Saturday, October 9, 2010

Mock Newbery Book Club for students in Grades 3- 6

Do you like to read? Do you enjoy talking about books?  If so, join the Mock Newbery Book Club run by Mrs. Potter at the Plummer-Motz school and Mrs. C from Falmouth Memorial Library.  We will hold three meetings, October 28th, November 18th, and December 16th from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. at the Plummer-Motz Library.  Those interested please sign up (forms available from Mrs. Potter and at the Falmouth Memorial Library)

Keep in mind the following expectations:
1. Each member is expected to read at least 2 books from the monthly reading list which will be posted on this blog. (http://falmouthmemocknewbery.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-reading-list-for-2011-mock.html)
2. Members will share their thoughts about the books they read at monthly book club meetings held after school in October, November, December at Plummer-Motz.
3. Members are expected to come to book club meetings prepared.  Being prepared means having read 2 books and being willing to share thoughts about the books.
4. Regular attendance at book club meetings is required to ensure the book club is a success.

For those unable to attend the meetings but would like to participate on January 3, 2011 at the Mock Newbery Election, read from the list and post your comments to the blog.  We expect all who wish to try guessing the next Newbery winner will have read at least six books from any of the three lists.

Have questions?  contact Mrs. Potter or Mrs C.
Happy reading!

Reading List #1

Reading List #2

New list coming

Keep watch because in a few days we will be posting a second list of fifteen (15) titles for reading. 

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg

From the Publisher: "Award-winning authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan tell the story behind the scenes of the collaboration that created APPALACHIAN SPRING, from its inception through the score’s composition to Martha’s intense rehearsal process. The authors’ collaborator is two-time Sibert Honor winner Brian Floca, whose vivid watercolors bring both the process and the performance to life."
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2010, 48 pp.

Sparky: the Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman

From the Publisher: "As the artist behind the beloved Peanuts comic strip for more than 50 years, Charles Schulz arguably the most famous cartoonist in the world created a colorful cast of characters that continues to bring humor and comfort to millions of readers. In this distinctively designed yet highly accessible book, renowned children's biographer Beverly Gherman traces both the life events that shaped Schulz's art and the various ways in which art influenced his life in return. Acclaimed by artists ranging from Andrew Wyeth to Mo Willems, the artistic elements of Schulz's work are brought to life in a colorful layout and thoroughly explored in an enchanting text that will draw in even the most reluctant readers."
Publisher: Chronicle, 2010, 128 pp.

Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth by Sandra Dutton

From the Publisher: "Ten-year-old Mary Mae loves to sing hymns with her Granny, go to Sunday School, and learn about trilobites. She has lots of questions about how the earth looked millions of years ago. Trouble is, Mary Mae’s mother thinks it’s wrong to believe the world is that old. Mama believes God created it six thousand years ago and she believes that nobody should teach Mary Mae otherwise. When Mary Mae starts taking her questions to church, asking how God created the earth in six days or how eight people could take care of animals on an ark, Mama puts her foot down: homeschooling. Mary Mae must decide where her loyalties lie: with science and Miss Sizemore, with God and Mama, or somewhere in the middle."
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2010, 129 pp.

Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

From the Publisher: "The state of Maine plans to shut down her island’s schoolhouse, which would force Tess’s family to move to the mainland--and Tess to leave the only home she has ever known. Fortunately, the islanders have a plan too: increase the numbers of students by having several families take in foster children. So now Tess and her family are taking a chance on Aaron, a thirteen-year-old trumpet player who has been bounced from home to home. And Tess needs a plan of her own--and all the luck she can muster. Will Tess’s wish come true or will her luck run out?"

Publisher: Scholastic, 2010, 192 pp.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus: Book CoverFrom the Publisher: "In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way. Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives for some time in New England, and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider. With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the shogun to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai."
Publisher: Abrams, 2010, 320 pp.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

From the Publisher: "Welcome to the night, where mice stir and furry moths flutter. Where snails spiral into shells as orb spiders circle in silk. Where the roots of oak trees recover and repair from their time in the light. Where the porcupette eats delicacies—raspberry leaves!—and coos and sings.  Come out to the cool, night wood, and buzz and hoot and howl—but do beware of the great horned owl—for it’s wild and it’s windy way out in the woods!"
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2010,  32 pp.

What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb

What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb: Download CoverFrom the Publisher: "Mo lives on Fox Street with her dad and little sister, the Wild Child. Their house is in the middle of the block — right where a heart would be, if the street were a person. Fox Street has everything: a piano player, a fix-it man, the city's best burrito makers, a woman who cuts Mo's hair just right, not to mention a certain boy who wants to teach her how to skateboard. There's even a mean, spooky old lady, if ringing doorbells and running away, or leaving dead mice in mailboxes, is your idea of fun. Summers are Mo's favorite time, because her best friend, Mercedes, comes to stay.

Most important, though, Fox Street is where all Mo's memories of her mother live. The idea of anything changing on Fox Street is unimaginable — until it isn't."
Publisher:  Blazer +  Bray, 2010, 218

Skylar by Mary Cuffe-Perez

From the Publisher: "When the wild geese migrate over the little pond with its pink flamingos and clipped grass, Skylar and the others watch with envy. They like their pond, but there is something elegant and brave about being a real wild goose. But they've never flown before, and besides, there's never been a reason to go.  Then a lost heron wants the pond geese to take him to Lost Pond, and Skylar thinks it's time for this motley crew to spread their wings and try out the great blue yonder. Adventure awaits . . . but, as they'll soon find out, so does great danger. "
Publisher: Penguin, 2010, 144pp.

Ellie Ever by Nancy Ruth Patterson

Ellie Ever by Nancy Ruth Patterson: Book CoverFrom the Publisher: "Ellie and her mother lost everything in the hurricane: their home, their family business, and, tragically, Ellie’s dad. They get a chance at a new life when Ellie's mom gets a job apprenticing as a farrier and managing a horse farm in Virginia. Ellie has a scholarship to Twin Creeks Preparatory School, where her snobby classmates aren’t friendly at all—until a rumor begins that Ellie is actually a princess! Suddenly Ellie is the school's most popular girl. But what will happen when the truth comes out?"

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010, 128 pp.