The Book Club Shelf

The Underneath

Author: Kathi Appelt
Lexile Score: 830
Genre: fantasy/ suspense
Maturity level: 5th/6th grade (the man, Gar Face, is incredibly violent and regularly drinks - even to the point of passing out)
Pages: 311   Chapters: 124  Average Chapter Length: 1-3 pages
Theme: destiny, nature, karma, love, time
Project ideas: hmmm
First Line: THERE IS NOTHING lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.
Main Character: Tho kittens, Sabine and Puck, and an old hound, Ranger
Review in 25 words or less: Reads more like a poem; bizarre, complex, and wonderful.
Grade: A-
I finally finished this book after having started it at the beginning of summer.  Why did it take me three months to read?  I can't ignore the fact that it was a struggle to maintain energy in the middle.  This isn't to say it wasn't a wonderful book, and I will note that the last 200 pages took me one night.
It is tricky to summarize this book.  There are several key players, all within seemingly divergent story lines.  There is the cat, who has kittens, and moves in with a dog under the house of an outcast drunk.  There are the trees, who play a role in almost every chapter - more in thought than in deed.  There are the shape shifters, the birdpeople, the snakewoman, and others.  There is One Enormous Alligator of Legendary Size.  There is also Gar Face, the drunk hermit hunter.  All of these characters had me very confused near the beginning.  The stories take place across a thousand years, which also had me thrown for a while.  All of these factors would have had me putting the book away early, were it not for the language.  Appelt has poured her soul into the words of this book, and they hold you.  There is a song the hound sings to the kittens near the beginning of the book that literally had me in tears when I read it aloud to a friend.  (I'm going to email the publisher and see if I can reprint it here)  She names the trees and rivers, describing them physically, emotionally, and, often, metaphysically too.  It is simply gorgeous language, one of the most beautiful books I've read.
Obviously, the array of stories begin to come together near the end and the story becomes a suspenseful, heart pounding race to the finish. 
It is, at times, very depressing.  On the whole, it is a heavy, saddening tale of love and loss.  A book club would have a lot to pore over.  Personally, I didn't make a lot of connections to the story, mostly due to the fantastic nature of it and and other worldly-ness I didn't fully grasp.  Then again, the hound and the kittens did have me thinking of my daughter several times.  This story is delicate, and would be an appropriate book club choice for some advanced 5/6th grade readers looking for a challenge.  I would want to have them be sure they were ready for a very serious read.

Judy Moody Goes to College

Author: Megan McDonald
Lexile Score: n/a, maybe around 500
Genre: realistic fiction
Maturity level: 2nd grade (I wondered, being one who survived "Naked Lady Class" myself, how I would explain nude figure drawing if asked by a student - Judy walks past such an art class and worries about having to go there)
Pages: 133   Chapters: 13  Average Chapter Length: 10 pages
Theme: College, language, slang, math
Project ideas: Field trip to college!  College pen pals
First Line: When Judy Moody got to school on Monday, she had a new teacher. (I put a lot of stock in first lines - probably too much.  This one is not exactly on my top ten list.)
Main Character: Judy Moody and her college tutor, Chloe
Review in 25 words or less: Judy Moody is literary candy for third graders, and the book reads a mile-a-minute.
Grade: A

I have had sets of Judy Moody in my classroom for years.  I have to confess I haven't more than skimmed them until I recently read Judy Moody Goes to College.  I absolutely loved it!  Judy is quirky, flawed, daring, emotional and (her words) sick-awesome.
Judy Moody has a substitute teacher because her regular teacher broke a leg or something overseas.  (Come to think of it, kudos to Ms. McDonald for making that particular back story more than just a passing thought - who the heck IS this teacher?)  Her sub determines that Judy is deficient in math, and recommends tutoring to her parents.  This puts Judy in a bad mood until she meets Chloe, her uber-tutor: a college student!  Judy learns about math the hip college way and also gets a hands-on experience in college life.  Soon she is dressing, eating and TALKING like a real college student - to the envy/disgust of all her peers.
I recently read a discussion online about series books - specifically, how series books are about all you can find at this middle-grade level.  A point I hadn't considered was given: series books are perfect for readers at this level.  They have only recently mastered reading but are not yet sophisticated enough to explore diverse genres.  The comfort of going to a familiar genre - or in this case a familiar character and writing style - is perfect for them.  I can imagine a third grader who enjoys one Judy Moody munching her way through every title in the series and still wanting more.
A few thoughts I had while reading JMGTC:
1.  The chapters are all some play on the word attitude.  Bad-itude, Math-itude, flunk-itude; it is such a fun exercise in the richness of language - perfect discussion material for a book club.
2.  Judy adopts Chloe's college slang and uses it throughout the book.  Some words are defined, some are not.  I think students would have fun with the terms, possibly even incorporating them into their own language.  This book continues the popular trend of glossaries in the back of the book.  The inclusion of this kind of non-traditional reading, along with the "Who's Who" page at the beginning, add to the enjoyment of the book for younger readers.
3.  Judy has a lot of inner monologue, and uses conventions such as Stink (her brother) = NCP (nincompoop).  Students would pick up on this no problem, but it would be a good thing to point out in discussion.  I had to pay close attention to quotation marks to keep up with her thinking!

Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing)

Author: Alison McGhee

Lexile Score: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Maturity level: 3rd grade 

Pages: 281 Chapters: 24 Average Chapter Length: 10 pages

Theme: fear, family, friendship

Project ideas: paper mache!

First Line: Julia Gillian, her parents, and her dog Bigfoot, all lived together in a third-floor apartment in south Minneapolis.

Main Character: Julia Gillian

Review in 25 words or less: A sweet story covering a few summer weeks in the life of a 10 year old, her loving parents and quirky neighbors.

Grade: B

I wanted this book to be great, I loved the premise – Julia Gillian has a book she is afraid to finish because her heightened “art of knowing” senses that something bad is going to happen in the book.  Unfortunately, I found the pace too slow, the side stories slightly distracting and forced, and the end of the book (ironically) sort of a boring let-down.  Sweet, yes, but not one I’m coveting.

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam

Author: Cynthia Kadohata

Lexile Score: 730

Genre: Historical Fiction

Maturity level: Middle School 

Pages: 308 Chapters: 31 Average Chapter Length: 10 pages

Theme: relationships, war, tenacity

Project ideas: collect dog stories, other examples of working dogs

First Line: Grrrr!  For I am the all-powerful Cracker!

Main Character: Rick Hanski, Cracker

Review in 25 words or less: Wonderful book, many opportunities for rich discussion, a Call of the Wild for a new generation?

Grade: A+

This story, set during the Vietnam war, is partially told from the viewpoint of the German shepherd bomb-sniffing dog of the title, as well as the two young men that love her – briefly, the boy who had to give her up, and mainly, the soldier assigned as her handler.  I found this piece of history intriguing, and it gave me a new understanding of many new impacts of war.  The story itself is lovingly and carefully written, and while there is some violence, I believe a book club could discuss the author’s purpose in including some of the darker aspects in the novel. 

Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Slimed!

Author: Frances O’Roark Dowell

Lexile Score: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Maturity level: third grade 

Pages: 190 Chapters: 15 Average Chapter Length: 15 pages

Theme: friendship, facing challenges, goals,

Project ideas: Science tie-in:  mold experiments listed in back of book

First Line: My name is Phineas Listerman MacGuire.

Main Character: Phineas

Review in 25 words or less: Kid-friendly writing style, with lots of humor, “gross” science stuff, likeable characters and fun plot will find many happy readers.

Grade: A

I can’t wait to use this book in a fourth grade classroom.  It is an easy read, and I think the students will relate to the character (also a fourth grader) and his situations.  In addition to the great science embedded in the story are many other discussion topics, such as personal strengths and motivation. 

Becca at Sea

Author: Deirdre Baker

Lexile Score: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Maturity level: fourth grade 

Pages: 165 Chapters: 12 Average Chapter Length: 12 pages

Theme: family, responsibility

Project ideas: Science tie-in:  ocean life, plants

First Line: “Come, Becca,” said Gran.

Main Character: Becca

Review in 25 words or less: Written in a language style that seems adult, a quirky sweet book about a summer on a coastal Canadian island.

Grade: B-

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to many of my adult friends; I just don’t think it would grab the attention of a child.  More like a snapshot of Becca’s summer at her Grandma’s cottage, I loved the strong female characters and the unusual situations, but the lack of actual plot or deep character development might make this a little light to discuss.