Hmmmm!  another Hero story?  I am intrigued...

by Jackson Pearce

6/10

So, above average!  I like the message that this book has!  It has a unique plot and an underdog wins kind of theme. However, I want more FLAVORS!  I had a hard time staying focused on this book.  I kept drifting off and doing other things besides reading.  See, it happens to teachers also!!

However, I am starting to see a Mark Twain Nominee theme peeking through for this year.  "Things and people are not what they seem, and you never know who the hero will be."  I don't want to give the plot of this story away.  It is a worthwhile read.  I was able to predict many things, but there were a few twists that caught my attention.

Ms. Hunt's Website

Fish In A Tree. 9/10

Loving this book so far.  Did you notice this book title is a metaphor?  How could a writing teacher not love it right off the bat!  Overflowing with figurative language and emotion.  Ms. Hunt causes you  to root for the underdogs and celebrate the differences and difficulties that students with reading disabilities go through.  I really did enjoy reading this writing/reading/school related plot line.  The writer's craft is phenomenal and will definitely become one of my must read mentor texts!  It will be the book I use for my lessons in readers' and writers' workshop during the first weeks of school next fall!

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander's Site


10.5/10

Incredible Book!

Wow!  Wow!  Wow!

2015 Newbery Award Winner!




This is not a Mark Twain Nominee, but it is a must read for everyone!   Great use of poetry, language, vocabulary, connection, basketball, emotion, on and on and on!!

READ IT!

2016 Mark Twain Nominee Rankings and Predictions...

10  Rain Reign  by Ann M. Martin
9.9---Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson
9.6---All Four Stars by Tara Dairman
9.5---Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas
9---Space Case  by Stuart Gibbs
8.9---The Missing Pieces of Me by Jean Van Leeuwen
8.5---Junction of Sunshine and Lucky  by Holly Schindler
8.4---A Million Ways Home by Dianne Doris Winget
8.2---Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick
8---half a chance by Cynthia Lord
7.2---Loot by Jude Watson
7---Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel

Okay, I think Rain Reign is the best book, but will it win...It depends on the readers.  Pennyroyal Academy has a great chance especially if there are a lot of fantasy readers, really way better than I expected and I loved it!!  All Four Stars was also very good.  Space Case is another standout by Stuart Gibbs.  He really has creativity an d"tween" humor in the bag.  I loved his book Belly Up, a few years back. All of my 9's and above have a very good chance...Rain Reign, is just incredible from so many different angles.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

The Website

       8/10

Text features in fiction twice in this book.  Both had to do with the same contest the character was entering.   This is not a common feature in fiction chapter books.

The book had a lot of themes going on in it, photography, friendship, dementia, conservation, etc.  They came together in the end.  A lot of the themes were highlighted in the contest categories.  I kept waiting for the title meaning to pop up in the book and it finally did on page 203.  After I finished reading it, I thought of several more ways that the title was relevant.  It was an enjoyable read, but not earth-shattering.

Did It Fit Our Overall Mark Twain Nominee Themes????

Lucy had a traditional family except for the fact that dad was a traveling photographer who spent a lot of time away.  They had just moved to a lake where most people only live during the summer and they were becoming year round residents, Lucy didn't have any real struggles, just the normal teenage stuff.

I made a video on youtube of me using this book to record ideas in my writer's notebook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etVe1Vy1U60&index=4&list=PLgUrnCDKMm0IFSQrIorDbanjbqHjVShZU

The Missing Pieces of Me by Jean Van Leeuwen

Jean Van Leeuwen's Site

8.9/10  almost a 9/10

I cried a lot when I got to certain points in this story.  It is hard to imagine living in a world where you feel you are not loved.  Ms. Leeuwen truly creates empathy for her character.  It is important to make readers feel something when they read.  That is what creates powerful stories that you want to finish.  You start to feel something for Weezie and you want her life to be better. In the end it is not sugar coated, it is a realistic ending, not a fairy tale ending, not a 100% satisfying ending, but maybe a lesson that happiness comes from knowing yourself and creating your own opportunities regardless of what others feel you need to be.

Writing that makes you feel or root for Weezie:

WORDS:
"Momma says I'm a bad girl."
"'Get out of my sight!'she barked. 'I can't stand to look at you.'"
"But Momma never did call me for supper."
"I said I would come to your art show.  Isn't that enough?  Really, Weezie, you don't  think of anyone but yourself."
"Momma didn't come, I keep thinking. She never came."
"My own momma hates me."

ACTIONS:
Momma only buys things for the two little ones.  
Momma only takes the two little ones with her on Saturdays to fairs and stores etc.
Momma always tells Weezie she is bad like her dad.
Momma leaves Weezie outside with Roy and Weezie outside and takes the two little ones in with her.
Momma doesn't go to the art show that Weezie has a picture in.
Momma treats Weezie like a servant instead of a daughter.

Theme:

Weezie lives with her mom and a sister and brother from two different dads from her own, she is on a quest to be a better person who is loved in a situation that makes that impossible.

Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel

Pack of Dorks Site

7/10

 Okay, I absolutely did not the beginning of the book. I don't think the actions are appropriate for upper elementary readers.  It is a lot like the book Loser by Jerri Spinelli.  The book redeems itself in the remaining chapters.  There is a definite transformation in the character and it is well written.  I do like the ending a lot.  

The way the author shows perceptions is really good.  She compares this group of students to a wolf pack that the character is researching.  Lucy starts with one perception, and ends with another.  She perceives her newborn sister differently from her parents and the general public.  Her perceptions change on her views of age, strength, popularity, athleticism, love, family, friendship, bullying, adults, and self.  She becomes a better person because of it.

Look at some of the dialogue tags this author used in this chapter book:

asked     called     whined     muttered     yelled       whispered    snapped blurted   glared    laughed    bellowed     nodded     repeated      bellowed cried       finished screamed 

Theme:
It takes place in a family where a Down's Syndrome baby girl has just been born.  It is in 1st person, the character struggles with many different perceptions in her journey from her own, to strangers, to friends, to social status'.