Elementary Fiction – Page 4

Road to Tater Hill

by Edith M. Hemingway
2009
210 pgs

      I brought this one home from my recent large library book order that came three days before holiday break. I knew, from the description on Titlewave, it was one I wanted to read and it was worth it. My husband went to school at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC and he often regales us with interesting tales of living in this part of the South. Set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina in 1963, Edith M. Hemingway draws on her own family’s experiences to create this tale.
     Annabel (Annie) and her mother are spending the summer with her grandparents while her dad is stationed oversees. Her mom is pregnant but the baby, born early, dies. Annie spends the summer missing this baby sister, Mary Kate, wondering what her days would be like if things had gone differently. She finds a nice sized rock and holds it like a baby, cuddling it, as she sits by the creek.   Her mother struggles and cannot get past the baby’s death, reeling in grief, forgetting she has a living daughter.   As Annie spends time by the creek, away from home, she meets a mountain women, Eliza McGhee who helps her come to understand her mother’s depression.
     Eliza is a most fascinating character and she slowly reveals her history to Annie. Through Miss Eliza’s revelations we learn of her abusive husband and death of her own child years earlier. Their relationship leads to Annie’s ability to help her own mother and also allows Annie to understand the other people in her life.
     Perfect Quote:

I was close enough now to see the woman sitting on the back stoop of her house with the door open behind her like a narrow slit leading to a dark cave. She reminded me of a character in some fairy tale I had read years ago-not a scary person, but someone who had lived through hard times. Her head was bent over an instrument that lay across her knees, and her face was hidden by the floppy folds of her sunbonnet. She bobbed her head to the rhythm of the music that she plucked from the strings. (58)

I loved Miss Eliza’s ability to envelope Annie into her life even though, previously, she shunned close relationships. Ostracised in her own community Miss Eliza deftly steps in and fills the gap in young Annie’s life. Annie leans on Miss Eliza for understanding and learns what it takes to be friend during difficult times; standing up for what is right and true. These two share a love of reading which is a wonderful connection-I loved Miss Eliza’s recollections of the librarian who brings books to her in prison.
When I get back to school I know I will be able to book talk this one right into an eager student’s hands.
Edith M. Hemingway’s website
Here is a good book trailer video.
Sherry at Semicolon liked it too!
Buy it for someone you love at an Indiebound store near you-Road to Tater Hill

Muliticultural Winner!

Oh, okay so I’m a little behind in my life but I eventually get around to it. I recently finished Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by the amazing Grace Lin, which was a Newberry Honor Winner in 2010. Even though it took me a long time to get to it, it was definetely worth reading. I loved the mixture of folktales into this family/friendship story. Reading this book could make you a better person, really and the message of being true to yourself will come through even for elementary students. The message is subtle though even with the wonderful fairy tale-like ending.

Book Synopsis:

In the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s mother, tired of their poor life, chides him for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest.

Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat, returns with a wondrous story of happiness, family, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless adventure story in the classic tradition of The Wizard of Oz.

My thoughts:

I loved Minli’s character as she was all good things, brave and kind, but not too perfect. This is the type of book I want to save on the shelf for Groovy Girl to read as her chapter book skills improve. As a struggling third grade reader she wouldn’t make it all the way through it herself but one day soon and I want it to be waiting on the shelf with Beverly Cleary. I should have read it aloud to her but I used it as my school chapter book-reading it to myself to model good quiet reading to 4th and 5th grade students (and read it during my own lunch time) and now I have several students in mind to pass it on to for their own reading enjoyment.

I loved the images in this book-the goldfish man, the brilliant red dragon, the mountains-I would love to see this made in to an animated movie (a good one, of course) because I can picture it all so well in my head. I’ve enjoyed Grace Lin’s other books and use them for my lunch time book clubs with 4th and 5th graders but this book, in my mind, is a whole new level of excellence on her part! Way to go, Grace Lin!

Random Quote:

Feasting on juicy peaches, Minli and the dragon walked through the woods for many days. At night, when the dragon slept, Minli missed Ma and Ba. “But this is for our fortune, so they don’t have to work so hard anymore,” Minli told herself when she thought about the worry they must have been feeling. “When I get back, Ba can rest and Ma will never have to sigh again. They’ll see.” But the lonely moon never seemed to gaze comfortably down on her. [88]

If you have a young person needing a gift for the holiday season~this would be a wonderful book to receive!
I am an IndieBound affiliate and will earn a small pittance if you buy it from this site-Click on the title here….Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

The Little Piano Girl; The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Written by Ann Ingalls and Maryann Macdonald

Illustrated by Giselle Potter

2010

From the very first page you can tell this is going to be a fun book to read. Mary is riding on a train and is clapping and singing along to the sounds she hears. The author’s don’t just tell us that, they show us, “She sang the sound of its whistle, ‘Chug-ga, chug-ga, chug-ga…Toot! Toot!’ The train went faster, leaving home behind. ‘Clackety-clack! Clackety-clack! Clackety-clack! Mary clapped and sang softly so that Mama and her sister, Mamie, could sleep.” (1)

There seems to be a whole new genre of biographies in fiction format, making them perfect read-alouds. Authors Ingalls and Macdonald wrote this with such a good rhythm that the words practically POP off the page. Everything snaps together while we learn about Mary Lou Williams and how she learned to play sitting on her mother’s lap at the age of three. The illustrations by Giselle Potter (The Boy Who Loved Words) are bold and evoke an early era.

5/5 picnic basket rating

Buy The Little Piano Girl from an Indie Store

or The Boy Who Loved Words

Me and the Pumpkin Queen

by Marlane Kennedy

(2007)

181 pages

What a perfect chapter book for any season but especially fall and spring when pumpkins would be a focal point. Mildred’s dream is to grow the perfect giant pumpkin to win the Pumpkin Show. She’s been infatuated with this idea ever since her mama passed and her daddy has regaled her with stories of how much she loved walking past the giant pumpkins at the harvest festival.

What makes this a perfect chapter book for elementary students?

1. Easy characters: 11-year-old Mildred, her father, the veterinarian; her Aunt Arlene, a bit bossy but loves Mildred; her best friend, Jacob;and Grover Fernhart, the gruff neighbor who relctantly tells Mildred how to grow a giant pumpkin. At one point, Mildred is forced to take a trip to visit other relatives and meets her cousin, Amanda. Amanda is described as girly but she turns out to have some surprises up her sleeve, making her a perfect companion for Mildred.

2. Grief plays a small role in this story. Mildred is not torn up with grief, she loves her father and their life. She talks to her mother and wishes she were still around but Mildred is happy. She does show frustration as her attempts to grow a giant pumpkin fail but she continues to try. She doesn’t give up.

3. Growing up/maturing is talked about as Aunt Arlene takes Mildred shopping and buys several new bras for her. It is touched on just briefly but not in great detail.

The opening:

I don’t think I’m abnormally obsessive. I mean, Daddy hasn’t taken me to the doctor or anything to find out for sure, so I prefer to describe myself as focused. A lot of kids my age are focused. Like Arnie Bradford. He is focused on basketball. Every time we drive past his house on our way to town, he is his driveway shooting baskets. Even in the middle of winter. Then there is Gloria Mathis. She is all the time blathering about this teenage actor she is in love with. She cuts his picture out of magazines and plasters them all over her school notebooks. But truth be told they are focused on the usual kinds of things that kids all over the place are focused on. Like there are probably hundreds of thousands of fifth graders into basketball and popular actors. It just so happens that my thoughts are consumed with something out of the ordinary. Daddy isn’t worried about me at all. Aunt Arlene sure is. (1-2)

It has an easy-going rhythm and the chapters are short, making it a quick read-aloud. Howard Dill’s Giant Pumpkin Seeds are just what Grover recommends to Mildred and they really exist. Students could have a great time researching and growing their own. Mildred, playing on the computer at her father’s office, is on bigpumpkins.com-which also really exists although you have to become a member to explore. Find author information here at Marlane’s website.
Book Trailers for Readers has a cute video about this book.

My Rating:

(how do we like the rating system my techy son created for me?)

When You Reach Me

Rebecca Stead

(2009)

Newberry Winner

     This lovely tale created by Stead gave me chills-the good kind, like when someone else brushes my hair-certain books give me a soft tickle up my spine as I turn the last page. [dreamy sigh] I didn’t want it to end but yet the end was so GREAT! How could I not want it to end.
     It’s the story of 12-year-old Miranda and her mother, who is preparing to win a spot on “The $20,000 Pyramid” and their quirky 1970’s New York neighborhood.  Miranda loves Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and reads it over and over and carries it with her.   Her life is coasting comfortable down one path when things begin to go topsy-turvy and change course. Her best friend, Sal, gets punched randomly by an older kid on the street and suddenly Sal doesn’t want to hang out with her at all. The laughing guy on the corner keeps getting closer and she begins to get notes tucked in odd places that don’t make sense until she starts putting the pieces together. It’s lovely when that aha! moment lights up.
     It’s a crazy story; really layered so well and it had to be hard to fit it all together. At the back of the book, Stead says “I had to be rescued several times while writing this book…” this I can believe but the fact is it comes together brilliantly. I adored all the characters-loved Miranda and her mother, Richard, the steady and reliable boyfriend, Cal and Annemarie, her friends, Louise, Sal’s mom, and especially Marcus, the kid who punches Sal. Miranda’s mom is a particularly well-written 1970’s activist mom. Here’s a quote:

While she listened, Belle made me a turkey sandwich and gave me about ten chewable vitamin C’s because she thought I sounded a little nasal. When she went to the bathroom, I sneaked a bunch of grapes, which I love but can’t ever have, because Mom doesn’t like the way the grape pickers are treated in California and she refuses to buy them. (8)

I identified with this mom’s attitude and choices and loved her relationship with Louise, the one-floor-down neighbor and fellow single parent of Sal. I could pick dozens of quotes and gush over each character but really I think you should just go read it, buy it, share it with a friend…so you can feel that lovely chill up your spine as the story ends.
After perusing Stead’s website I’m wondering about her first novel, First Light, and whether it is worth reading?
What other books tingled my spine, you ask?

1. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
2. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
3. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
4. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I’m sure there were a few more but these are the books that come rapidly to mind.
What about you…what book gives you the slow tickle of happiness??

Buy When You Reach Me here:

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Finally by Wendy Mass (2010)

I have to get this one back out on the library shelves…students are clamoring for it because many read 11 Birthdays by Mass last year. I read Finally a few weeks ago and will be happy to share it with students-I think they will like it more than I did. Hmm, don’t get me wrong, I liked it, I just didn’t love it.

Straight from the back cover…

I’m a big wisher. I’ll wish on anything. Shooting stars, stray eyelashes, dandelion tops, coins in fountains. Birthday candles (my own and other people’s). Even when my glasses fog up. When I was younger, the wishes used to vary. A pony. A best friend. A new bike with streamers on the handles. A baby brother or sister. some of these even came true (not the pony). But over the past year, every wish has been spent wishing I was 12 already, a date I’ve waited for my whole life and one that is only six weeks away. Looking back, I wish I had saved one of those wishes because, if I had, I wouldn’t be stuck in this drainpipe right now. Yes, drainpipe.

Rory gets herself stuck while on a field trip and an elderly woman rescues her. This has some of the same mystical, magical charm that 11 Birthdays did as well as intertwining characters. Amanda and Leo (from 11 Birthdays) attend Rory’s school, so we know we are in the same community. Kids will love meeting up with these characters!

Rory has this whole list of things she wants to be able to do once she turns 12, most things her friends can already do. The first half of the book we get a nice understanding of her family and why she wants all these things to happen. She feels like she has the strictest parents in the universe…(she wouldn’t want to come live at my house).

On the big day, Rory has a chart ready to share with her parents and her parents are prepared to let this list of demands become reality. Some of them are normal: she wants to babysit so she takes the beginner’s Red Cross course for babysitters (I did this myself back in the day!). She gets an IM account, a cell phone (which she loses way, way too quickly) and is interested in getting a rabbit and her ears pierced.

It’s a lot of demands and all of it turns out hilarious. My favorite part was the ending, which was filled with warm feelings and great resolution but the middle made me a little overwhelmed. Kids will love it though-especially the murderous bunny!

Wendy Mass’ website

Laura Resau's Star in the Forest

(2010)

149 pages, including pronunciation and glossary

This book is a perfect gem for elementary students, especially at my elementary school. Not every school population will relate to this story even though they could still take much from it’s great characters and friendship theme.

Synopsis:

Zitlally’s father has been deported and her mother, in order to earn enough to bring him back, works extra jobs and takes in boarders to their already cramped trailer. While her family struggles Zitally escapes to the woods behind their trailer and finds a lonely and abandoned dog trailer park and puts all her energy into comforting the dog~which makes her feel closer to her father. Because of the dog, Zitlally is befriended by Crystal, a girl from her class who also happens to live in the trailer park. Her and Crystal’s relationship to each other and through the act of taking care of Star is filled with kindness and true friendship. They accept each other and Star for what is real.

Random Quote:

Papa’s favorite thing in the world is mushroom picking. I don’t remember too much from Xono, but I remember when he took me mushroom hunting. It smelled like rain and mud, and the ground squished beneath our feet, and it was just me and him because Dalia didn’t like walking very far. (24)

I can’t wait to introduce this to students at Highland as we have a large Hispanic population and many of our students live in a one of two close trailer parks. I think reading Star in the Forest will give students an instant connection to Zitlally and her family, no matter their background or where they live, because she is a very real and loveable character.

Ellie McDoodle; Have Pen, Will Travel

by Ruth McNally Barshaw

2007

170 pages

elementary fiction

My reader girl and I just finished this book last night. It is half chapter book, half diary with pages of doodles thrown in for fun! Think Wimpy Kid but not as crazy. We loved Ellie and her games.

From the back of the book:

When Ellie McDougal’s parents go out of town, she’s forced to go on a camping trip with her aunt, uncle, cousins, and baby brother, Ben-Ben. Mosquitoes and poison ivy she can handle, but a week with crazy relatives? No way! Thank goodness she at least has her sketchbook for recording all the excruciating details.

As a reader we had a great time listening to Ellie try to fit in with her cousin’s family. It is always difficult feeling like the outsider. She’s ticked from the beginning of the trip because her aunt and uncle plan to stay in a cabin and Ellie’s family are tent-campers. Oh, what a big divide that is! Coming from a long line of tent campers I can relate to her dilemma but have adjusted very nicely to cabin camping and even motel camping on occasion. They have some many amazing adventures all on one camping trip. Frogs, marshmallows, rainy days, hurt feelings and getting lost are just a few of the issues to get through for Ellie and her cousins!

Lucky for Ellie she can doodle her frustrations away and she eventually discovers her relatives aren’t so bad. The camping trip made this a really unique read and my reader girl and I loved all the games she listed to play with doodles for explanation. I believe there are two more in the series and we’ll have to check them out as well. Beyond getting to know her cousins we are anxious to meet her best friend, Amy and her new camping buddy, Scott-we hope they both show up in Ellie’s next adventure!

Ellie has her own page!
Ruth McNally Barshaw

Fuse #8 Reviews the next book in the series.

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The Reinvention of Edison Thomas

Jacqueline Houtman

2010

This is the story of Eddy; short for Edison because of a crazy old family tradition. He even has an uncle named Beckett Thomas. I immediately fell in love with Eddy. He’s charming throughout this difficult journey of self-discovery. When the story opens Eddy is competing at the Drayton Middle School annual Science Fair. He comes in third and is mad, disappointed that he won’t get the chance to compete in the regional science fair. It is easy to tell from his behavior at the fair that something is a little different about Eddy. He is affected by loud sounds and has a hard time processing events that occur around him. As Eddy’s story unfolds we never do get a full description of what causes his anxieties but we do learn what brings them out. He doesn’t like loud noises, he doesn’t understand common euphemisms, his social skills are low and his speech pattern is more robotic than pre-teenager. He is incredibly smart and loves to tinker around with used parts, trying out a variety of inventions. When the crossing guard is let go from the intersection closest to school Eddy becomes obsessed with the dangers this could cause to young students.

