Forest of Reading Nominees Are In

It's that time of year again, Runnymede!!  The Forest of Reading nominees are in!  I'll be working hard over the next couple of weeks to order in the nominee titles for all of us to read and discuss throughout the year.

There will be two clubs for grades 4-8.  Grades 4-6 will concentrate on the Silver Birch titles, while grades 7-8 will focus on the Red Maple books.  If these clubs interest you, please see Ms. Edgar ASAP.

In the meantime, read a summary of the following nominees by clicking on the link below.

http://www.accessola.org/ola_prod/OLAWEB/Forest_of_Reading/Current_Program_Year/OLAWEB/Forest_of_Reading/Current_Program_Year.aspx?hkey=5af29ddd-628e-431d-9b3b-321b8393bd25

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate-Review by Clare in Ms. Lakoff's Class

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly is a pioneer book with a modern twist.  With excerpts from Darwin's book "The Origins of the Species", at the beginning of each chapter, the authors tells the story of a girl's forbidden obsession with science in a fresh and fun-filled way.  As the main character, Calpurnia, starts spending more time with her grandfather discussing and exploring science, society requires her to spend less and less time doing experiments  and instead spend long, boring afternoons learning how to sew and knit socks, cook and learn how to be a gentlemen's wife.  Calpurnia wants to fight this fate.

Although this book is set at the turn of the century, Calpurnia's thoughts and feelings are surprisingly modern.  Don't let the somewhat slow beginning fool you, as the book progresses it gets way more exciting.  Ms. Kelly uses a unique cast of characters to act out usual elements like an embroidery contest and a turkey killing.  Two thumbs up for this book!  A must read for all science and history enthusiasts!

Our First Book Review- By Annie in Ms. Lakoff's Class

Read this amazing review below.  Wonderstruck, written by Brian Selznick, is a fantastic new novel that's in our library.  While the novel isn't ready to be circulated yet, it should be ready in about one month.

Wonderstruck

By Brian Selznick

Ben and Rose set out on two different quests. Ben dreams of finding his long lost father, and Rose thinks about an actress she dreams of meeting. When Ben finds a clue about his father and Rose reads an article about a mysterious actress they both set out alone on a quest in New York.

Both the two mysterious stories are told 50 years apart. Ben’s told in writing and Rose’s in fascinating pictures. This story will make you keep the book wide open and leave your mind mesmerised by the exciting and symmetrical plot.

This fascinating book is a must read for kids ages 10-12. Brian Selznick did a great job with this story. I really would recommend reading this mysteriously fascinating story.