Module 9: 39 Clues. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Citation:

Riordan, Rick. (2008). 39 clues: The maze of bones. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, Inc.

Summary:

The Cahill family tree extends to many different families. All of these families and relatives are summoned to attend Grace Cahill’s funeral. Grace Cahill was an incredibly wealthy woman and many of the family want to inherit her money. As with many families there are many different personalities and some are quite evil. Amy and Dan Cahill (brother and sister) are the main characters. Amy and Dan are orphans who are cared for by their Aunt and she keeps them in an apartment across town with an au pair. While at the funeral they are invited to attend the reading of the will, not everyone is. They are told they can take 1 million dollars or take the clue. There are a few others in the will and they have the same option. Most take the clue and then the adventure begins.

Dan and Amy go through a series of events and many different clues trying to find the Maze of Bones. They discover that there are many famous Cahill’s in the history of time. Benjamin Franklin was a Cahill and has left many clues in his writings and even in portraits of himself to help lead them to the next clue. Dan and Amy are sabotaged every time they get close to going to the next part of the clue. They travel with their au pair and use books often to find the next part of the clue that will lead them to the next. In the end they are traveling to Austria to find out more about Mozart. That is when we find out that Grace may still be alive, but her plane starts to go down.

My Opinion:

This mystery is the first in a series of books. This book has a wonderful plot with many twists and turns. I fell in love with the book and wanted to keep reading it. I feel that the writing is wonderful and I am excited to add it to one of my favorite reads from this class. I feel that my 4^th and 5^th graders will love this series and I am excited to read the 2^nd book.

Reviews:

Fleishhacker,J. (2008, November, 1). [Review of the book 39 Clues: The maze of bones by Rick Riordan]. School Library Journal via Titlewave. Retrieved by http://titlewave.com/search?SID=543bfa8cd70fa8db19d9c0f1075b73d5

School Library Journal (November 1, 2008) Gr 4-7-When their beloved Aunt Grace dies, Dan, 11, and Amy, 14-along with other Cahill descendants-are faced with an unusual choice: inherit one million dollars or participate in a perilous treasure hunt. Cahills have determined the course of history for centuries, and this quest's outcome will bring the victors untoward power and affect all of humankind. Against the wishes of nasty Aunt Beatrice, their reluctant guardian since their parents' deaths, Dan and Amy accept the challenge, convincing their college-age au pair to serve as designated adult. Pitted against other Cahill teams, who will stop at nothing to win, the siblings decipher the first of 39 clues and are soon hot on the historical trail of family member Ben Franklin to unearth the next secret. Adeptly incorporating a genuine kids' perspective, the narrative unfolds like a boulder rolling downhill and keeps readers glued to the pages. As the siblings work together to solve puzzles and survive dangers, they develop into well-drawn individuals with their own strengths and personalities. Supporting Cahill cast members come across as intentionally exaggerated caricatures, adding to the tale's breathless fun. The book dazzles with suspense, plot twists, and snappy humor, but the real treasure may very well be the historical tidbits buried in the story. Part of a multimedia launch including a Web site, collectable game cards, and a 10-title series (penned by different authors), this novel stands solidly on its own feet and will satisfy while whetting appetites for more.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. Uses for the library: This would be a great novel to have the students do a sequencing activity. I would have the students or I come up with 10 important facts and then we could sequence them.

Module 8: Life as We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Citation:

Pfeffer, S. (2008). Life As We Knew It. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt.

Summary:

This novel is about a normal teenage girl named Miranda. Miranda is your typical misunderstood teenage girl who is trying to find her independence with her mother and life. All of a sudden Miranda’s world is altered forever when a meteor hits the moon which moves the moon closer to the earth. This alters not only Miranda’s life but the entire population of the world. At first the gravitational pull of the moon in relation to the earth changes the waters in the oceans thus causing many tsunamis throughout the world and many are pronounced dead. Eventually everything that people take for granted such as heating oil and stores being restocked with food and clothes comes to a halt.

Luckily Miranda’s mother, (who is divorced from Miranda’s father), has the foresight to raid store and stock up on every type of food and clothing that they see. Eventually the gas prices raise to almost $10.00 a gallon and gas is limited to 3 gallons of gas at a time. Miranda, her mother, and her two brothers along with their neighbor, Ms. Nezbits, have to figure out how they are going to survive in Pennsylvania with the lack of resources that most take for granted. Along their journey they must endure the freezing cold without a heater, with limited food, and contact with the rest of the world. They do survive many many deaths, the flu, and the large amounts of snow. Although life by the end of the book has not returned to “normal” it is better and they are brought rationed food.

My Opinion:

This book is an adventure of what life could possibly be like if the moon was to move closer to the earth and some of the catastrophic events that could take place. In my opinion this story could be somewhat depressing and also interesting to see how life as we currently know it could be altered to this level of just basic survival. It puts many things like internet into perspective. I found this story to be interesting and likeable and I would recommend to high school students.

