The Book Club Shelf

The Cat on the Mat is Flat

Author: Andy Griffiths

Lexile Score: n/a

Genre: fiction, verse novel

Maturity level: 0th grade

Pages: 166   Chapters: 9  Average Chapter Length: from 6 pages to 25

Theme: animals, silliness (not exactly a book for deep discussions of meaning)

Project ideas: write some rhyming words, create your own chapter

First Line: The cat sat.

Main Character: different characters in each chapter

Review in 25 words or less:  If you have occasion to start beginning readers into chapter books, this would work.

Grade: B+

I can't give this an A, because for a book club, I'm just not sure what the discussion would be about.  Then again, I'm not a 1st grade teacher.  Maybe the beginning reader set would get heavy into the meaning of the flat cat's life.  Does the symbol of the Shonky Wonky Donkey's wonky leg allude to the plight of the pack animal?  Is Jack the yak a metaphor for American greed?

This is my introduction to Andy Griffiths, as far as I know.  (Though I'm not sure how I've missed "The Day my Butt Went Psycho")   It is an important book to take note of on the book club shelf, because it is a chapter book with actual plotlines written in the rhymes of easily decodable words - sight words, really.  If one of the main goals of book club is to push ourselves to higher thought, this may not be the choice.  But if we are looking for a book to build some confidence toward attempting longer chapter books, then this is the perfect stepping stone.  It is super fun, super silly, and super easy to read. 

More info and a free chapter to download here.

Shooting the Moon

Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell

Lexile Score: n/a

Genre: realistic/ historical fiction

Maturity level: 4th/5th grade - nothing too mature here, some understanding of the Vietnam war would perhaps heighten the understanding?

Pages: 176   Chapters: 15  Average Chapter Length: 12 pages

Theme: war, family, photography, how people change, the symbol of the moon

Project ideas: Moon photography (and/or actual film development vs. digital photography); study of Vietnam; Gin Rummy

First Line: The day after my brother left for Vietnam, me and Private Hollister played thirty-seven hands of gin rummy, and I won twenty-one.

Main Character: Jamie Dexter, and to a lesser degree her absent-but-present-through-photographs brother; also her friend Hollister

Review in 25 words or less:  Simple, brilliant story powerfully and precisely told.

Grade: A

On the recommendation of Fuse #8, I ordered a copy of this small, unpretentious book and had a read-through.  It is wonderful!
Jamie Dexter is a military brat whose father is a colonel and whose brother has enlisted to be sent to Vietnam.  As the story progresses Jamie, who has been pro-war and battle-ready her whole life, begins to reconsider things as she sees her brother's photos from Vietnam.  Instead of sending her letters to describe the war, he sends her his undeveloped film rolls to show her.  No words, just photos.  And in each roll, a photo of the moon.
I feel that this book would work better with older elementary students, only because a coinciding study of Vietnam would be much easier to get into more deeply.  The reading level is probably a bit lower than 5th grade, making it an ideal book for a book club who can handle more complex subject matter and high level mature discussions, but perhaps requires a shorter, less dense text.  Great themes to explore here, and (at least for this reader, who never even had any siblings gone to war) strong emotional connections.