November Grades 5-6 Book Discussion: Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

For November's Book Club, we read Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. Andrew, Courtney, Jared, Kate, Kelsey, Liam, Owen, and Rileigh were present. This is what we talked about.


If I could be a character from this book it would be:

-James because he lives in one place and has a lot of computers
-Emily because I love reading and so does she
-Emily because she collects books and so do I (another kid agreed)
-I would be Mr. Ramora because he collects books and has a gun
-I would Mr. Griswold because he's awesome (I wouldn't want to get shot or anything) and he's an amazing inventor. He makes games.
-I would be one of the people working at Bayside Press because I would get to see all of the things at the press.
-I would like to operate a cable-car.
       

Would you mind moving around all of the time? What are the advantages and disadvantages?


-It's nice to see a lot of different things but it's hard to move away from your friends. It's hard to keep friends and the longest I've had a friend is 3 years.
-Same exact thing as Jared.
-It's nice because you can experience new foods and see things that you only read about in books.
-I would not like to move around a lot because you would be so stressed about what is coming next. If you stay longer, you can explore more.
-I would like to move around more and see different places and different experiences. I would move my friends.
-I would like to move a lot because I don't want to worry about being in one place for too long. Your teachers won't know if you've bad.
-Moving stinks.
-I wouldn't mind moving so long as I stayed in the general Northeast area. It would be easier to stay in touch with people you've met.
-I would not like to move. I hate the idea of moving and change. I love my house and I love my life.
-I wouldn't want to move because I always get attached to places.

Talk a little bit about friendship and loyalty in this story.

-Friendship is important, especially because Emily had cut herself off before. 
-Part of the reason that her parents decided that they would move indefinitely and now she has friends and her parents decide to give her the choice not to move.
-Friendship is important because you can have someone to count on. 

Did you like the author's use of misdirection, meaning that you thought the story was going one way but it ended up another?

-I like a story that is unpredictable.

What do you think about the ending of the book? Was it a good conclusion to all of the adventures that the characters had? 

-There was a good conclusion to the book and there probably won't be a sequel.

Did you like the author's style? With the humor? And the violence?

-I liked the style of the book and the way it's set up. There's a bit of mystery in this book as well. You don't know until the 2nd chapter that Mr. Griswold got shot. 

Do you think that there will be (or should be) a sequel to this book?

-There wouldn't be a sequel. There's not a lot of plot left.
-Some books are better without a sequel.
-There could be more plot left.

Would you play Book Scavenger? Did you know that it actually exists? http://bookscavenger.com/

-The kids were so excited about the website that we decided to spend December's Book Club session on creating our own Book Scavenger accounts. Please bring a book that you would like to hide so that we can do the labeling here at the library and get started on this fun new adventure!

Please rate this book from 1-5, with 5 being the best:

-2
-4
-2
-5
-4
-3
-4
-3 (so far)
  

The kids were so excited about the website that we decided to spend December's Book Club session on creating our own Book Scavenger accounts. Please bring a book that you would like to hide so that we can do the labeling here at the library and get started on this fun new adventure! We will be meeting on Wednesday, December 16 at 3:00 p.m.

December Grades 5-6 Book Club Suggestions

The League of Beastly Dreadfuls by Holly Grant

Anastasia is a completely average almost-eleven-year-old. That is, UNTIL her parents die in a tragic vacuum-cleaner accident. UNTIL she’s rescued by two long-lost great-aunties. And UNTIL she’s taken to their delightful and, er, “authentic” Victorian home, St. Agony’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

But something strange is going on at the asylum. Anastasia soon begins to suspect that her aunties are not who they say they are. So when she meets Ollie and Quentin, two mysterious brothers, the three join together to plot their great escape!


Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She's thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose's rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose's obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different – not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father.

When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, the roads are flooded, and Rain goes missing. Rose's father shouldn't have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly 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?