reading log - appalachian state university · web viewby katherine paterson scholastic, new york,...

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READING LOG ADVANCED CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Love That Dog

By Sharon CreechScholastic, New York, 2001

Summary: Jack thinks that writing poetry is for girls, but he soon changes his mind as he begins to write poems for homework. His teacher reads poems to the class and Jack writes poetry. The reader “hears” the conversations between Jack and others through the monologues in his poems. Jack is instrumental in getting a famous poet, Walter Dean Myers, to come visit his class. He uses Myers’ poem, Love That Boy, to inspire his own, Love That Dog.

Personal Response: I liked the way the author told Jack’s story through poetry. His poems allowed him to express his sadness over the loss of his dog.

Evaluative Comments: This book is poetry told in a journal format through the school year. It does meet the requirements of poetry using line breaks. The author uses monologue to keep the story interesting.

Comments Following Class Discussion: The reader sees Jack’s personality as he progresses through his poems. He started out as a reluctant writer, but becomes a poet.

The Great Gilly Hopkins

By Katherine PatersonScholastic, New York, 1978

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Summary: Gilly Hopkins is a foster child that moves from home to home. She cusses, is disrespectful, and bullies. Finally, she finds a home that loves her unconditionally. Gilly longs to be with her birth mother and writes her mom a letter telling her about her bad living conditions. Instead of her mom, her grandma comes to take Gilly to live with her. Now Gilly wants to live with Trotter, her foster mom. In the end, Gilly realizes that her mom doesn’t want her.

Personal Response: I liked how Trotter unconditionally loved Gilly and helped change Gilly’s attitude. I was surprised by the ending and did not expect Gilly to be forced to live with her grandma. I liked the way Patterson used letters between Gilly and the people in her life to fill-in what happened after she left. I do not think it was necessary for Gilly to cuss and there was too much cussing in the book.

Evaluative Comments: This is a realistic fiction book-it is believable. Paterson uses humor to move the story. The description of Trotter being sick, falling on Gilly, and not being able to get up was funny to imagine. Another humorous part was the comparison of two unlikely friends, Trotter and Mr. Randolph.

Comments following class discussion: The characterization was strong in this story. Trotter needed Gilly, but she didn’t take Gilly back in the end. Gilly manipulated people; if she could have power over W.E., then she would have power over Trotter. Gilly needed to see her mom as she really was. In my group, we agreed that the reaction of her teacher to the card would not have been our reaction in the same situation. Gilly wasn’t as tough as she wanted others to believe.

Locomotion

By Jacqueline WoodsonPuffin Books, New York, 2003

Summary: Lonnie, an eleven-year-old African American, tells about his life through a series of poems (mostly free verse). His parents died in a fire and Lonnie and his sister were separated. After the group home, Lonnie goes to live with an elderly woman, Miss Edna, and his sister goes to a different foster home. Lonnie’s teacher has him write poetry and he uses the poems to tell the reader about his past. In the

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process, he becomes a talented writer. Lonnie Collins Motion’s nickname is Locomotion.

Personal Response: I like the way the story was told through poetry. Also instead of starting at the beginning of his life, Lonnie goes back to the past several times to let the reader know what happened. You have to piece together his life because it is not in sequence. In addition, I like the way that Lonnie reacts to problems and the emotions that he expresses.

Evaluative Comments: This book is poetry, told as a realistic fiction story. It has line breaks like poetry. Woodson uses figurative language in this story. Describing the sky-“like this white ball behind a piece of silver foil.” “And the news just sits in your stomach hard and heavy as Group Home food.” The author also uses line spacing in the poems. The lines of the poems break where you would pause when reading.

Comments Following Class Discussion: Lonnie was more sensitive than Gilly Hopkins. He had self-esteem issues when the boys in the group called him the throwaway boy. It would have been hard for a boy his age to go through the emotions of loosing his parents in a fire.

Jazmin’s Notebook

By Nikki GrimesPuffin Books, New York, 1998

Summary: Set in the 1960’s, Jazmin tells her story through a journal. Her dad died and her mother is an alcoholic in a rehabilitation hospital. Jazmin was living in a foster home, but now she is living with her older sister. She is boy crazy and goes through many of the same things teen girls go through today.

Personal Response: I think that Grimes portrays her characters well, but the book is “too adult” for my 5th graders. I like the resilience of Jazmin as she is able to overcome the problems in her life.

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Evaluative Comments: This is realistic fiction told through a journal format. It meets the requirements of the genre because it really could have happened. The author uses strong memorable lines to write about Jazmin’s strong character. “These words, these notes are gonna be my photographs of me. Of who I am, and I do, and what my life is like. Here. Now.” At the end of the book she writes, “I love how this plain and perfect piece of paper seems to be just waiting for me to baptize it with ink, to put my own special mark on it, to make it mine. And now that I think of it, that’s exactly what I love about tomorrows.”

