Wednesday, July 8, 2015

July Grades 5-6 Book Club: The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt


 
For July's Book Club, we read The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. Cecilia, Courtney, Kelsey and Rileigh were present. This is what we discussed.


1. Why is Holling convinced Mrs. Baker hates him?

-Because he gets glares like (facial example)
-Instead of making him learn, she makes him clean chalkboard erasers and other tasks like that
-He thinks she is trying to bore him to death


2. Mrs. Baker says that Shakespeare "is never boring to the true soul." What does she mean by that remark...what is a "true soul"?

-A "true soul" is someone who does not have hatred but passion
-I have no idea
-There were a lot of people who were not true souls like Mickey Mantle and Holling's father


3. What is it about Shakespeare that Holling comes to appreciate?

-Throughout the book, he was able to relate to Shakespeare and the characters. The cross-country tryouts were similar to things in Shakespeare
-I think that he was able to appreciate the Shakespearean curses
-As he continues to read, he grows to appreciate more than the curses.He appreciates the stories in the plays.


4. How do the Shakespearean plays Holling reads reflect the events in his life?

-In Hamlet, the Danish prince was trying to find himself. Holling's sister intended to go to California to find herself but only made it to Minneapolis.


Side Notes

-It's funny when Mrs. Baker can't find the word for "buttocks".
-The rats


5. What do you think about Holling's parents? What kind of parents are they? What is uppermost in Mr. Hoodhood's life?

-The dad is hard and the mom is comforting.
-The most important thing in Holling's dad's life is his business
-The dad didn't even really care about Holling being hit by the bus


6. Does the author do a good job of describing the problems faced by seventh graders—friendship, bullying, parents, siblings, teacher expectations?

-Yes because Holling is being bullied by older kids and that's something that happens all the time in real life
-Friendships: I had a friend in kindergarten and now we don't hang out. People change.
-Some people think that one group is more popular than another
-Bullying becomes a real issue, especially in middle school


7. What episodes did you find especially funny? The rats episode, the yellow tights, the cream puffs?

-The yellow tights. 
-The rats meeting their end with the newly elected principal


8. Talk about the line, "when the gods die, they die hard." What symbolic "gods" die for Holling?

-Mickey Mantle
-His dad
-Holling's dad didn't really care that his son was unhappy


9. In what way does Holling grow by the end of the book? What does he learn...how does he change?

-He grows to like Shakespeare
-He thinks that Mrs. Baker only hates his guts sometimes
-He hates his sister at the beginning but then they were friendly at the end


10. Mrs. Baker advises Holling to "Learn everything you can—everything. And then use all that you have learned to be a wise and good man." Does, or will, Holling live up to that advice?

-Yes, because of life
-Yes because of all that he has learned from the book.

For August's Book Club, we will be reading The Greenglass House by Kate Milford. We will be meeting on Wednesday, August 5th at 4:00 p.m.

It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.


Please be sure to pick up your copy of the book at the Circulation Desk and sign up for the Book Club so that Miss Lisa knows how many snacks to buy!


 

August Grades 5-6 Book Club Suggestions

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.

So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Lyson

The Boy on the Wooden Box, is the moving account of a happy childhood shattered by the Holocaust. Leyson was fortunate enough to survive, thanks largely to Oskar Schindler. As the youngest member of Schindler’s list, Leyson offers a unique perspective on the man who became his lifelong hero and his first-hand account of day-to-day existence in the factory--which did not alleviate the fear or deprivation--and his personal interaction with Schindler is powerful and special. The Boy on the Wooden Box is an important work, helping mature young readers understand the Holocaust through the life of a young person who lived it.

The Greenglass House by Kate Milford

It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.

 

June Grades 5 & 6 Book Club: Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

  For June's Book Club, we read the book  Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor   by Ally Carter.  Nicole, Natalie, and Julianna were...