Module 4- June 27-July 3 Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes

                               Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes



Summary:
Olive's ocean is about a girl named Martha who is given a letter from Olive's diary. The letter was give to Martha by Olive's mom after she was killed in a bicycle accident.  The diary page made Martha wish she had know Olive better when they were in school together and is a large focus of the book as she goes through her summer.  Martha's family goes on vacation to visit her Grandmother for part of the summer and experiences a variety of changes in her life that help her grow and mature in her relationships with her family.  The book brings up many life changing events for Martha as she grows and becomes more aware of herself and the other people in her life.


Read it Again?
Yes, I would read it again and I would recommend it to others to read.  This story gave a real life approach to death and how it feels to be a teen growing up and changing as people and things change around you as well. I would definitely recommend this book to 4th and 5th graders to read.  I think they would enjoy the book as well.


Library Use:
I think it would be good for the older students to see that author's can write a variety of  different types of books.  I would introduce them to Henkes as an author and let them see the difference in his writing when comparing Lilly's Purple Purse, Wemberly Worried, and Olive's Ocean.  It would be a good way to study and incorporate learning about Authors and the different types of genres.

Reviews:

Horn Book Guide 4/1/2004

Henkes draws us into one summer in the life of a familiar, convincing, fully realized twelve-year-old girl. The book is a web of relationships with Martha at the center. A beloved older brother begins to pull away. Martha sees her grandmother with new eyes. Martha and her mother can't seem to stop irritating each other. Henkes's strengths as a fiction writer--economy, grace, humor, and respect for his characters--are given wonderful play here. Copyright 2004 of The Horn Book, Inc.

School Library Journal 8/1/2003 Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

Gr 5-8-As Martha and her family prepare for their annual summer visit to New England, the mother of her deceased classmate comes to their door. Olive Barstow was killed by a car a month earlier, and the woman wants to give Martha a page from her daughter's journal. In this single entry, the 12-year-old learns more about her shy classmate than she ever knew: Olive also wanted to be a writer; she wanted to see the ocean, just as Martha soon will; and she hoped to get to know Martha Boyle as "she is the nicest person in my whole entire class." Martha cannot recall anything specific she ever did to make Olive think this, but she's both touched and awed by their commonalities. She also recognizes that if Olive can die, so can she, so can anybody, a realization later intensified when Martha herself nearly drowns. At the Cape, Martha is again reminded that things in her life are changing. She experiences her first kiss, her first betrayal, and the glimmer of a first real boyfriend, and her relationship with Godbee, her elderly grandmother, allows her to examine her intense feelings, aspirations, concerns, and growing awareness of self and others. Rich characterizations move this compelling novel to its satisfying and emotionally authentic conclusion. Language is carefully formed, sometimes staccato, sometimes eloquent, and always evocative to create an almost breathtaking pace. Though Martha remains the focus, others around her become equally realized, including Olive, to whom Martha ultimately brings the ocean.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

References:
www.mackin.com


Bibliography:
Henkes, Kevin. (2003). Olive's Ocean. New York: Greenwillow.

Module 4- June 27-July 3 Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass

                               Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass



Summary:
Leo Fitzpatrick and Amanda Ellerby are named after their great-grand parents and born on the same day. Not only did they get their names from them, but they got the unusual gift of always being friends with each other.  They celebrate every birthday together each year until their 11th birthday.  They got in a fight on their 10th birthday and do not talk to each other for an entire year.  On the day of their 11th birthdays they have separate parties planned, which is upsetting to both of them, but neither will admit they miss each other and want to celebrate together. After their parties, they both go to bed, but when they wake up, they realize it's their birthday again.  After a few days of repeating their birthdays, they figure out they are the only two who know this is happening.  They make up and become friends again as the try and solve the mystery of why they keep having their birthdays over and over again.  It is a great story about becoming a tween and the trials and tribulations that go along with growing up.  The story has a great ending and is fun to read.




Read it Again?
I would definitely read it again and would recommend it to others.  It's a very cute and funny book, with a little suspense through out the book.  This book is great for boys or girls to read.  It really makes you think about how you act and the things you do for others on a daily basis and how cool it would be to have do overs.



