The Book Club Shelf

A Drowned Maiden's Hair

Author: Laura Amy Schlitz

Lexile Score: 690

Genre: Historical fiction

Maturity level: 5th grade (seances?)

Pages: 400

Review in 25 words or less:  Brutally tragic drama.  Cheering for Maud, preparing yourself for a possible letdown.  You want Hyacinth to love Maud for reasons she never will.  Grade: A

Theme: Honesty, Mourning

Project ideas:  Um, bring in a ouiji board?

First Line: On the morning of the best day of her life, Maud Flynn was locked in the outhouse, singing 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Main Character: Maud Flynn

Inkheart

Author: Cornelia Funke (I've heard it pronounced (FUN'-kuh)

Lexile Score: 780

Genre: Fantasy (some literary reference to other classic novels)

Maturity level: 3rd grade (VERY long and requiring an exceptional commitment of time and energy.)

Pages: 534

Films: (coming soon)

Review in 25 words or less: 

Theme:  The power of books

Project ideas:  What would happen if a character from one of your favorite books popped out of the pages?

First Line: Rain fell that night, a fine, whispering rain.

The Tale of Despereaux

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Lexile Score: 670

Maturity Level: 2nd/3rd grade (It's a love story, but not a juicy one)

Pages: 269

Films: none

Project Ideas: 

Review in 25 words or less:  Love can move mountains!  Light can conquer darkness, and mice can fall in love with princesses.  This book is pure discussion gold.

First Line:  THIS STORY BEGINS within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brain Selznick - also the illustrator

Lexile Score: 820

Maturity Level: 3rd grade - a mention of a death of an uncle, found on the bottom of a river

Pages: 511

Films: none - possibly find a Georges Melies film?

Project Ideas: Write an entire book with illustrations only? 

Review in 25 words or less: The weight of the book paired with the curiosity of the illustrations drew me in instantly.  The story was gripping, well-told, not amazing.   Grade: B

I have always loved the illustrations of Brian Selznick, from the first time I saw Frindle in fact.  I think he is a master of finding wasy to subtly enhance stories with his pictures.  When I saw this book, I was so excited by the possibilities of the idea.  I can't think of another "chapter" book filled with so much illustration.  I wonder if he could have pushed the idea further into telling the story even more visually.  Yes, the pictures added to the story, but he relied mainly on intersperced text to do most of the heavy lifting.  Not a disappointment; a joy to read, even; just not perfect.  Too expensive for a small group to get enough copies, most likely.  It would certainly make for some fun conversation though!  "How did the pictures help tell the story?"  "Would you rather imagine the place, or see it in drawings?" etc.

Discussion Questions here

Gossamer

Author: Lois Lowry

Lexile Score: 660

Maturity Level: 4th grade?  There are some violent descriptions of child abuse; the boy dreams of having his face rubbed in the dirt until it bleeds, and recalls being forced to eat dog food because of having peed on the floor.

Pages: 140

Films: none

Project Ideas: 

Review in 25 words or less:  Gossamer is an absolute delight, like feeding your imagination candy.  A story of tanscending limitations and misfortune; the main character, Littlest, never needs to.

First Line:  An owl called, its shuddering hoots repeating mournfully in the distance.

Charlotte's Web

Lexile Score: 680

Pages: 184

Films: yes, two

Project Ideas:  relationship web, emotions bar graph

Review in 25 words or less: Charlotte is a true friend and a good writer as is E.B. White, for having given me this book.  A classic deserving unlimited rereadings.  Grade: A

Charlotte's Web is one of my top five all-time favorite books.  I have now read it about 12 times, both aloud to students as well as quietly to myself.  It only improves with rereadings for me.  I now can barely get through the final chapter without a tear or two.  Last year, I had to pretend to cough after reading the last line aloud to my students, just to cover up how choked up I was. 

"It is not often someone comes along that's a true friend and good writer. Charlotte was both."  [sniff]

Anyway, I have now officially decided it is a second grade book.  I suppose it really depends on the school and the class reading level, but it seems too easy for third graders now, even at the beginning of the year.  And since there are now two movies, the likelyhood of a student having seen it on film is very high.