike and beautiful that the reader will spend time on each page viewing the art in addition to reading the text. And what makes the book even better is that the text is interesting. Told in first person from John Howland’s point of view, we travel from London to America through storms, a fall off the Mayflower, death, disease, famine, and shows how friendship and kindness pay. In the classroom, this text would be an informational and interesting introduction to the Mayflower voyage and Plymouth.

All Recommended For:

Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slubs by Mike Lowery

June 11, 2016May 27, 2016 by Kellee

Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs
Author: Mike Lowery
Illustrator: Mike Lowery and YOU!
Published May 17th, 2016 by Workman Publishing Company

Summary: Draw your way through the story!

Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs! is a lighthearted fantasy where the reader first draws him- or herself into the story, and then continues by following prompts and adding more illustrations and doodles. Set in space, the book invites the reader to join Carl, a duck and member of a super-secret international group of explorers, on a journey in search of a very important grail-like object. The book is sturdy paper over board with beautiful cream paper—perfect for defacing! And by the end, the reader will have co-written a tale to return to again and again, and show off to family and friends.

Kellee’s Review: I cannot wait to see this book completed by students. I think so many kids of all sorts of ages will enjoy this book. It is silly enough for young elementary students, and its plot is interesting enough for middle school students. I love the narrator, Carl, who is a puny and out spoken duck who takes the reader on a journey to the Slug Planet (in 2nd person point of view!). The illustrations are also so well done for what the book is trying to do. They are comic-esque and funny. I truly enjoyed my journey with Carl, but I am really looking forward to watching a kid complete this book in the interactive way that it is made for.

Ricki’s Review: After I review books, I almost always give them away to schools. I couldn’t help but think it would be such a great book for the boys who live next door. They are always adventuring in their backyard, and they will surely be captivated by this book. The narrator Carl (a duck) is highly entertaining, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I read the book. He talks to the reader, and the second-person narrative makes the book particularly funny. The reader will be catapulted into the story because of its interactive nature. Even kids who don’t enjoy drawing will want to put their pens to the pages.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book promotes creativity, plot development, and humor. There are so many different ways that a teacher could utilize this book, one for each of our recommendations below. First, it could be a class read aloud where the teacher does the drawing based on the class’s votes or students can take turn drawing. It could also be a lit circle/book club book where students complete the book in groups then they can jigsaw into new groups to share their newly created book. Lastly, the book could definitely be an independent read or class read where students draw in their own books and each student will have their own unique book.

Discussion Questions: How does drawing help you interact with the story? Which drawings were particularly fun to draw?; How does the second person narration make this story engaging? What other stories are written in this point of view?; Why might the book be narrated by a duck? What does this do for you, the reader?

Flagged Passages: “I brought you down here because the unthinkable has happened! Someone found our secret HQ, broke in, and stole a PRICELESS artifact from our collection of…priceless artifacts!

I’ll pause here so you can GASP!” (p. 26)

See more at www.mikelowery.com or the author’s Instagram @mikelowerystudio

Read This If You Loved: Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, Diaper Baby series by Dav Pilkey, Choose Your Own Adventure books, Drawing/Illustrating books

Recommended For:

and

**Thank you to Estelle at Workman Publishing for providing copies for review!**

Boyds Mills Press Nonfiction Picture Books: Fearless Flyer by Heather Lang, Dorothea’s Eyes by Barb Rosenstock, and Fresh Delicious by Irene Latham

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine
Author: Heather Lang
Illustrator: Raúl Colón
Published March 1st, 2016 by Calkins Creek

Goodreads Summary: On November 19, 1916, at 8:25 a.m., Ruth Law took off on a flight that aviation experts thought was doomed. She set off to fly nonstop from Chicago to New York City. Sitting at the controls of her small bi-plane, exposed to the elements, Law battled fierce winds and numbing cold. When her engine ran out of fuel, she glided for two miles and landed at Hornell, New York. Even though she fell short of her goal, she had broken the existing cross-country distance record. And with her plane refueled, she got back in the air and headed for New York City where crowds waited to greet her. In this well-researched, action-packed picture book, Heather Lang and Raúl Colón recreate a thrilling moment in aviation history. Includes an afterword with archival photographs.