But I’ll Be Back Again

By Cynthia RylantBeech Tree Books, New York, 1989

Summary: Cynthia Rylant grew up in West Virginia. After her parents divorce, she went to live with her grandparents because her mom went to another city to attend nursing school. Her dad was an alcoholic and had little contact with her. Her grandparents’ house didn’t have an indoor bathroom or running water. After her grandfather was hurt the family didn’t have much money, but Cynthia always had food to eat. Her mother became a nurse and she took Cynthia, age eight, to live with her. She had many teenage romances. Bobby Kennedy and the Beatles had a big influence on her life. Rylant titled her autobiography after a line in a Beatles song, I’ll Be Back and each section is introduced by lyrics from a Beatles song. The tragedies and events in her life shaped her as a writer.

Personal Response: As I read this book, I thought that Cynthia was about my age. When I got to the end, I realized how right I was. I was also nine years old when JFK was assassinated. I was more a fan of Elvis and not that much of a Beatles fan although I did listen to their

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music. In But I’ll Be Back Again, I got tired of all the petty romances and wanted to hear more about other areas of her life. I wanted to read about her college days, how she became a writer, and more about the relationship with her mother. If she were only 18 years old when she wrote this or was doing a memoir of only her preteen and teen years, then the little romances would have been more appropriate. When I read the part of the story where Cynthia was waiting her turn to choose a toy for Christmas, I thought about a colleague. Cynthia didn’t get the nurse kit that she wanted and she was heart broken. She later wrote a story about a boy that wanted a doctor’s kit for Christmas, but didn’t get it. He later became a doctor. My colleague shared this same picture book with me last year and explained how much the story meant to her because her son is studying to be a doctor. Now I have something to share with her about the author of her favorite picture book.

Evaluative Comments: This is an autobiography. It tells about Rylant’s childhood and continues through her life to the date the book was written. It is not a memoir because it is not about one part of her life, although it has many teen romances. An important quote concerning Rylant’s life as a writer was when she found a newspaper article written by her father. “As I read it, I realized that his voice sounded like mine. And that he had not completely left this world because the sound of him was still alive in over twenty children’s books written by the daughter he left behind.” She gave honor to her father.

After reading Rylant’s autobiography, it is easy to see portions of her childhood in her books. InThe Relatives Came she writes about relatives that come to visit from the mountains and the family has to share their rooms with them. They play together and enjoy being with each other. Rylant went to live with her grandparents in the mountains and had to share with her cousins. She grew up with her cousins and played with them. In When I Was Young in the Mountains, there was no indoor plumbing and the family was poor. In Rylant’s real life, her grandparents didn’t have indoor plumbing or much money. Missing May is compared to this autobiography on that reading response log.

Comments Following Class Discussion: Rylant tried to make sense of the things that happened to her as a child through her autobiography. It was a confusing time and she was trying to make sense of life. She wrote that she wondered if all good writers had an unhappy childhood. The words of the Beatles songs that begin each section, give a hint to the content of that section.

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Missing May

By Cynthia RylantDell Publishing, New York, 1992

Summary: Summer’s mother died and none of her close relatives want Summer to live with them. Aunt May and Uncle Ob from West Virginia come to Ohio to visit these relatives and they fall in love with the shy six year old girl. They adopt Summer into their loving nurturing family. In a few years, May dies and Ob doesn’t want to go on living. Summer also has a difficult time with May’s death and now she is afraid that Ob will die too. Ob searches for anything that will help him contact May’s spirit because he grieves very much. Cletus, a classmate of Summer’s, finds some information about a spiritualist in another city. Ob, Summer, and Cletus go to see this spiritualist in hopes of contacting May’s spirit, but the spiritualist is dead. They are all disappointed and Summer fears this is the end. However, on their way home and as they get back to the trailer, they realize that May will always be with them.

Personal Response: I enjoyed this story and was able to relate part of it to my experience with the death of relatives. It brought back memories of my grandmothers’ deaths and the place they continue to have in my life. I remember the longing that I had to be with them again and I am amazed how often I think of them after almost 25 years. I lived with one of my grandmothers for a short time, but mostly I lived with my parents. I felt sorry for Summer because in the beginning of the story she kept getting passed around from relative to relative and was treated badly. Even though May and Ob were older, they loved Summer and she was glad to be part of their family. Then when she had a loving home, with two parents, May died.

Evaluative Comments: This is realistic fiction story. It could have really happened and the characters seemed real. Rylant used humor

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so that the story wouldn’t be depressing. The character of Cletus was funny. He was like a sidekick, but an unwelcome sidekick for Summer. “Back when he (Cletus) first came, he had going this collection of potato chip bags.” (p. 17) “He (Cletus) keep telling me (Summer) I ought to be writing these stories to go with his pictures, since Mrs. Lacey at school has been bragging on those things I wrote for English. But the last thing on earth I plan to do is go digging through the pictures in Cletus’s beat-up vinyl suitcase so we can collaborate, as he puts it. I can just see it: me and Cletus looking at the front of a cornflakes box, searching for deep meaning. Holy bejeezus.” (p. 18) I found these two quotes funny as I visualized Summer’s reaction to Cletus and his collections. Another humorous part was Cletus saying he was in training to be a Renaissance man and Ob said, “After our little trip, you might be calling yourself a Rent-a-Séance Man.” (p. 55)

Missing May has many comparisons to Rylant’s autobiography, But I’ll Be Back. Rylant lost dad, mom, and her home like Summer. Although Rylant’s parents didn’t die (like May), they both left her and she missed them like Summer missed May. Rylant had to develop a relationship again with her mom when she went to live with her at age eight and Summer had to develop a new relationship with Ob after May died. Rylant’s dad was absent most of her life and Summer’s dad is not even mentioned. Rylant goes to live in West Virginia with her grandparents and they love her. Summer goes to West Virginia to live with elderly relatives and they love her.

