The Book Club Shelf

The Cricket in Times Square

Author: George Selden

Lexile Score: 780

Genre: Fantasy?

Maturity level: 1st grade+

Pages: 152  Chapters: 15  Average Chapter Length: 10 pages/ with pictures

Theme: Empathy,

Project ideas:  Get a pet cricket?  Build a cricket cage?  Maker an advertisement poster for Chester's concert?

First Line: A mouse was looking at Mario.

Main Character: Equally divided between Chester cricket, Harry the cat, Mario the boy and Tucker, the mouse.

Review in 25 words or less:  Certainly stands up to time, easy readable chapters, good sense of New York/ Chinatown culture, kids love it!

Grade: B+

  Good story, well told.

 

Links:

Edhelper CITS unit

CITS wiki

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Author: C.S. Lewis

Lexile Score: 940

Genre: Fantasy

Maturity level: Third grade and up.

Pages: 189  Chapters: 17  Average Chapter Length: 11 pages (including a picture or two per chapter)

Theme: Good vs. evil, trust, religion,

Project ideas:  I brought in some actual Turkish Delight to have the students try - make sure to use REAL lemon extract :)  It was good, but could have used more flavor.  I had the students make paper dolls of the Pevensie kids, coloring them on one side and writing details about the character (character maps) on the other.  Not too exciting, but it worked ok.

First Line: Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

Main Character: Despite the ambiguity of the first sentence, they are: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy

Review in 25 words or less:  Timeless classic.  Is there a childhood fantasy missing?  Let's see: save the world, ride a lion, become king or queen, battle centaurs, know more than all the adults do; check, check, double-check.

Grade: A+

A great story with so much to visualize.  I forgot how the last chapter is full of more complicated, proper "King-and-Queenly" english.  I read it aloud, I wondered how that chapter would have been grasped by my students had they read it alone.  Still my favorite: Giant Rumblebuffin - a personality that lives up to the name.

Author: C.S. Lewis

Lexile Score: 940

Genre: Fantasy

Maturity level: Third grade and up.

Pages: 189  Chapters: 17  Average Chapter Length: 11 pages (including a picture or two per chapter)

Theme: Good vs. evil, trust, religion,

Project ideas:  I brought in some actual Turkish Delight to have the students try - make sure to use REAL lemon extract :)  It was good, but could have used more flavor.  I had the students make paper dolls of the Pevensie kids, coloring them on one side and writing details about the character (character maps) on the other.  Not too exciting, but it worked ok.

First Line: Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

Main Character: Despite the ambiguity of the first sentence, they are: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy

Review in 25 words or less:  Timeless classic.  Is there a childhood fantasy missing?  Let's see: save the world, ride a lion, become king or queen, battle centaurs, know more than all the adults do; check, check, double-check.

Grade: A+

A great story with so much to visualize.  I forgot how the last chapter is full of more complicated, proper "King-and-Queenly" english.  I read it aloud, I wondered how that chapter would have been grasped by my students had they read it alone.  Still my favorite: Giant Rumblebuffin - a personality that lives up to the name.

The True Meaning of Smekday

Author: Adam Rex

Lexile Score: grrrr... I'm going to give up on Lexile if they don't start getting more current. (no score as of 12-2007)

Genre: Science Fiction

Maturity level: I believe this book could be appreciated at a number of different levels.  I don't think there is anything too overly violent or mature for a 3rd grader.  The main character's mom is abducted by aliens - extremely sensitive 2nd graders would maybe perhaps be at least considering some small piece of something resembling worry?  It may just be a bit long for younger readers, unfortunately.

Pages: 432  Chapters: No chapters, really, but sections are broken up with graphic storytelling Average Chapter Length: uh...

Theme: OK besides the obvious: aliens protecting humans from other aliens, How about racism, consumerism, or environmental conservation?

Project ideas:  Yikes.  Make a one-page graphic story of Tip & J.Lo? 

First Line: It was Moving Day.

Main Character: Gratuity "Tip" Tucci (all-time classic main character) and her Boov-friend, J.Lo

Review in 25 words or less:  Instant Classic.  Newbery Winner.  Subtle humor, obvious humor, keep-you-on-your-toes wordplay and inference; dazzling adventure and brilliant graphic novel sections

Grade: A+

This story is instantly in my top five favorite books.  I think that a book club would be all over it - there is a lot to discuss just simply taking the story at face value.  And then there is the neverending stream of allusion, allegory and metaphor that would keep a discussion well-fed for hours.  And then if you were still looking for something to talk about, there are the obvious themes of redemption, loyalty, and friendship.  Still not done discussing?  How about the underlying themes of racism celebrity, power, consumerism.

Links:

www.smekday.com

The Lemonade War

Author: Jacqueline Davies

Lexile Score: Not yet listed, I'm guessing 650?

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Maturity level: 3rd grade

Pages: 175  Chapters: 14  Average Chapter Length: 12 pages

Theme: Sibling Rivalry & Business math

Project ideas:  lemonade stand?  Any type of business, math, economics-related projects.  Create a business proposal for a new product?

First Line: The book has economics terms as definitions at the start of each chapter; chapter one has the term "slump."  The first line of the story is: Evan lay on his back in the dark, throwing the baseball up in a straight line and catching it in his bare hands.

Main Character: Evan and Jessie (brother and sister)

Review in 25 words or less:  Great inclusion of math concepts in fictional writing.  Captures the frustration of sibling rivalry, gets the reader's alliance to tilt back and forth between the warring siblings.

Grade: A

This book was a great story for third graders.  I wonder if the math concepts were lost on them or not.  Jessie makes notes about economic ideas like franchising and profit margins, which may be a little abstract for younger readers.  There are some wonderful math ideas within the story, however, like when Evan figures out division using pictures.  It is a great conversation starter on how people use different strategies to solve math problems.  And the real-world number problems are fantastic! 

The kids' parents are seperated and the father has left them.  This isn't really a strong theme for discussion, other than possibly how it affects the kids' relationship.  (i.e. they are actually really good friends and help each other a lot, complimenting each other's strengths and weaknesses.)  Something to keep in mind.  My students did not seem to even notice this part of the story.

The Golden Compass

Author: Philip Pullman

Lexile Score: 930

Genre: Fantasy

Maturity level: middle school?

Pages: 350

Theme: Good vs. Evil; religion; What Daemontypes say about their humans; parallel universes - string theory? etc.

Project ideas:  What is your daemon?

First Line: Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.

Main Character: Lyra Belacqua (or, Lyra Silvertongue)

Review in 25 words or less:  Nonstop action and adventure; thoroughly realized - to the smallest of detail - alternate world.  Complicated physics/theology tie the story together

Grade: A

Philip Pullman has so completely imagined Lyra's world and envelopes you in it.  Case in point: Lyra makes a face of disgust near the end and wonders to herself whether the bears can read human expressions. 

There is a lot of controversy around this book, mostly due to the coming movie release.  (Why would the film incite more trouble than the book?)  Though I don't agree with those who have decided to pull this book from school shelves, I do see the reason for concern.  I have not read the entire series, so I cannot speak to the final book which evidently has the children trying to "Kill God."  I do see the questioning of truth and human nature written into the story, which I think is always welcome in children's literature.  The story does paint the Catholic church in a negative light, which I can understand would be a concern for Catholics.  The children are abducted, there is reference to the Catholic church castrating boys, and although it is part of the fantasy, the "Intercision" of cutting daemons from children is very distressing.  I have read that the books include actual castration and female circumcision, but I cannot find any evidence of this.  Some reviews have likened the intercision of daemons to these acts, as they are all attempts to prevent children from maturing. 

For several reasons, I would have a hard time using this book in school.  I have absolutely no reservations about having it on my classroom shelf, in the school library, or even recommending it to mature readers.  But I would not use it for a third grade school book club.

Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Lexile Score: 660

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Maturity level: 3rd grade

Pages: 230

Theme: Cruelty, Friendship, Fate, History

Project ideas:  Character relationship web graphic organizer, Dig a hole and bury... what... artifacts from the story?  Family trees?  Palindromes?  Where are the holes in the story?

First Line: There is no lake at Camp Green Lake

Main Character: Stanley Yelnats, the Holes?

Review in 25 words or less:  My favorite children's book since the day it was published.  I mourned the release of a movie, this one was meant to be read.

Grade: A

Moose Crossing

Author: Stephanie Greene

Lexile Score: 410

Genre: Fantasy

Maturity level: 1st grade

Pages: 56

Theme: Friendship, Selfishness, Self-centeredness

Project ideas:  make a moose crossing sign - make a [yourself] crossing sign

First Line: Moose was getting out of the tub when he heard the noise.

Main Character: Moose (Hilde the pig is almost equally mentioned)

Review in 25 words or less:  Wonderful beginner chapter book.  Easy theme to pick up on, hilariously strange characters and situations.  Best friends Moose & Pig?  I mean COME ON.

Grade: A (not for an adult, but 3rd graders seem to love it)

The Wednesday Wars

Author: Gary D. Schmidt

Lexile Score: not yet scored?  My guess: 800

Genre: realistic fiction

Maturity level: 5th grade+ (?)

Pages: 264

Theme: Believe in yourself?

Project ideas:  Shakespeare!

First Line: Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there was one kid that Mrs. Baker hated with heat whiter than the sun. (Classic!)

Main Character: Holling Hoodhood

Review in 25 words or less:  This book is so much fun to read!  It made me want to reread Shakespeare, but I was too busy cheering for Holling to win his "wars." 

Grade: A

Just Grace

Author: Charise Mericle Harper

Lexile Score: not yet scored?  My guess: 550

Genre: realistic (if somewhat aloof) fiction

Maturity level: 2nd grade+

Pages: 137 - *note: There are no chapters, really, more like random titles for connected thoughts.  They start on middles of pages and are called tihngs like "The Completely Surprising Thing Happens Again" and "What I almost Could Not Believe."

Theme: empathy.  A second-place theme would be WAY behind empathy - maybe friendship?

Project ideas:  Take photos of somebody's prized possession and mail them to that person on postcards?  That's what Just Grace does.

First Line: I did not get to be the helper to Mister magic the Magician at my very own (so it should have been me) sixth birthday party because Sammy Stringer spit purple grape juice all over my special white shirt with a big six on it, and I had to change it right when Mister Magic was starting up.

Main Character: Just Grace

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

Author: M.T. Anderson

Lexile Score: 1090

Genre: Historical fiction

Maturity level: whoa.  12th grade?

Pages: 350

Theme: slavery, revolutionary war,

Project ideas:

First Line: I was raised in a gaunt house with a garden; my earliest recollections are of floating lights in the apple-trees.

Main Character: Octavian