For December's Book Club, we read The Giver by Lois Lowry. Claire, Emma, Kamea, Madison and Reagan were present. Here's some of what we discussed.
We had such an amazing conversation today centered on The Giver. It was so thoughtful and insightful that I didn't want to break the flow by typing what we discussed. The questions below formed the basis for our conversation but we went into a lot of philosophical "stuff" that can't be covered here. Needless to say, these kids put a lot of thought into the book and what it means to have free will. I am so impressed with these guys. :)
If
you were attending the Ceremony of Twelve with Jonas, what Assignment do you
think the Elders would select for you?
Jonas’s
community has a lot of rules. Do you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing?
Why?
What
do you think of how families in Jonas’s community are formed?
Would
you rather be selected, as Jonas was, or assigned, as his groupmates were?
Can
you imagine giving up such things as snow and hills because they are
impractical?
Do
you agree with Jonas that people have to be protected from wrong choices?
Do
you agree that painful memories are made easier when they are shared? Do you
think it’s fair that one person in the community—The Receiver—should have to be
burdened and pained by memories so that no one else is?
Do
you think the elderly should be part of the community, or separate, as in
Jonas’s community?
What do you think of what Jonas’s community calls “release”? Were you surprised at what it was?
Jonas
knows that if his plan fails, he could be killed. But he believes that if he
stays, his life is no longer worth living. Do you agree?
Jonas
briefly wonders whether he made the wrong choice when he decided to run away.
What do you think?
Although
most of the memories have left Jonas, the feelings have not. Why do you think
that is?
How
do you think the story ends?
Rate this book between 1 and 5:
-Three 4s
-Two 5s
For January's Book Club, we will be reading Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk.
"Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar. Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger." -- (Source of summary not specified)
We will meet on Wednesday, January 17 at 3:00 p.m. Please remember to register for Book Club and pick up your copy of the book at the Circulation Desk a few days after the previous month's meeting.
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