Comments Following Class Discussion: The proper names (Johnson’s Baby Lotion, Oreos, Snickers, etc.) were sensory. It evoked more of the senses than generic names would have. Chapters 1-11 were like watching black and white, but chapter 12 was in color-everything was going to be all right.

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Any Small Goodness

By Tony JohnstonBlue Sky Press, New York, 2001

Summary: Arturo is a boy that lives in East Los Angeles, which is not a good neighborhood. His family is not rich, but they manage. He has a very loving family, which includes his grandmother, mom, dad, a brother and a younger sister. There are people in Arturo’s life that show kindness. Leo Love rescues and cares for their cat even though he is allergic to cats. Coach Tree is a former NBA player, yet he donates his time to couch the school basketball team. Mama Dulce could have been a professional pianist; instead, she used her talent to teach children in the barrio. Ms. Cloud, school librarian, donates many books to the school. Officer Paster brings Rosa, Arturo’s sister, a pink lunchbox to replace the one that was shot to pieces. Even though many acts of kindness are all around Arturo, there is still violence. A gang takes revenge over something that Arturo’s brother said to them and shoots into the Rodriguez’s house. No one is hurt. Arturo forms his own gang, which you think, will take revenge, but instead they take a Christmas tree, food, and presents to a needy family. Arturo puts his father’s words into action, “Remember this thing-any small goodness is of value.”

Personal Response: I didn’t resonate with this book at first. It was not an easy read for me because I had to stop and think about the Spanish words. I used decoding strategies that I don’t often use with children’s literature: was it a word that I knew, did the definition of the word follow it, could I figure out the meaning of the word by the sentence. I was like Arturo, “even if something’s too hard (to read), I’ll struggle it out. “(page 68) When I turned the last page, I realized there was a glossary. I would have used it, but I didn’t know it was there. Maybe then, I would have enjoyed the story more.

I thought when Arturo was forming a gang that he would seek revenge. I was surprised that he and his gang did acts of kindness. Johnston won me over by the end of the book and I liked the happy ending. I teach Hispanic students, but only a few can read Spanish. They would enjoy this book because they could relate to Arturo and his teacher trying

Any Small Goodness (page 2)

to Americanize his name. In addition, the Hispanic culture and foods would be areas they would connect. They will need the glossary in the

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back. Also, this book didn’t have any cussing or bad language. It did have violence, but that was showing what life was like in the barrio.

Evaluative Comments: Johnston uses unique similes and metaphors in her writing. There were no flying high as birds; instead, the comparisons were ones that made you laugh and take notice. I especially liked the following ones. “We peeled off those old names, like onion skins.” (page 14) “His (Marco Polo) route looks like some bad knitter’s tangled yarn.” (page 17) “His (Jose) family’s a mess, so he bears a chip on his shoulder the size of a sequoia stump.” (page 47) “I imagine them (Mom and Dad) sometimes, lingering with the compadres, chatting less and less brightly because of the hour. Like fireflies losing their sparkle.” (page 105)

This story is realistic fiction. It really could happen and the characters are believable. This story reminds me of Jazmin’s Notebook. Jazmin and Arturo had to watch out for people that wanted to do them harm and both children almost became victims (Jazmin was almost raped and Arturo was almost shot). Both children didn’t let the bad things in life get them down, instead they overcame (Jazmin overcame her mom’s alcoholism and her dad’s death. Arturo overcame the gang shooting his house and did not take revenge; rather he did something good.)

Comments Following Class Discussion: We teach Hispanic students and some are proud of their heritage, others are not proud of it. In the story, we also saw both sides. The Spanish words in the story added to the culture of the book, but these words also made the story harder to read. Our group liked the strong family unit and how the family stuck together. The family’s influence came through in the end of the story when Arthuro decided to do good instead of taking revenge. Some people in our class thought the story ended too goody goody, but I thought it was refreshing. I enjoyed reading about the strong family and the story had a happy ending. It is beneficial for students to read about characters that are strong enough to turn from violence and do good.

