Love That Dog and Poetry Month

                          

I am so excited because April is poetry month!  I am a big fan of poetry.

Also, my class is going to read "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech as part of a poetry unit in writing.  (Surprise! for those of you who are in my class) I love, love, love this book!  It's one of my favorites.  And I'm working on starting a book club at school as well.  If it works out, we'll read "Hate That Cat" also by Sharon Creech for the book club.

If you haven't read either of these books, they are short but powerful.  They are written in the point of view of Jack, a boy who does not like poetry at all.  He thinks poetry is for girls.  (Jack Prelutsky, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare and all the other millions of male poets in the world would strongly disagree, I'm sure).  If you haven't read it yet and aren't in my class, you should check out both books!  And if you are in my class, yay!  We get to read at least one of the books together!  :-)

For everyone:
Check out Ms. Creech's website:  http://www.sharoncreech.com/

And some fun poetry websites:

http://www.jackprelutsky.com/ - One of my favorite hilarious poets!

http://www.poetry4kids.com/ - This site is done by Kenn Nesbitt - another favorite of mine and VERY funny!

http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html - The master of poetry, in my opinion, Mr. Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Well, I'm off to start a book my daughter suggested for me:  The Willoughbys.  She assures me it's very funny...Stay tuned for comments on The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry...

Happy Reading!

Mrs. H

Edison's Gold

After finishing The Ghost at the Window, I jumped right into Edison's Gold by Geoff Watson.  This was a fun read - full of adventure and treasure hunting.  The main characters in this story are Tom and his two best friends Noodle and Colby.  Tom is the great-great grandson of THE Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb.  Thomas Edison's descendants have struggled to live up to his name and Tom is no different.  He loves to invent but has trouble with follow-through and ends up with one disaster after another.  Noodle and Colby usually end up in trouble along with Tom, as best friends often do.  But when they stumble upon a clue to the family secret, Tom sees his chance to redeem his family name.  The three friends band together to go on a dangerous treasure hunt full of excitement, secret societies, famous people, treasure, and unexpected twists and turns.

The story circles around a feud between the original Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, inventor of the Tesla Coil (and several other major inventions).  Look below for some links to more information on both Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

Also, stop by and visit Mr. Watson's website here:  http://geoffwatsonbooks.com/bio/  His site is short and sweet but he does have an interesting blog about writing.  Here is a .pdf file with some great discussion questions about the book:  http://www.egmontusa.com/files/2010/10/Edisons-Gold-Final.pdf

Thomas Edison:

bio:  http://www.biography.com/articles/Thomas-Alva-Edison-9284349

Timeline of Edison's Inventions:  http://www.buzzle.com/articles/timeline-of-thomas-edison-inventions.html

Cool article about predictions Thomas Edison made and whether they came true or not:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110211-thomas-edison-google-doodle-164th-birthday-anniversary-science/

Really in depth site about Edison's papers and books he wrote:  http://edison.rutgers.edu/

Nikola Tesla:

bio:  http://www.pbs.org/tesla/

Another bio:  http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Nikola_Tesla.htm

Tesla's own memorial society:  http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm

And finally, the Edison vs. Tesla fued was real!  Here is some interesting information about it:

http://science.discovery.com/top-ten/2009/science-feuds/science-feuds-02.html

NY Times article about the feud:  http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/off-goes-the-power-current-started-by-thomas-edison/


Lots of great information to digest and a good book to go along with it!  Happy Reading!

Mrs. H

Where does the time go?

OK, bloggers,

I'm pretty late posting about The Ghost at the Window.  The last few days ended up busier than I had planned.  I did end up finishing the book though.  So, without further ado...some thoughts on The Ghost at the Window:  **Beware -- there are spoilers for those of you who have not read this book and might want to!


Over all, this is a fun story.  It took a little bit to get going but once it did, I didn't want to put it down.  When the suspense starts to build, it does so in a hurry.  The house is very cool.  The author does a nice job tying in the movement of the house through time.  I thought that would be a bigger focus of the story but she wove it into the background in a subtle but important way.  I like the way she weaves in details about history and about Scotland, too.  I'm not a fan of books that spend pages and pages on description. I like it when authors weave the details in with the story.  Ms. McAllister does a good job of that in this book.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were:

When Elspeth is first introduced on page 7 & 8 - so dramatic and a little bit creepy too:
"But what made her different from all the other strangers from the past - and made a shiver spread down his neck and all the way to his fingertips - was the way she was looking at him...Her eyes were fixed on his face, and she looked so troubled, so sad and pleading, that her unhappiness made him hurt.  She stretched out her hand toward him...."


Elspeth's first admission that things are more than she has admitted to on page 54 - very creepy!:
"There was a long, sad sigh, and she was not there.  Her last wisp of strength seemed to waft away on that sigh, and Ewan was left alone, in a sudden emptiness.  But into the silence that followed, came the whisper of her voice.  'Alex,' she said."

I love the tension the author builds about what exactly is in the closet, too.  One of the best examples of the imagery she uses to build that tension is on page 81.  Who hasn't been totally terrified by the idea of a closet on a dark and creepy night?? :
"Usually he lay on his right side with his back to the closet.  Tonight he could feel it behind him, out of his sight.  Behind the poster was a door. Behind the door was either a black and gaping space or a nameless terror.  It ate into his back."

By the time we reach page 85, the story has gotten really intense.  I was on the edge of my seat and almost afraid to turn the page.  "Perhaps there was something wrong with the answering machine.  Maybe his message had been erased by mistake.  Maybe something had happened to stop him from reaching Alex, just as the storm had nearly kept him from Elspeth on the night of the power cut.  Before he went to bed, he wrote a letter to Alex Sutherland to post on the way to school.  By now, he knew he didn't just need help for Elspeth.  It was for himself, too."

And it gets worse on page 96 & 97, SO CREEPY!! :  "At Ninian House, the door was not answered.  The figure on the doorstep turned and walked away...In the draft emptiness of Ninian House, Elspeth stood invisible at the window with the lichen twig in her hand.  The closet creaked behind her."

 I really liked how the character of Alex was handled in the story.   Reading about "the peterman" and the way the author blended that information in with Alex's character was interesting.  The theme of the story - how fear and hate hold us back - was handled beautifully at the end.  I also liked how the lion was the connection throughout the centuries.  It almost felt as if there was another story there - a sequel??  The twist with Mick's family cottage felt very satisfying to me as a reader.

And finally, I loved how the author ended the book with the imagery she used throughout - leaving me, as her reader, with a final picture in my mind...on page 119: "And as he ran full pelt along the loch side, he felt as if he were Ninian the Lion, carried by fire and laughter, leaping into the sky."

I'd love to hear your thoughts on The Ghost at the Window.  If you've read it, what did you like?  What didn't you like?  Who is your favorite character?  If you haven't read it, are you thinking about it?

Keep your eyes open for my next post on the new book I started last night Edison's Gold by Geoff Watson.

Happy reading!

~Mrs. H

The Ghost at the Window

Thanks to the wonderful suggestions provided by Biebs, I'll be reading The Ghost at the Window by Margaret McAllister this week.  I hope you will be able to find a copy for yourself and join me!  I'll be commenting on the first few chapters tomorrow.  

Ms. McAllister is also the author of the Mismantle Chronicles.  I haven't read any of these stories, but I noticed them on the shelf.  I may have to add them to my list of books to read.  Has anyone out there read any of Ms. McAllister's books?  If so, what do you think about them?

Here is a link to her website:  http://margaretmcallister.co.uk/  It's a bit different than author sites I've linked to previously.  Check it out...

What should I read next?

Hey Bloggers,

It's been awhile since I've posted.  Being a teacher, it is report card time and that has been my primary source of reading material.  :-)  Now that report cards are finished, it's time for a new book to read!  I think it would be fun if we were all to read the same book over Spring Break.  Then we could discuss it without spoiling things for each other.  So, any suggestions???

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Mrs. H

Lost Hero was awesome!

Ok, so my son was right.  I should have read this book a long time ago.  :-)  Rick Riordan knows how to tell a good story.  I loved Lost Hero.  The twist at the end was very cool.  I love how he actually foreshadowed (gave hints) about the twist in the Last Olympian.  I also like the new characters mixed in with the old.  Very fun story!  Check it out if you haven't yet!  

Can't wait until the next one comes out!  Mr. Riordan's site has the release date for Son of Neptune (next book) listed as October 2011.  That's too long!   http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/heroes-of-olympus/thesonofneptune.aspx

At least the next book in The Kane Chronicles series, The Throne of Fire, will be out in May - May 3rd is the official release date.  That might make the wait a little less painful.   http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/kane-chronicles/books/book-2.aspx