My Thoughts: I love Ruth. She just doesn’t care if anyone tells her she cannot do something. She just goes about it her own way. Law is definitely a woman who should be taught about in schools because she really embodies someone that is not going to let lower expectations for women get in her way of doing exactly what she wants to do. And even next to flying, Law goes against everything that is stereotypical about women because she is also mechanical. (Also, interestingly enough, there is a flying book called Flying Solo which is about another Ruth pilot.) Ruth Law will definitely be added to my “Biographical Picture Books about Strong Women” update post when I do it.

Dorothea’s Eyes
Author: Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Gérard DuBois
Published March 1st, 2016 by Calkins Creek

Goodreads Summary: After a childhood bout of polio left her with a limp, all Dorothea Lange wanted to do was disappear. But this desire not to be seen helped her learn how to blend into the background and observe others acutely. With a passion for the artistic life, and in spite of her family’s disapproval, Dorothea pursued her dream to become a photographer and focused her lens on the previously unseen victims of the Great Depression. This poetic biography tells the emotional story of Lange’s evolution as one of the founders of documentary photography. It includes a gallery of Lange’s photographs, and an author’s note, timeline, and bibliography.

My Thoughts: Friends and family of mine know that art is dear to me because my father is an art museum director, and photography is especially dear to me because my mom is a photographer. Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is one of the most famous photographs ever taken but not Dorothea Lange herself isn’t often talked about. Her life is fascinating, and I love the messages that she focused on in her artwork. I definitely would love to team this book up with Photos Framed because it is the biography behind the photo.

Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers’ Market
Author: Irene Latham
Illustrator: Mique Moriuchi
Published March 8th, 2016 by Wordsong

Goodreads Summary: In these vivid poems, blueberries are “flavor-filled fireworks,” cucumbers are “a fleet of green submarines in a wicker sea,” lettuce tastes like “butter and pepper and salt,” but sometimes “I crunch into a leaf the very same flavor as rain.” The unexpected, ingenious imagery and enticing artwork in this collection will inspire the imaginations of young readers, and show how poetry can be as fresh and delicious as the farmers’ market produce it celebrates.

My Thoughts: I love poetry anthologies that make poetry accessible yet is still well written, and Fresh Delicious definitely fits this bill. Latham has done a very nice job at making each food’s poems unique and fit the topic. I love that it also brings personality to vegetables. As a mom to a son that doesn’t eat them, maybe seeing them in this light will make him want to try them again. Many of the poems also include figurative elements that can be taught through the poems. such as alliteration in “Blueberries:” flavor-filled fireworks, teeth and tongue, and best thing about blueberries, and similes in “Tomato:” smooth like a balloon and red like a fire truck.

All Recommended For:

Blog Tour, Giveaway, and Review: Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America by Gail Jarrow

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 by Ricki

Nonfiction Wednesday

Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America
Author: Gail Jarrow
Published: May 10, 2016 by Calkins Creek

GoodReads Summary: In March 1900, San Francisco’s health department investigated a strange and horrible death in Chinatown. A man had died of bubonic plague, one of the world’s deadliest diseases. But how could that be possible? Bubonic Panic tells the true story of America’s first plague epidemic—the public health doctors who desperately fought to end it, the political leaders who tried to keep it hidden, and the brave scientists who uncovered the plague’s secrets. Once again, acclaimed author and scientific expert Gail Jarrow brings the history of a medical mystery to life in vivid and exciting detail for young readers. This title includes photographs and drawings, a glossary, a timeline, further resources, an author’s note, and source notes.

Review: I have read about the medieval plague, but I haven’t read much about the plague epidemic of the twentieth century. It was fascinating (and sad) to learn about this time period. Gail Jarrow has an incredible ability to make nonfiction material very accessible to readers. This book is a page-turner, and I had difficulty putting it down! The information is very easy to follow, yet it is complex and made me think! I will read any book by Jarrow because she really makes me think. Her texts go beyond medical information. There are themes, for example, about racism and prejudice that made me want to use this book in the classroom!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: As with Gail Jarrow’s Fatal Fever, I think it would be wise for teachers to explore other diseases and epidemics while teaching this book. It would be particularly interesting to make connections between this book and Jarrow’s Red Madness and Fatal Fever. Students could participate in literature circles and discuss their learning. I also found the prejudice and scapegoating included in the text to be very interesting and think this would make for very worthy classroom discussions.