Three Cups of Tea Young Readers Edition By Greg Mortenson & David Relin, Adapted by Sarah Thomson

Puffin, New York, 2009

Summary: Greg Mortenson wants to climb a mountain in memory of his sister. He tries to climb K2, the second highest mountain in the world, but is unable to reach the top. On the way down the mountain, Greg is separated from the group and wanders into the village of Korpe in Pakistan. The people there welcome him and help restore his

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health. Because of his gratefulness for their hospitality and because the children do not have a school building, he vows to build the village a school for boys and girls. Greg returns to America, sells everything he has, and eventually raises enough money for the school. He meets many obstacles before he is able to start the school in Korpe. The village leader tells Greg that he must share three cups of tea and build relationships with the villagers while the school is being built. When you first share a cup of tea you are strangers, the second cup you share you are friends, then the third cup of tea you share you are family. Through his desire to help these people, he becomes director of Central Asia Institute, a foundation established to build schools and assist in other ways. At one point Greg is kidnapped and fears that he will be killed. Amid the adversity, Greg is able to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He brings education and hope to the boys and girls of these countries.

Personal Response: I immediately related to this book because the foreword is by Jane Goodall and I have read about her work with chimpanzees. Another plus for the story, on page 0 there is “A note on the text.” Yes, thank you to the publisher for letting me know at the beginning of the book that there is a glossary in the back because in Any Small Goodness, I read the entire book before I found the glossary. I enjoyed reading this book because I like reading true stories about people that bring good into the world. Greg is a brave, heroic, and compassionate person.

I have visited in a foreign country and stayed a couple of weeks. I can relate to Greg, not understanding the language or customs, and feeling hopeless at times trying to communicate. I was not able to come and go, as I wanted because I was a foreigner. When I did venture on my own, I was at the mercy of the cab driver or the bus driver. As I look back, that scares me. Greg was at the mercy of his guides and companions.

Three Cups of Tea (page 2)I think another reason that Greg wrote this book, besides to tell his story, is to let the Western world know that many of the Muslims in Pakistan were sorry about 9-11. They want peace and not war. They do not want America to judge them as terrorists.

Evaluative Comments: This book is nonfiction. It is a true story about Greg Mortenson’s journey to bring education to boys and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It could be considered an autobiography because it tells about Greg’s life or a memoir because the theme during this part of Greg’s life is the building of the schools/education of the children. It is appropriate for fifth graders. The question and answer section at the end of the book with Greg’s daughter, Amira,

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helps to bring this global story to an American child’s level. The questions are ones that children would ask.

The organizational pattern of this informational text is Epidsode Pattern. The cause is the hospitality of the Balti people in Korpe, the epidsode is the events that Mortenson went through to accomplish his tasks, and the eventual effect is that schools were built in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The author uses real names and real places instead of general words to make the story more real to the readers. The events are described in detail to help the reader get the whole picture that is being portrayed and the photographs help the reader visualize the story. This book relates in some ways to Jazmin’s Notebook. Jazmin moved often and Greg moved around often. Greg couldn’t be with his family (most of the time) while he was in Pakistan and Jazmin couldn’t be with her parents because mom was hospitalized and dad was dead. Jazmin was in danger when she was alone on the streets at night and when she went to the drug dealer’s house. Greg was in danger when he was alone, when he was kidnapped, and after 9-11.Comments Following Class Discussion:

This book could be used in the classroom for a study about children and education in foreign countries. In addition, it could be used along with a study of world religions (Islam). We felt that Greg was very naive. He was an educated, well-traveled man and yet, he went off with someone he just met and then was kidnapped. He should have realized that he needed a bridge to get the school building materials to Korpe. We also discussed the danger of being a stranger in a foreign country and this would be an important topic in the book to discuss with our students.

Immigrant Kids

By Russell FreedmanPuffin, New York, 1980

Summary: When European immigrants came to the United States in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, they brought their families if possible. Immigrant Kids tells about the children of these immigrants and the experiences they had. The children had to go through an inspection at Ellis Island just like their parents. It was a new way of life for them at home, school, work, and play. Once they got to New York, they faced terrible living conditions and they received little schooling. The children had to find jobs to help the family buy food. They worked in factories, delivered items, and sold newspapers. The black and white photos and the personal remembrances make the story personal.

Personal Response: I enjoyed learning about immigrant life through this book. As a mother, I could not imagine what is would be like to go

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through the inspection and have one of my children not pass the exam. When I went to a Colombia, South America, I had issues with the inspectors who rummaged through my belongings looking for drugs. They left everything in a mess for me to pack back and I remember the frustration that I felt. I was angry and I couldn’t communicate with the officials. I felt that I had been wronged, but I was the foreigner. I had to adapt to their ways. In some small way, I relate to these immigrants. They went through inspections and could not communicate verbally with the officials, until they got to registration where they had a translator. They had to adapt to America if they wanted to survive.

Evaluative Comments: This photographic essay is nonfiction. It is a look into the lives of European immigrant children. Freedman does a good job describing the life of these children in an understandable way. It is much easier to read than a textbook. Third grade and up could read and understand this text. The photos make the story personal and they help to confirm what Freeman has written. It’s not just some child somewhere working in a factory; rather it’s a real child in the photo working in the factory (page 43).

