STUDENT REVIEW - Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

Ruby Holler

By Sharon Creech

Published by HarperCollins Childrens Books, 2004

320 pages (hardcover)

Thirteen-year-old fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage, but their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby Holler. (from barnesandnoble.com)

It is a good book I guess. But it was too long! Maybe if they cut some stuff out [it would be better]. Yes, I would [recommend this book to others]. It gives you a good look at nature.

--Sequoia R.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top 10 Books That Would Be Great Paired With A Required Reading Book

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is the Top Ten Contemporary Books That Would Be Great Paired with a Required Reading Book.

I work in a middle school and I am well aware of what books are required reading (I have helped create units, lessons, and stations for some of the required reading books. The first 8 books listed are books that my school has (or used to) students read during the year. The last 2 are books commonly read in schools that I wanted to add to this list.  

Required Reading	Companion Book(s)	Why
Journey to Jo’burg by Beverley Naidoo	Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton  The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis	Journey to Jo’burg is a great book for the 6th graders to read, though the setting and events can be confusing without background knowledge. Chanda’s Secrets could provide some additional knowledge about South Africa while The Breadwinner is another tale of a family’s will to survive, only it is set in Afghanistan.
We Beat the Street by Sampson Davis	Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery  Monster by Walter Dean Myers  Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri	Students LOVE We Beat the Street and often want similar books. Monster would be a good book to learn what-could-have-been and the challenges urban kids face and Ghetto Cowboy would remind kids to find something they love to stay out of trouble. On the other hand, Temple Grandin is more about overcoming obstacles to happiness just like the guys in We Beat the Street did.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson	Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi  Sold by Patricia McCormick	I Love Chains. It is a thought-provoking and heart-felt book that captures the attention of many students. Luckily there are other interesting and well written books about slavery (in the past and modern) that would appeal to students.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck	Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse  Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis	The Great Depression is so…. depressing. There are plenty of books out there set during that time period. Although Of Mice and Men is a great book, Out of the Dust and Bud, Not Buddy have characters more around the age of middle schoolers.
Animal Farm by George Orwell	Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin	Animal Farm is a great book to read, especially if students are currently learning about the Cold War. But if animals aren’t for you, Breaking Stalin’s Nose is another Cold War book with plenty of depth.
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck	Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri  The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins	I appreciate that A Day No Pigs Would Die takes students back to the time when growing up on a farm was common, but there are some more recent books with some of the same themes (family, death, loyalty, survival) that would probably be better for students to read now.
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank	The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein	After reading The Diary of Anne Frank lots of students come to me seeking similar books. The Boy Who Dared and Code Name Verity (plus its companion novel Rose Under Fire) are books that students could read next.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor	Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs  The Hatchet by Gary Paulson	Some students LOVE adventure books. The Cay is good, but students looking for more could check out the other two… or any books by Will Hobbs and Gary Paulson.
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane	Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo Iron Thunder by Avi	I read the Red Badge of Courage in high school and hated it. Seriously. The main guy was whiny, there were no female characters, and there were lots of seemingly endless battles. I was bored out of my mind. Gatekeepers seems to put some social history into the Civil War with paranormal elements to spice it up. While Iron Thunder has a lot of the same elements as Red Badge of Courage it is MUCH better written.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith	So I hear that there are lots of guys who have to read this in high school and hate it. Personally, P&P is a favorite of mine and more guys could learn how to treat women by reading these books. To cut down on some of the girly aspects, P&P&Z is a good alternative (less descriptions of dresses and more zombie killing).

The Trailer for Divergent!

Here is a first look at the movie trailer for Divergent!

Divergent the Movie

Do you think it looks like how you imagined it when you read the book?



Also... the final book in the series comes out October 22nd! I will definitely be getting it on its release day!

STUDENT REVIEW - Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

Wait Till Helen Comes

By Mary Dowling Hahn

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1986

192 pages (paperback)

Since its publication in 1986, the deliciously frightening novel Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story has not only haunted countless readers, it has also won 11 state book awards. The spine-chilling tale begins when 12-year-old Molly and her 10-year-old brother Michael learn they’ll be moving to a refurbished old church in rural Maryland with their mother’s new husband Dave and their younger stepsister Heather. Heather is an insufferable brat, but that turns out to be the least of the family’s worries. When she strikes up a friendship with Helen, the malevolent ghost of a seven-year-old girl who died in a mysterious fire more than 100 years ago, things really heat up… and Heather’s unsettling threat "Wait till Helen comes" becomes a grim reality. (from barnesandnoble.com)

It scared me, but not too much. If it was longer it would be more interesting. Yes, [I would recommend this book] because it is really good for the horror genre.

--Isabella S.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: My Top Ten Books With A School Setting

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is My Top Ten Books With A School Setting.

School is a HUGE part of people’s lives between ages 5-18 (and even longer if you work at a school) so I always like to get books about school. From funny stories to poignant ones and stories set at boarding school to ones set in public school, books about school can help us learn how to deal with all sorts of things, and laugh in the process. Here are some of my favorites!

  

• Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins