My Summer Reading (Update 1)

The Wednesday Wars
By: Gary Schmidt

Great book!!  I wish I would have read it earlier and I can't wait to share this with my students next year.  If I don't have any high readers then I want to do it as a read aloud.  There was so much to unload....
-family conflict
-differences in religion
-Vietnam War
-Shakespeare
-an amazing teacher
-young middle school love
I was reading it in the car while my friend was driving and I kept stopping to share amazing points int he book.  My copy of the book also included Literature Circle questions based on Bloom's taxonomy.  Great ideas to use with the students.

Room
By: Emma Donoghue
Room is about a young woman and her son who are kept trapped in Room - a small shed in the back of "Old Nick's" yard.  Unlike other books, it is told from the young 5 year old, Jack's, perspective.  It was a very powerful and quick read.  It shows the extreme love a mother can have for her kids.  I would definitely suggest it to anyone and would encourage you to read it with someone else - or a book club - to discuss it.  If you've read it, feel free to leave your comments and thoughts on this post.




Random Family
By: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

I tried starting this at the beach and it was a no go.  My friend passed it on to me and she enjoyed but it wasn't for me.  I re read the same parts over and over again and kept getting the characters confused.  I probably shouldn't have started it on the beach :-/  Since I let the kids abandon books once they've given them a try, I didn't hold myself to finish it...I abandoned it and passed it on to someone who might enjoy it.