Many of his strong points make him a “geek” at school and because of his social skills he has a difficult time figuring out who his friends really are. Two of the bigger themes in this book are bullying and friendship. These themes play out as as Eddy tries to figure out why his old friend Mitch sends him such mixed signals. Eddy does make some real friends who can appreciate all of his good points while gently guiding him through the few little things that cause him trouble. Most of the characters were well-written by Houtman except the school principal and the therapist Eddy sees at school. They both annoyed me. I thought it was ridiculous that the principal didn’t realize he was being played and Tiffany, the therapist, didn’t have great follow-through with Eddy. I kept thinking this must be her first year as a therapist!

But I loved Eddy and was happy to see him begin to understand the true meaning of friendship and to cope with Mitch’s behavior.

Perfect Quote:

The last page of the pamplet appeared in his mind. He began to recite the speech he had prepared. “I may not be as popular as you-“

“Tell me something I don’t know,” said Mitch as he found what he had been looking for in his locker and closed the door. “The square root of 1,225 is 35, but do not change the subject. I may not be as popular as you are, but I am a human being-” Eddy T. (152)

Mitch, who is a very believable bully, goes on to make fun of Eddy but what I love about this quote is it took me reading it twice to get it!! I love these little bits of subtle humor. This book would be a great read-aloud for its many themes including its wide use of common euphemisms. The author is a scientist and does such a good job of adding in random bits of essential information, which would make a cool student project-to collect those facts highlighted and study them! I recieved this from The Picnic Basket.
5/5 stars
elementary fiction

Weekend Update

We’ve been camping in Michigan for one week and we made it out alive. I love camping but I kissed my [dirty] carpet so thankful am I to be home!! Camping makes one appreicate home so much…the indoor plumbing, the kitchen sink, baths, wifi, the ice box, a roof! We went to Michigan so teenage son could fish and so sweetheart husband could run the Charlevoix Marathon [his 10th]. I planned to have some marathon reading sessions in-between adventures. My reading dreams are always bigger than reality. I did spend a fair amount of time with my lovely in-laws and enjoyed a wine-tasting with them (quietly, just the 3 of us).

What I did read:

Maggie’s Door by Patricia Reilly Giff (yes, I started off easy but it was good and I love Giff)
Serena by Ron Rash (oh, my)

What I’m still reading:

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs (lighter reading after Serena)
Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew by Michael Morpurgo (still, I know, V and A)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (I’m on chapter 10 with peaceful girl-oh what joy to be rereading this aloud for another child!!)

What I carried all the way to Michigan and back without reading:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alen Bradley (even though I’m really looking forward to this one)

I also did a little knitting and worked a large crossword, which are both easy activities to do while riding in the passenger’s seat so I can talk to driving husband. I’m so grateful for his driving abilities!! Love you.

We had very sporadic cell and wifi service and it was refreshing to be off the grid. I did have two posts pre-written before our departure last Saturday and I was thrilled with how well my Father’s Day tribute turned out. It is difficult for teenagers to be without their technology but I love to watch my son fish much more than play FIFA soccer on his ipod. Stepdaughter is still waiting to hear about housing assignments at Oberlin so had to check email each time we landed at a cafe. Please…she wants the new green choice available only to freshman!!! [waving magic mama wand]

I have several posts to write about camping and knitting as well as the books I finished.
As I browsed through other blogs tonight, touching base with many on my blog roll, I saw lots of challenge up-dates (woe is me!) I need to get my reading in gear!!
Now that our major vacation is done and checked off my summer to-do list and number one son is off for a month camping with grandparents I may have tiime to read a ~~few~~ many days away~in my hammock.

Now since I am very sleep deprived [how much sleep do you really get in a tent while it is downpouring?] I need to get some rest. No alarm.

What about your week…what fantastic and marvelous adventures did you have?