Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Finished DADDY'S GONE A-HUNTING and another

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Complicated plot.  Usually Mary Higgins Clark's books are both thriller and mystery...this was more mystery until the end when we got the thriller part.  I guessed a small part of the solution, but not the larger parts, though there certainly were plenty of clues.  Excellent book.

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Then I read The Little Prince.  Surprisingly, I'd never read it before, though it was one of my Mom's favorites.  It is one of the books I'll be reading with Gabriel this summer--yep, I'll be tutoring again...lots of fun.  This is a lovely little book about the value of noticing and appreciating the life and world around you.  It could also be used in a discussion about conservatorship of the Earth.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to hear Gabriel's comments about it.

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I have now barely started People of the Masks by W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear.  This novel, based on archeology of the area I grew up in (present day New York and Eastern Canada around Lake Erie, Huron, and Ontario) focuses on the Iroquois culture.  What little I've read leads me to believe much more has been learned about this culture since I went to seventh grade (when we studied New York history), so I am already intrigued.

In addition to The Little Prince, I get to recommend three or four other books to read with him.  I made up this list to be sent to his teacher for her approval:

Freak the Mighty (by Rodman Philbrick)  Max is a huge, tall and strong boy who has been told how stupid he is most of his life.  Freak is a midget who has trouble getting around, but is very smart.  When these two boys meet, a great friendship begins which makes both of them better people.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (by Mildred D. Taylor)  A black family who, very unusually, own their own farm land in Mississippi, struggle during the Depression.  Themes of a strong family living in a racist world.  This may help prepare Gabe for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD which he will be reading in school this year.

     Killing Mr. Griffin (by Lois Duncan).  The seduction of peer pressure causes a group of teenagers to do something unthinkable by accident.  Realistic thriller.  I enjoy discussing with the student(s) where the line needs to be drawn and the need for taking responsibility for their own actions.  This, I believe, is an especially good book to read with both the guidance of a teacher and parents.  Also a very good book for easily influenced young people.  I enjoy teaching the story elements using this book.

    Maniac Magee (by Jerry Spinelli).  A neglected young person runs away from home and lives on his own and homeless.  Surprisingly, this young man epitomizes about the best a human being can be, being great in sports, in intelligence, but most of all in accepting, loving, and thoroughly enjoying all people.  If utopia can be a person, Maniac Magee is it.

     Holes (by Louis Sacher).  Complicated story about a boy who is arrested for stealing a pair of high dollar sneakers (he sort of had them drop into his hands) and is sent to a very unusual reform school where the inmates dig holes all day.  Explores the rewards of friendship and caring in an insane world.

I did not include Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, (by J. K. Rowling) mainly because this may be pretty boring after having read The Hobbit.  Although that is the order I read them in, and I loved all of both series.

As a matter of fact, I love all these books.  I've never taught Holes, but I wanted to.  All the rest I have taught.
 
Then I added:
If Gabe's teacher wants to ask me, "What are you thinking????!!!!!", just tell her to e-mail me.
 
After I've gotten the go ahead, I'll prioritize the books.  I may put off Holes for next summer.  After his seventh grade year, he may have more understanding of how unfair the world can be.  We want to read at least three books more than The Little Prince, but we don't want to rush or make reading anything less than enjoyable.  I firmly believe that summer reading should be fun.



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