BOOK REVIEWS
Following are reviews of some books that were recently read
Feel free to add any comments or suggest other books you think students might like.
Rules by Cynthia Lord (grades 4 - 7)
This is a sensitive and poignant story of twelve year old Catherine whose younger brother, David has autism. Catherine is thrust into the role of caregiver and we see how his autism impacts her daily life. Trying to help him, Catherine makes very clear rules such as, "It's fine to hug mom, but not the clerk at the video store" and "No toys in the fish tank". Catherine makes a new friend, Jason, at David's clinic that is severely disabled and they communicate using word cards. But Catherine is embarassed and tries to keep her friendship with Jason a secret. It is a humorous, yet touching and emotional story as Catherine learns important lessons about who she is.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (grades 3 - 5)
Edward Tulane is a beautiful porcelain rabbit that is adored by his owner, Abilene. She treats him with love and respect but he is accidentally thrown overboard while the family is traveling on an ocean liner. This book tells the story of the rabbit's journey, from the rabbit's point of view. He is found by a fisherman and loved by others until his journey has a surprise ending many years later.
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (grades 5-8)
This is a beautifully written book about a twelve year old girl's experiences as an orphan living with foster families. She is living with an elderly artist that is suffering from Alzheimer's while she remembers what it was like to live with another family. Hollis longs for a family of her own but doesn't know what that really means or feels like. Whenever she gets too close, she feels the need to run away.
Frindle by Andrew Clements (grades 3 - 5)
When Nick tries to question a teacher about how words get in the dictionary, she plants the idea in his head that "We decide". So Nick invents a new word for a pen, "frindle". The idea spreads like wildfire and causes disruption in the school. But Nick learns that everything is not as it appears and that some of the best lessons are learned by taking a stand and doing what you believe is right. The book is entertaining and amusing but also gets you to think about how we learn and make ideas our own.
Owen & Mzee - The True story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff (non-fiction grades 1 -4)
During the tsunami of December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean, a baby hippo was orphaned and washed ashore on the small coastal town of Malindi in Kenya. They named the hippo Owen and he was offered a place to live in Haller Park, an animal sanctuary. Owen crouched behind Mzee, a 130 year old tortoise that lives there, for protection. Park workers later found the hippo and the tortoise snuggled together and they became inseparable. This true story provides one of hope and possibilities under tragic circumstances.
Toys go out - Being the adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and someone called Plastic by Emily Jenkins (grade 2 -4)
This is a delightful story about the life of the toys in the toy room as they wonder about the world around them. Plastic doesn't know what she is and when she looks up the word "plastic" she reads, "Capable of being shaped or formed. Also artificial". That doesn't sound good to her at all untill Tuk Tuk, the towel in the bathroom, tells her she is a rubber ball. She happily goes rolling and bouncing away. When the girl celebrates her birthday, her favorite toys find out it is their birthday too.
20 comments:
Hello,
I just ordered Pictures of Hollis Woods for the middle school. I hope the students like the book.
Mrs. Shneibaum
I read Rules. It was a very good book, and I could connect to it because my brother is autistic. I loved the way she made up a rule for each of his specific behaviors.
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare - 1983 - 152 pages
Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills. "Matt joins other memorable characters, Kit, Julie, and Karana, finding his inner strength and values in a changing world in this well-written and fast-reading story."
Hi,
Wow, Pictures of Hollis Wood sound really good. If I get a chance, I'll read it. :-D
Stephanie Z.
The A-List By Zoe Dean (Grades 7+)
The A-List is about celebrities, rich people, etc. A private-school girl moves to California to live with her dad, and she meets her boyfriend on the plane,goes to a celebrity wedding, and learns that celebrities are very exclusive.
(Note: There is profanity in this book, but not very much)
When i was in 4th Grade i read Frindle. It is a great book and i highly recommend it!!!It is an action packed story that many people can relate to.
I own Pictures of Hollis Woods, but I haven't yet gotten the chance to read it. After reading this review, I think I'll go back to it. I'd like to read a book about what it's really like to be an orphan, and the psychological quirks it causes- like feeling the need to run away from close relationships because you are afraid of being left again. This book sounds interesting.
Thanks,
Brit Felsen-Parsons
Hey Mrs. Shneibaum,
Thanks for the books. You're great.
I think I'll read "Rules". It sounds really good, and I'm really interested in things having to do with psychology (my mom's a psychologist), so the topic of autism and its effect on daily life in a family is probably going to be intriguing. Thank you for posting this review.
Brit
The Giver
Lois Lowry
(Grade 6th+)
If you like suspense, you will like Giver.It is about a boy who finds the truth about thr real world.I thought it was the best book ever!
I read Edward Tulane and thought it was a really good book. It was fun, cool, and suspenseful. It is a great book with a lot to think about whats around the corner and\or what will come next especially with a rabbit who has many different owners
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickins
(Grade6th+)
It is about a boy who finds out about his life, after running away from an orphanage.It is a wonderful book.
All the books sound really cool. I hope I can read them all.I was wondering. Do you have all these books in the library, maybe i can check some of them out. Thanks for making this blog
Brit,
If you want to learn about living with an autistic person, ask me.
Heat by Mike Lupica is a great book about baseball. I would recommend it to middle schoolers who like baseball. It is about a boy named Mike who lives alone with his brother Carlos. Only two people know that they don't have parents, Mrs. Cora, their neighbor and Manny, Mike's best friend. Mike is a great pitcher. He can throw 80 miles per hour. He runs into many problems througout the book, but in the end it's all right.
I read Tangerine by Rdward Bloor. It is about a boy named Paul who is legally blind. He loves soccer. Paul has a star football brother named Erik who is very mean to him. Paul's parents don't realize how Paul feels about his brother. In the book Paul realizes how he became legally blind, makes new friends, and really finds his inner-self. I recommend this book to middle scoolers. (You will read this in 7th grade, so you probably shouldn't read it yet.) I guarantee you will like it.
I read Findle. I thought it was a very good book. It is a very easy book to read and i recamand it to 3- 5th grades. The book is about a boy named Nick Allen, his teacher wants all the class mates to use the dicanary. Nick came up with the word frindle instead of the word "pen". Come useing this new word he got on t.v. I hope all ages will love this book.
I liked the book called gregor the overlander. It is a really cool action packed book. It is by suzanne collins. It is a fiction story recommended for 4-6th grade. a kid falls into a dark land called the underland miles under earth. he is also the key player of a prophecy. so he meets new people and has cool fighting adventures.
Frindle.
Andrew Clements.
The Genre is fiction.
I think that the grade level is for fourth grade to fifth grade.
There is a boy named Nick Allen and he makes up a name for "pen".
I read Frindle. the author of Frindle is Andrew Clements. Frindle is a fiction book. I reccomend this book grades 3-5. I liked this book because i just liked it. I think young children will like this book because it is a good beginer book.
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