Immigrant Kids (page 2)

The remembrances, quotes, also add to the personal quality of the book. Again, it was real people telling about their childhood memories. I can visualize the amazement of indoor plumbing as Leonrad Covell remembers, “And the water, which to my mother was one of the great wonders of America-water with just the twist of a handle, and only a few paces from the kitchen.”

The organizational pattern of this informational text is Descriptive Pattern. The main topic is immigrant kids and there are facts on every page that support the main topic.

As I was reading Immigrant Kids, I thought about Any Small Goodness. Arturo’s parents were immigrants in a new country and so are the immigrant children. Arturo’s teacher changed his name in order to Americanize him and the immigrants were forced to conform to American ways. Arturo learned the language and customs quicker than his grandmother did and this caused conflict. The same was true of the European immigrant children. “The children became Americanized much faster than their parents. Often this caused painful conflicts …” (page 39)

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A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy

By Jim MurphyScholastic, New York, 1996

Summary: A Young Patriot is the story of the Revolutionary War told through the life of Joseph Martin. Quotes from Joseph’s autobiography are interspersed through out the account of the war. At age fourteen, Joseph joins the army and leaves his Connecticut home. He is a boy experiencing the hardships of being a soldier including homesickness, starvation, lack of shelter, and lack of clothing. Finally, when he is 22 years old, the war is over. He has mixed feelings about the end. He is glad the war is over and Independence won. He is uncertain about entering society because he is starved, ragged, and penniless. He doesn’t see how his circumstances can change, but even through his hardships he is able to survive.

Personal Response: I enjoyed reading and learning about history through this format. The personal account, through the eyes of this young man, showed the daily life and struggles of these soldiers. Murphy added the parts of the war that Joseph did not address in his autobiography, thus making a complete picture of the war. The illustrations added interest to the story. It was also interesting to learn the mistakes in the famous paintings such as page 37 of Washington crossing the river. Also the drawing on page 88 of the clean well fed soldier that would not have been a fellow soldier of Joseph’s. I could emphasize with the soldiers through Martin and Murphy’s detailed descriptions. “Hundreds of my companions had to go barefoot, till they could be tracked by their blood upon the rough frozen ground.” (page 47) I did not know that there were unwritten rules of war (page 35-36) and that Washington created a new kind of fighting, guerrilla warfare.

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Evaluative Comments: This is a nonfiction book. It describes true events and real people during the Revolutionary War. The organizational pattern for this informational text is chronological sequence because it is organized by sequence of events.

This book reminded me of Fighting Ground and Chains which I read previously in preparation for this class. In this true story Joseph was smart

A Young Patriot (page 2)and thought about what it would be like in the army before he enlisted. He didn’t want to enlist for a year, but he did for six months. In The Fighting Ground the boy, Jonathan, was not smart like Joseph; he impulsively went to fight without thinking about the consequences. In both these books the boys did not talk to their parents/grandparents before they made their decisions. Also Joseph was smart when he got separated from his company; he made his way to a familiar place. Jonathan was not smart when he was separated from the other soldiers; he didn’t know what to do and he was captured. As I was reading A Young Patriot I thought about Chains because they were both set during the Revolutionary War and both were about the battle in New York.

The quotes of Joseph were an important part of this book. “Great men get great praise; little men, nothing.”(page 46) He wrote this after the battle of Fort Mifflin. This made me think about the heroes of the war and how often we forget about the soldiers that did the fighting. When the war ended Joseph wrote, “Their chief thoughts were more closely fixed upon their situation as it respected the figure they were to exhibit upon leaving the army, becoming citizens. Starved, ragged and meager, not a cent to help themselves with, and no means or method in view to remedy or alleviate their condition.” I assumed the soldiers would be overjoyed and I had not thought about their futures.

Murphy also had powerful lines to go along with Joseph’s. “The most significant aspect of the meeting wasn’t just that they stood up to the King and his government; it was that they stood up together.” (page 6) The wording of sentence gives the reader the sense of unity among the colonies.

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RE5140 Response to Literature

Title___The Fighting Ground____________________Genre__Historical Fiction

Author & Illustrator__Avi_____________________________________________

Publisher (place and date)__Harper Trophy, New York, 1984____________

Record at least two quotes you liked from this book.

Page 55 “He was alive and wished that he was dead, but not being dead, he was scared that he might die.”The paradox of this statement made me stop and think about its reality.

Page 147 “With the surging strength of his (Jonathan’s) exploding rage, he brought it (his gun) down against the stone hearth. The shock shot through his bones. The gun almost fell from his grasp. But now his rage had seized him completely, pouring through him. Gripping the gun even tighter, he began pounding it against the stones, again and again and again.” Jonathan broke the gun and kept beating it to release his anger. Anger that had built up over the day-the killing of the Hessians, the killing of the little boy’s parents, the killing of his father’s friend.

Record two examples of author’s craft that you want to remember (figurative language such as similes, metaphors, exaggeration….. or else just a beautifully constructed sentence.

An example of author’s craft is the setting for this novel. It takes place in a 24 hour period. In that day the reader sees Jonathan go from a boy to a soldier to a prisoner of war and then back home.