Discussion Questions: What role does fear play in the text? How does fear evolve? Is it often validated or invalidated? What negative consequences come with fear?; Are there any heroes in this book? Why or why not?; How can we connect the text to the modern anti-vaccination movement?

Flagged Passage:

Read This If You Loved: Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow; Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat by Gail Jarrow; Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy and Alison Blank

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recommended For:

Check out the other stops on the blog tour!:

Monday, May 16

The Nonfiction Detectives

www.nonfictiondetectives.com

Tuesday, May 17

KidLit Frenzy

www.kidlitfrenzy.com

Wednesday, May 18

Unleashing Readers

www.unleashingreaders.com

Thursday, May 19

Teach Mentor Texts

www.teachmentortexts.com

Friday, May 20

Sally’s Bookshelf

www.sallysbookshelf.blogspot.com

*Thank you to Kerry at Boyds Mills Press for sending this book for review!*

Rescued by Eliot Schrefer

May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 by Kellee

Rescued
Author: Eliot Schrefer
Published April 26th, 2016 by Scholastic

Goodreads Summary: The third entry in the taut, heart-wrenching quartet that made Eliot Schrefer a two-time National Book Award finalist introduces us to an orangutan held captive in suburban America.

John grows up with everything he could possibly want. His father is a businessman who travels far and wide. One day, he comes home with a rare gift for his son, a baby orangutan, and the two become inseparable friends. But as the orangutan gets older, stronger, less cute, the family relegates the animal to a locked trailer in the backyard. Until John’s father finally decides to sell the ape to a roadside zoo. Coming to the defense of his childhood friend, John resolves to smuggle the orangutan back to Indonesia, and the two set out on a journey far more dangerous than John bargained for.

My Review: I think out of the three Ape Quartet books published so far, this is the one that is going to hit closest to home for many. It will make many readers uncomfortable and want to make a change. First, it takes place in the United States unlike Africa like the first two. Second, it really digs into an issue that is still very much prominent here–animal injustice.

I find Schrefer’s writing to be so beautiful yet so easy to read. He can pull you into his stories and makes you feel for not only his human characters but also his animal characters. He does such a tremendous amount of research for all of his books and with this one it brings the injustice of Raja alive.

I am a sucker for ape books. I find apes to be the most fascinating animals, and orangutans may be my favorite because they have these amazing eyes that just show me that they are so intelligent and deep thinkers. They are also introverts; I think I just relate to them in that way. This book brings orangutans to life through Raja.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: As evident from Schrefer’s status as a two-time National Book Award finalist, his books can be used as a mentor text for just about any aspect of writing that you are looking for: characterization, imagery, voice, conflict, etc. Read any of his books, and you can pull out so much to discuss and use within the classroom. Additionally, there are some amazing ape books, including Schrefer’s other Ape Quartet books, that would make for an amazing lit circle opportunity or text set.

Discussion Questions: Why does John feel obligated to help Raja?; What would you have done if you were John or John’s mom when the divorce happened? Or when John’s father showed up with Raja?; Why is it better for wild animals to be in the wild?

Flagged Passages: “Every family’s got something weird about it, and mine was no different. We just had to try harder than most to hide it. All it took was someone to walk in the door to see that we had an orangutan. A real-live, orange-brown, TV-obsessed, drinking-grapefruit-juice-from-the-carton orangutan.” (p. 11)

“The truck’s engine rumbled, and the trailer pulled away. I watched it go, stunned.

You did this, I scolded myself. You let this happen.

Sweat had soaked my shirt, ran from the pits down my arms. The heat radiating up from the pavement made me dizzy, even though the perspiration on my brow was chill. I bent over, hands on my knees. I could feel the cords of my neck stand out, straining. Getting ready to start my stomach, at least, back at zero.

I heaved in air, and it sounded like a sob. Then it was a sob. Something huge and dark and terrible came out of me, something that had tamped down for so long that it had become even more huge and dark and terrible.

One last sob came out of me, then all was quiet.

There, slumped in the dirt, was Raja’s old blue elephant. (p. 69-70)

Read This If You Loved: Endangered and Threatened by Eliot Schrefer (Ape Quartet #1 and #2 yet are all stand alone novels), Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby, One and Only Ivan by Kathering Applegate, Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate, Top Ten Ape Book list from Nerdy Book Club (I’ll be updating here on Unleashing Readers soon)

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