Library Use:

This is a very easy read and would be liked by boys and girls in 4th and 5th grade.  It would be fun to have a birthday party in the library to celebrate this book and other books about birthdays.

Reviews:

Publisher's Weekly 12/22/2008

Like a Groundhog Day for middle grade readers, Mass's (Every Soul a Star) winning story features a girl seemingly trapped in her 11th birthday. Amanda seems doomed to relive her failed try-out for the gymnastics team, her mother being fired from her job and, worst of all, the party that even her best friend leaves early-to go to the party hosted by her former friend, Leo. The two have celebrated every previous birthday together (they were born on the same day), but a misunderstanding on their 10th has gone unresolved. After several repeats of the day, Amanda and Leo realize they are in this mess together and must work as a team. Girls will relate to Amanda's insecurities, and the confidence and insights she gains will resonate with them. Mass's expertise with pacing keeps the story moving at a lively clip, and her understanding of this age group is as finely honed as ever. Ages 9-12.

Booklist 12/15/2008

*Starred Review* Amanda and Leo, born on the same day, have celebrated their birthdays together for 10 years. Still feeling hurt from an unkind remark Leo made at last year's party, Amanda spends her eleventh birthday without her now-estranged friend to share the fun. In the days that follow, both Amanda and Leo discover that they are caught in a time loop, waking up each morning to find themselves repeating their eleventh birthdays. They soon renew their friendship and begin to experiment by making different choices throughout the day, partly for the thrill of acting without long-term consequences and partly from their fear of never escaping this mysterious time trap. From the double-entendre title to the solid character portrayals to the clarity and wit of the writing, this novel offers a fresh twist on the familiar themes of middle-grade family and school dynamics. The mysterious power that rewinds time eventually seems less important than the power that Amanda finds within herself. Emboldened by the idea of daily do-overs, she discovers that small changes in her attitude and actions result in sometimes-subtle, sometimes-monumental shifts in results for herself, her family, and her friends. A rewarding choice for readers and a natural for booktalks and discussion groups.--Phelan, Carolyn




References:
www.mackin.com

Bibliography:
 Mass, Wendy. (2009).11 Birthdays. New York: Scholastic.

Module 3- June 20-26 Miracle Boy's by Jacqueline Woodson

                         The Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson



Summary:
Twelve-year-old Lafayette's  had a close relationship with his older brother Charlie. His relationship changes after Charlie is released from a detention home. Charlie blames Lafayette for the death of their mother.  Lafayette has a hard time trying to figure out why his brother is so angry at him and why he changed so much.


Read it Again?
No, I had a hard time keeping interest in the book and would not recommend it to others.



Library Use:
I would not recommend this book to students in the library. 


Reviews:
Kirkus Review 1/15/2000
Another tale of the inner city that focuses on the real struggles of those live there, from Woodson (Lena, 1999, etc.). The Bailey boys are on their own: their father died from hypothermia after rescuing a woman and her dog from a frigid lake in Central Park, and their mother, Milagro, or Miracle, followed him in death when she could not afford the insulin she needed. Ty'ree, the oldest, has given up his dreams of college and a career in science and works full time in a publishing company mailroom so that he can feed and house himself and his brothers. Charlie, who was in a juvenile detention facility for armed robbery when his mother died and cannot ever forget it, is now home, but he is full of hatred and anger at the whole world, no longer the boy who once cried at the sight of a sick or injured animal. He directs some of his hatred at the youngest boy, Lafayette; between that and the devastation his mother's death, Lafayette finds that his world is in chaos. Readers will be caught up in this searing and gritty story of their struggle; Woodson composes a plot without easy answers, and creates characters for whom predictable behavior is all but impossible. A decent, involving novel about a family struggling to remain intact in spite of tremendous obstacles. (Fiction. 10-13)

Horn Book Guide 9/1/2000

This compelling novel about three African-American brothers is oddly reminiscent of S. E. Hinton's early novels, with its streetwise, self-sufficient orphans. Although there is little action in a story that is told almost entirely through dialogue and thirteen-year-old Lafayette's thoughts and memories, the narrator's voice maintains a tone of sweet melancholy that is likely to hold the attention of thoughtful young teens.



References:
www.mackin.com


Bibliography:

Woodson, J. (2000)  The Miracle Boys.  New York: New York. Putnam Publishing.