Reviews:

Chen, D. (2010, March, 28). [Review of the book Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/practicallyparadise/2010/03/28/top-teen-titles-75-79/

School Library Journal (March 28, 2010) Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all–hope–in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. I discovered this book from blogs in 2007 and had to write my own post on my pre-SLJ blog DeepThinking.blogsome.com. I was feeling very full of myself and wittingly (in my own opinion) called the post "I’m a Pfeffer, He’s a Pfeffer, She’s…" I have some very interesting links to other points of interest so I hope you will click back and read. Since then two other titles have been released to extend this story and provide more viewpoints. Life As We Knew It is Miranda’s view. The Dead And The Gone is told from Alex’s viewpoint in New York City. This World We Live In brings both sets of characters together. Every week I hand Life As We Knew It to a student because I enjoyed reading it. Even though I found some of the selfish actions of the characters deplorable, I recognized their egocentricity as being realistic. Many teens recommended it for the best book of 2006. TeenReads.com, TeensReadToo, GoodReads, and LibraryThing provide links to positive (and some negative) reviews. My buddy Ed (Edward T.) Sullivan has written a downloadable pdf guide to Life As We Knew It. AWARDS: An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A Booklist Editors’ Choice A CCBC Choice A Junior Library Guild Premier Selection An Amazon.com Best Book of the Year A YALSA Teens’ Top Ten Book 2009 — Evergreen Young Adult Book Award (WA) Uses for the library: I think this would be a great book to take a key line out of to try to have the students guess which book did the line come from. I also think I would like to have a book club read this book and maybe one or two others and have the students play a trivia type game with the book.

Module 7: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Citation:

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young People

Summary:

This is a story of survival emotional and physical. Brian, who is 13 is on a plane to Canada when his plane crashes. Everyone on the plane dies except Brian. He has very few items to help him survive and is all alone in the woods. The most important item he does have is his hatchet, which was given to him by his mom. He uses it to make his shelter and traps. He is also dealing with the divorce of his parents with he is not taking very well. He is angry with them about the divorce. He learns to survive by making shelter and figuring out how to catch fish and make a fire. He also deals with many emotional issues. He eventually gets rescued and learns to forgive his parents. He also learns that the divorce had nothing to do with him.

My Opinion:

This is an incredible story about survival. This story may seem to appeal more to boys but I feel that it would be great for a unit study for the entire class. There is something in storyline that will appeal to everyone. Brian’s self taught skills and braveness is what helps him survive and what I feel, is what will appeal to students of all genders. This is for sure on my new favorite list.

Reviews:

Chatton, B. (1987, December 1). [Review of the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen]. School Library Journal. Retrieved by Bowker’s Books in Print

School Library Journal (December 1, 1987) Gr 8-12 Brian Robeson, 13, is the only passenger on a small plane flying him to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane drifts off course and finally crashes into a small lake. Miraculously Brian is able to swim free of the plane, arriving on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. The novel chronicles in gritty detail Brian's mistakes, setbacks, and small triumphs as, with the help of the hatchet, he manages to survive the 54 days alone in the wilderness. Paulsen effectively shows readers how Brian learns patienceto watch, listen, and think before he actsas he attempts to build a fire, to fish and hunt, and to make his home under a rock overhang safe and comfortable. An epilogue discussing the lasting effects of Brian's stay in the wilderness and his dim chance of survival had winter come upon him before rescue adds credibility to the story. Paulsen tells a fine adventure story, but the sub-plot concerning Brian's preoccupation with his parents' divorce seems a bit forced and detracts from the book. As he did in Dogsong (Bradbury, 1985), Paulsen emphasizes character growth through a careful balancing of specific details of survival with the protagonist's thoughts and emotions. Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Uses for the library: I would read a passage or chapter out of this book to help the students understand what the Newbery Metal is all about. I could use this small snippet of the book to hopefully inspire the students to want to read a Newbery award winning book. I could also discuss how in realistic fiction there are many issues that characters deal with that happen in real life.

Module 7: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

Citation:

Birdsall, J. (2008). The Penderwicks on gardem street. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Reader

Summary:

This book is about a family of four girls and their dad. The mother gives birth and dies from cancer within the first chapter. The family struggles with their father dating and the girls decide to set him up on dates that will be horrible. During all of this there is a new neighbor that moves in; two of the sisters do homework for each other and switch; Tommy, a neighborhood boy starts dating a girl from school, and the youngest sister, who is only four gets in a lot of mischief. In the end all trouble is settled, the father gets married to the neighbor and many confessions are made. This family struggles to adjust to life without their mother but in the end there are many happy endings.

My Opinion:

This book deals with many issues and the plot is extensive. I enjoyed the storylines and the happy ending. There was a lot of foreshadowing and character development. I feel that because of some of the vocabulary used in the book, I would recommend it for the higher end of middle school and high school. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel like it would be a better choice for girls.

Reviews:

Wadham, T. (2008, March 1). [Review of the book The Penderwicks on gardam street by Jeanne Birdsall]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6537040.html

School Library Journal (March 1, 2008) Gr 4–8—The Penderwick sisters are back. Their Aunt Claire has come for a visit, bringing with her a letter from their late mother that encourages their father to date, and an immediate crisis ensues, as the girls assume that this is the first step on the treacherous road to having a stepmother. After frantic consultation, they implement the "Save Daddy" plan, designed to set him up with perfectly dreadful women so that he will not want to date again. Numerous subplots add to the domestic drama. Skye struggles with her temper on the soccer field. Rosalind and neighbor Tommy experience a frustrated romance. Skye and Jane switch homework assignments, leading to a school performance of Jane's Aztec drama, with everyone thinking that it was penned by Skye. While the solution to the dating dilemma can be seen from the beginning, the sisters are so caught up in their drama that they can't see who's right next door. Laugh-out-loud moments abound and the humor comes naturally from the characters and situations. Especially funny is the scene in which the youngest Penderwick hides in the car hoping to spy on one of her father's dates. Like much of the book itself, this scene resolves itself in a tender moment between father and daughter. This is a book to cherish and to hold close like a warm, cuddly blanket that you draw around yourself to keep out the cold.—Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Uses for the library: I would use this book for a middle school book club pick. I would meet with the group and discuss main points of the book and see how it made the students feel. I would also discuss the many story elements going on in the book.