Characterization of Jonathan is another of Avi’s crafts. Jonathan is 13 years old and has the impulsiveness and emotions of a boy. He goes to fight in the war, but he finds that there is a war going on inside him. He wants to be a soldier, but he often fails. The Hessians do not kill him and he begins to feel camaraderie with them even thought they are the enemy. Should he kill them when he has the chance?

Your personal response to this book (connections to other books, the topic in movies or other media, how you would describe the book to other readers.) (this should be a minimum of 3-4 paragraphs)

I do not like war books or war movies. Even if it is fiction, the realities of war are real. I did like how Avi wrote Jonathan’s story in one day. It made me think how things

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could change so drastically in 24 hours. It also was interesting to learn about the Revolutionary War and the time period through this novel instead of a textbook.

I would describe The Fighting Ground as an historical fiction novel about a boy who goes against his parents wishes and goes off to fight. He encounters the horrors of war and wishes that he were dead. He is captured, but is able to escape yet he feels a loyalty to his captors. He tries to keep his captors from begin killed, but fails. After one day of being a soldier, he returns home. He finds that he understands his father’s fear. His father did not fear for himself, but for his son to be spared. Jonathan was glad that he was spared and he was glad to be alive.

This book reminded me of A Young Patriot. They were both about boy soldiers in the Revolutionary War. In A Young Patriot, Joseph thought about what it would be like in the army before he enlisted. He didn’t want to enlist for a year, but he did for six months. In The Fighting Ground, Jonathan, was not smart like Joseph; he impulsively went to fight without thinking about the consequences. In both these books, the boys did not talk to their parents/grandparents before they made their decisions. In addition, Joseph was smart when he was separated from his company; he made his way to a familiar place. Jonathan was not smart when he was separated from the other soldiers; he didn’t know what to do and he was captured.

Another book that I have read about boys fighting is The Boy’s War by Jim Murphy. Although The Boy’s War is about the Civil War there are many similarities. Like Jonathan, the boy soldiers during the Civil War experienced the horrors of war such as fellow soldiers dieing, hunger, loneliness, and wanting the war/fight to end. In both wars, Jonathan and some of the Civil War boy soldiers were too young to be enlisted, but they fought anyway. In The Boy’s War and The Fighting Ground, Jonathan and the Civil War boys had sympathetic feelings toward the enemy.

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Title__Chains___________________________Genre__Historical Fiction

Author & Illustrator _____Laurie H. Anderson_________________________________

Publisher (place and date)__Simon & Schuster, New York, 2008___________


Page 150 ”Strangest of all was the hive of bees that had taken up residence inside of me. They swarmed under my skin and gave off peculiar vibrations. The buzzing echoed in my brainpan and crowded out my thoughts.”

Page 182 “I was chained between two nations.”Page 299 “My eyes closed and the moon drew me west, away from the island of

my melancholy.”


On page 157 the metaphor, “Melancholy held me hostage, and the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul.” Isabel’s circumstances were keeping her from planning a way to get to her sister.

Another metaphor is the book, the Grandfather talks about the River Jordan is the only thing that stands in the way of Isabel’s freedom. The River Jordan was the water between New York Island and New Jersey.

On page 298 the simile, “ I rowed that river like it was a horse delivering me from the Devil.” Isabel rowed hard and fast to keep from being caught.


Chains was a hard book to read because of the details of slavery. The buying and selling of people and treating them worse than dogs. When I got to the part about branding Isabel’s face, it horrified me. To think that kind of treatment was part of the culture is beyond reason. It was a “melancholy” book, as Isabel would have said, but it did leave you with hope at the end. Hope that she would find her sister and be free.

I would describe this book as a historical fiction novel about a slave girl named Isabel. Her owner promises her freedom, but no one can find the legal papers. Isabel and her sister are sold to Loyalists that live in New York. Isabel is treated badly by the

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mistress. Isabel spies on the Loyalists and gives information to the Patriots. She does this for her freedom. After the mistress gets rid of Ruth, the sister, Isabel runs away only to be brought back and branded on her face. She finds that neither side cares about slaves. They want freedom for themselves, but not slaves. Both sides use slaves as messengers, soldiers, spies, etc. to advance their cause. Finally, Isabel escapes, she gets her friend out of prison, and she rows across the harbor to New Jersey. They are on their way to Charleston to find Ruth.

This book reminded me of A Young Patriot because they both were set during the Revolutionary War and in New York. They both talked about the firing on New York and the homes being destroyed. They also talked about the conditions of the soldiers (clothing, shoes). The Loyalist supporters were part of both books.

Another book that reminds me of Chains is Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman. Both Harriet and Isabel were born into slavery. They were both brave and were not able to escape their first try. Harriet rescued many slaves and took them north. Isabel rescued Curzon from the prison and hoped to rescue her sister, Ruth. Both these women had scars on their faces-Isabel a branded “I” and Harriet had been hit in the head with a brick which left a scar.

