Sunday Review

I still didn't get to read as much as I wanted to (lots of company), so I hold out hope for this coming week!  Here are the books I read over Christmas week:
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

adult-fiction, coming-of-age, environmental, fantasy-science-fiction, young-adult-book

Eleven-year-old Julia, living in a California suburb, learns along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer, gravity is affected, birds are plummeting to the earth, and people are acting strangely. Some things in Julia's life are ordinary: shifting friendships, coming-of-age troubles and triumphs, a crush, complicated parental relationships. However, some things are anything but ordinary - risk of radiation, longer and...moreEleven-year-old Julia, living in a California suburb, learns along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer, gravity is affected, birds are plummeting to the earth, and people are acting strangely. Some things in Julia's life are ordinary: shifting friendships, coming-of-age troubles and triumphs, a crush, complicated parental relationships. However, some things are anything but ordinary - risk of radiation, longer and longer periods without sunlight, divisions between the real-timers and the clock-followers, end-of-the-world stock-pilers, the syndrome, etc.  This book seems eerily realistic and plausible, which makes it scary! Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed 2012-book, intermediate-kids-book, memoir, setting, winter, writing-connections What a perfect day (snowy and cold) to read this book about a childhood spent in Maine when the first ice caused great excitement! This book took me back to my own childhood when I would need to break the ice in the horse and cow water buckets before school, wait for thick ice to develop on our pond for skating parties, and accidentally falling through too-thin ice in early spring while leaning too far over the dock to poke it with a stick. This is a perfect book to share when introducing memoir...moreWhat a perfect week (snowy and cold) to read this book about a childhood spent in Maine when the first ice caused great excitement! This book took me back to my own childhood when I would need to break the ice in the horse and cow water buckets before school, wait for thick ice to develop on our pond for skating parties, and accidentally fall through too-thin ice in early spring while leaning too far over the dock to poke it with a stick. This is a perfect book to share when introducing memoir to kids around a theme topic.   Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel     2012-book, animals, early-reader, government, humor, social-studies-connections This early reader recently made the Nerdy Book Club winners list, so I had to check it out. I'm glad I did! Even though it's an early reader, my fourth graders would love the humor, and it's a great way to introduce election terms (Edna's Lovely Little Glossary of Election Terms in the back) in a way that kids will remember! Bad Kitty is hilarious.   The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien   adventure, fantasy-science-fiction, journey, reluctant-hero I had to read this before the movie came out.  I can't believe I've waited this long to finally get to it.  My oldest daughter loves this book.  She read it in third grade, and I imagined her enjoyment as I was reading it - the fantastical creatures, the reluctant and humorous hero, the adventure, the wise wizard, etc.  I will definitely be going to see the movie this week.  I will also be encouraging my fourth graders to read it.  I think they will love it, too!