As a middle school student I read this series like my life depended on it. I found myself staying up way past my bedtime not being able to put these bAs a middle school student I read this series like my life depended on it. I found myself staying up way past my bedtime not being able to put these books down. The Bad Beginning is the first book of 13 in Lemony Snicket's series, A series of unfortunate events. The main characters Violet, Claus and Sunny are three siblings who just lost their parents in a house fire. Count Olaf is the evil relative that is to be their new guardians. The only thing that Count Olaf wants is the children's fortune that was left to them by their parents and he will stop at nothing to get it. Count Olaf plans to put on a plan where Violet is the bride and he is the groom, though he plans to have an actual marriage certificate for Violet to sign so he will at last obtain the fortune. When the children find out about his plan they refuse to go through with it and Count Olaf locks Sunny up in a bird cage at the top of a large tower in his house. In the end, Sunny is saved, but we all know Count Olaf is not stopping any time soon. There are a few illustrations throughout this book that help give more detail to the story. I would recommend this book to kids in middle school because that is when I enjoyed these books the most. They are very suitable for children between the ages of 9-14.
Snicket, L., & Helquist, B. (1999). The Bad Beginning. New York, NY: HarperCollins....more
The Polar Express is a popular Christmas story that won the Caldecott Medal in 1986. On Christmas Eve a young boy is laying restless in bed, excited fThe Polar Express is a popular Christmas story that won the Caldecott Medal in 1986. On Christmas Eve a young boy is laying restless in bed, excited for the following morning when he hears a train pass by. He runs outside quickly and the conductor invites him on board, when he asks where they are going he says the north pole! The boy boards the train quickly to find many other young kids in their pajamas headed to the north pole. Once they reach the north pole they see Santa and his elves gathered at the center of the city where the first gift of Christmas will be given. The boy is chosen to receive the first gift which is a silver bell from Santa's sleigh. He sticks it in the pocket of his robe and continues on his adventure through the north pole. When he finally returns home he notices a hole in his pocket and the bell is now gone. When he wakes up in the morning he finds a box under the tree from Santa with the bell in it. He and his sister ring the bell loving the beautiful sound, but his parents can't hear the bell ring. Only those who believe can hear the bell. A fun activity to have in your classroom around the holidays would be to get a bell and ask the children if they can hear it ring or not. I would recommend this story to children in K-5th grade. It is a classic and I still love it to this day.
Allsburg, C., & Allsburg, C. (1985). The Polar Express. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ...more
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn continues the story from, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. At the end of Tom Sawyer Huck and Sawyer find treasure. HucThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn continues the story from, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. At the end of Tom Sawyer Huck and Sawyer find treasure. Huck then returns home where he lives with his father who often gets drunk and beats him. Huck having had enough of this decides to fake his own death and run away. He smears pig blood everywhere and runs away. He encounters a slave named Jim and lets him in on his adventure. The town they lived in encounters a drastic flood and they gain a house that was floating down the river. People begin to look for Jim because he is a runaway slave and Huck and Jim are separated. Huck ends up with the Grangerford's who are in a feud with the Shepard's which leads to a battle Huck does not want to be apart of. Jim finally finds Huck and helps him escape before he is sucked into fighting. They then run into two men who are known trouble makers and scammers who sell Jim to a farmer. However, the farmer ends up being Sawyer's aunt and uncle and they mistake Huck for Sawyer. Sawyer finally returns and helps Jim escape again only to figure out that Jim is now a free slave because his previous owner Ms. Watson has passed away. In the end, Sawyer's aunt and uncle want to adopt Huck because his dad is found dead in the river, but Huck is ready to be free and sets out to the west. This story uses the "N" word a numerous amount of times that may be offensive to some readers. I think that was a point that Mark Twain wanted to address and that is why he used that word so many times. Readers need to know before hand that using that word is not acceptable in today's society. Because of the profanity used I would recommend this book to older readers beginning in grade 9 and above.
Twain, M. (1983). The adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's comrade). New York, NY: Chatham River Press :....more
Mockingjay is the final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Katniss has been sent to a new district after the victor’s games known asMockingjay is the final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Katniss has been sent to a new district after the victor’s games known as district 13. Her mom and Prim were able to safely get to the district as well once the capital bombed and destroyed all of the other districts. Katniss is known as the mockinngjay and is the known to be the leader of the uprising that is taking place. She doesn’t know where Peeta is, and is worried about his safety. The capital is constantly attacking district 13 to the point that they must form an army with their strongest and smartest citizens. Peeta is shown on a televised newscast that is shown throughout the districts, he is being brainwashed by President Snow and Katniss must rescue him before it gets worse. When Peeta arrives in district 13 his hate for Katniss is at an all time high due to the torture and brainwashing he has undergone. Katniss works hard to gain his trust back, but it almost seems like a lost cause. Katniss begins to starve herself, as she can’t live another second in this mess that she in turn created. Peeta won’t let this happen and begins to protect Katniss, as they come to the realization that what is most important is the amount of love they have for each other ending on a rather happy note. I knew Katniss would eventually fall for Peeta, their bond seemed to be unbreakable throughout the series. I would recommend this book for readers aged 12 and up.
Collins, S. (2010). Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic Press....more
The Hunger Games is the first book in the series written by Suzanne Collins. The main character is Katniss Everdeen who lives in district 12 with her The Hunger Games is the first book in the series written by Suzanne Collins. The main character is Katniss Everdeen who lives in district 12 with her mom and younger sister, Prim. There are a total of 12 districts, and district 1 is the capital. Every year there is a competition known as the “Hunger Games” where two people are chosen from each district to compete against each other and fight until death and one person remains victorious. On the day of the reaping, Katniss’s sister’s name is drawn and Katniss cannot let her sister go into the games so she volunteers herself as tribute. The other tribute from her district is Peeta, who helped Katniss in the dark times of when her father died in a mining accident. Peeta and Katniss try to avoid all contact with each other as they know one or both of them are most likely going to end up dead. As the games are commencing they know there can only be one winner, and Peeta and Katniss are the two tributes left and they will not kill each other. They pull such a brilliant stunt where they both begin to eat posinous berries, but just as they pop them into their mouth the announcer yells that there will be two winners this year. Katniss knows that she just defeated the capital and that she is in great danger. This story is so exciting and thrilling with many events that took me by surprise. You can feel the bond being created between Katniss and Peeta and it is one that many could relate to. This book would be suitable for older readers around age 12 and above.
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press....more
Catching Fire is the second book in the sequel of the Hunger Games series. Katniss, the main character and Peeta have both just survived the Hunger GaCatching Fire is the second book in the sequel of the Hunger Games series. Katniss, the main character and Peeta have both just survived the Hunger Games together, beating all odds since they are from the same district and there is only suppose to be one winner. However, they both are forced to re-enter the Hunger Games ring and fight till death once again. When they first find out that they have to return to the games my jaw literally dropped. I was so stunned that they had to go through this traumatizing event again. Katniss and Peeta created an uprising from the stunt they pulled at the end of the Hunger Games where they threatened to commit suicide together. Katniss is now stuck in the position of pretending to be in love with Peeta, in order for the districts to not create as much as an uprising. In the end of the victor’s hunger games, Katniss is taken by a helicopter to district 13, where Gale tells her that they started dropping bombs as soon as the games began, but he was able to get her mom and her sister out alive. This book is recommended for readers in grades 7 and above.
Collins, S., & Parisi, E. (2009). Catching fire. New York: Scholastic Press....more
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