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Title__The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963____________Genre__Historical Fiction

Author & Illustrator__ Christopher Paul Curtts__________________________

Publisher (place and date)___Dell Laurel-Leaf, New York, 1995


Page 68 “We all could tell Momma was super-mad ‘cause she started talking in that real Southern-style accent.”

1 “From my secret hiding place in the living room I could listen to Momma and Dad…..Some of the time they were mad, some of the time they were calm and some of the time they just sat on the couch and cried.”


Curtis used humor and exaggeration. Page 18 (When Mom pulled Bryon’s lips off the frozen mirror) “I bet Byron’s lips stretched a mile before they finally let go of that mirror. I bet his lips looked like a giant rubber band before they snapped away from that glass!”

I liked the way Curtis explained Byron and Grandma Sands’ characteristic of word choice. Page 167 “I could see where Byron learned how to say a couple of words and have people think he’d said a whole bunch more! Grandma Sands didn’t yell or scream or anything, but the way she said those couple of things made everybody who heard it shut their mouths and listen read hard….it seemed like I heard her also give my mother a real good scolding.”


I put off reading this book and didn’t want to start reading it because I lived in Birmingham in 1963. I didn’t want to read about the negative things that would be said about the city where I grew up and experienced a happy childhood. However, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 was not what I suspected. It was very humorous, it did not put down my birthplace, and it handled this tragic event in an unexpected way. The book described the bombing, the horrible results, and what some people went through; it

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did not go on a rampage about the city as a whole or about the people who lived in Birmingham.

I connect this book to my own life. I was 9 years old in 1963, a little younger than Kenny. I do not remember the bombing, but I do remember the unrest and turmoil in Alabama. I asked my parents about it and my dad said it was all over the news (we had a TV and took the daily newspaper). He said the national and local media were “after” the sheriff because he didn’t do enough to find the killers. He also said the killers were just recently convicted. Curtis was right about the heat in Birmingham and we didn’t have an air conditioner in my house. Like the Watson’s, my dad fixed up our car before we made a long trip. He put in an air conditioner before we went to Texas for his job interview. There were no fancy rest areas with restrooms along the highways, so sometimes we used an outhouse at a rest stop. I couldn’t relate to the bullying-I thought bullying was a more recent problem.

I would describe this book as a humorous story with an emotional ending. Ten year old, Kenny tells about his life in 1963 and about his family, sometimes known as the Weird Watsons. Kenny is bullied because he is a good reader and he has a lazy eye. He is glad when a new boy, Rufus, moves to Flint, Michigan because now the kids will pick on Rufus, who has an Arkansas accent and poor clothes. The two boys become friends. Kenny’s older brother, Byron, is becoming a juvenile delinquent and his parents take him to live with his strict grandmother in Birmingham. While the whole family is visiting in Birmingham, a bomb explodes in the church where Kenny’s sister was. Kenny has a hard time coping with the experience, but finally Byron helps him back to life again.

This book also relates to Any Small Goodness. Both stories have strong families that stay together and help each other during adversity. The grandmothers in both books are strong and the families look to these women for guidance. Arturo faces the violence of having his home shot to pieces and Kenny faces the violence of the church bombing. Arturo and Kenny are both the middle child with an older brother and younger sister.

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Title A Year Down Yonder____________Genre__Historical Fiction

Author & Illustrator__Richard Peck__________________________

Publisher (place and date)___Puffin Books, New York, 2000


Page 53 “Then I could read her thoughts and I knew what this day meant. Mrs. Abernathy’s son could have been my dad.” My father served in WWII and Mrs. Abernathy’s son could have been my dad.

Page 17 “Them Burdicks…And steal? They’d steal a hot stove and come back for the smoke.”

Page 124 “I noticed a change in Grandma. Sometimes I couldn’t tell whether she was changing or I was. But this time she was.”Whenever someone comes into our lives, grandparent, friend, or child, we take a part of them into our lives.


An example of author’s craft is the simile on page 48, “Gloating was beneath her. But the toothpick in her mouth moved in a jaunty way, like a tiny baton conducting a small symphony.”

Another example is exaggeration on page 37, “When she (Ina-Rae) was past, Grandma muttered to me, ‘That’s the skinniest girl that ever I saw. She could rest in the shade of a clothesline.’”


I enjoyed this book for the most part. I think it is good for children to see that during The Depression, times were tough. The middle class and poor had few clothes or possessions, many children were farmed out to relatives, and unemployment was high. One part that I

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didn’t think was necessary was about the woman going through the change of life. This concerned a person that would not even be listed in the list of characters. To an adult this was meant to be funny, but I don’t think it would be funny to children. I would not want to explain this to 4th graders.

I would describe this book as a humorous story about a fifteen-year girl, Mary Alice, who goes to live with her grandmother during The Depression. Mary Alice’s dad is unemployed and her parents are economically forced to send her away. Mary Alice moves from Chicago to a rural town in the southern part of the state and she misses her brother that is working with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Grandma Dowdel is not your normal grandmother and life with her is quiet an experience as each season brings a new adventure. At first, the relationship between Grandma and Mary Alice is tense, but soon Mary Alice realizes that Grandma is a generous caring person underneath her stern exterior. Mary Alice’s year with grandma leaves such as impression that at the end of the story she is married at Grandma Dowdel’s house.

As I was reading A Year Down Yonder, I thought about The Great Gilly Hopkins. In both stories, the main adult female is a physically big woman, is wise, manages children well, is a good cook, and has strong character. Grandma Dowdel did not act like a normal grandmother, but Trotter was a caring guardian. Grandma Dowdel was not affectionate, like Trotter.

I also connect this story to my own life. I can relate to Mary Alice moving when she was fifteen because the same thing happened to me. I went to the same school until I was fourteen years. The in grades 9-12, I went to six different schools in five cities. I went through some of the same things that Mary Alice did with her classmates; my new classmates did not welcome me at first. When I moved up north, I had a funny accent and then when I moved back south, I talked funny. Old Man Nyquist reminded me of my mother’s cousin because he kept stacks and stacks of old newspapers too. The story hints that Royce and Mary Alice will write to each other while he is in college. My husband and I began our romance this way, through letter writing. My sisters and I would spend a couple of weeks during the summer visiting my grandparents. They lived off the land, had chickens, and had cows. My grandmother was not like Grandma Dowdel, thank goodness.

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Title_____Rules ___________________Genre__Realistic Fiction

Author & Illustrator__ Cynthia Lord________________________

Publisher (place and date)___Scholastic Press, 2006____________


Page 135 “Watching her adjust the straps of her bikini top. I want to tell her I know how it feels to be split down the middle, too. Pulled between the regular world of school and friends, and David’s world where none of the same things matter. And how I don’t belong completely in either world, but-“

Page 182 “He’s crying so hard, his whole body shakes. I get David’s cassette from the trash, but it’s too broken. ‘I can’t fix it.’”I like this quote because here is when Catherine realizes that she can’t fix Jason.

Page 186-187 “Dad huffs, turning to me. ‘David needs-‘ ‘I know what he needs! Believe me!’ I push my way past Dad, not even caring that I’m yelling. ‘Maybe he does need you more than me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need anything at all!’”


I liked the artistic way Catherine describes things like the Dance poster. “My marker squeaks as I write each huge red letter: D tipping forward, A leaning back, N shivery, C stretched tall, and the lines of E poking out at funny angles, the word itself dancing.” (page 158)

Cynthia Lord writes words that trigger the reader’s senses of smell, hearing, and vision. Page 13 “…I can guess the tide before I even see the water, just by closing my eyes and breathing the air through the open car windows. Low tide smells mud-black and tangy, but high tide smells clean and salty.” The sense of hearing as when Catherine took Jason for a run in the parking lot: Page 122 “Clouds of seagulls take to the air in front of us, quarreling and shrieking….the flap of seagull wings as loud as my breath in my ears….faster, harder, my feet slap the pavement, until it comes-that weightless, near-to-flying fastness.” The sense of vision as when Catherine is drawing and using colors:

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Page 22 “I pick up a lime-colored pencil and swish a tiny blade of grass on my page. One eyelash-curve of green, cutting all that white.”


Rules (page 2)

I would describe this book as an excellent realistic fiction story about a twelve year old girl, Catherine, and her autistic brother, David. Catherine has rules for David, such as Late doesn’t mean not coming and she has rules for herself, such as No dancing unless I’m alone in my room or it’s pitch-black dark. When Catherine goes to OT with David she meets Jason, a boy in a wheelchair that can’t talk. They become friends and Catherine makes word cards for Jason’s communication book. Meanwhile, Catherine has a new neighbor that she is trying to impress. Catherine is embarrassed that Jason is her friend and that David has autism. In the end Catherine realizes that her friendship with Jason is important and she also begins to accept David as he is.

When I read Rules I thought about A Year Down Yonder. Mary Alice in A Year Down Yonder, planned and got everything ready for Royce’s visit. She went through the whole thing in her mind and had everything ready. Then disaster struck when the snake fell out of the attic and the day didn’t go as planned. Catherine had a plan about meeting Kristi and having her for a friend during the summer. She wanted their first meeting to be perfect. She dreamed they would do Morse code out the windows with a flashlight and go swimming in the pond. But David interferes with Catherine’s dreams by yelling at cars and flapping his arms when Kristi arrives at her new home. Kristi turns out not to be a Morse code kind of girl nor did she like swimming in the pond. The friendship didn’t go as Catherine had though it would.

A movie that connects to this book is 13 Going On 30. In the movie, Jenna wants to be a part of the popular group and she becomes popular at the expense of her best friend’s friendship. Her best friend is a boy. At the end of the movie, Jenna realizes what is really important-having a true friend. In Rules Catherine wants Kristi’s friendship at the expense of Jason. By the end of the story, she realizes that Jason’s friendship is more important than Kristi.

reading log - appalachian state university · web viewby katherine paterson scholastic, new york,...

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