More Snow?!!

Just when we're getting used to the idea that spring might be coming, we're told that we could receive over 6 inches of snow tomorrow. Even my 6th graders groaned in protest when they heard the forecast. Now you know we've had too much winter when 12 year olds protest the possibility of a snow day!

Book #21 is Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy and #22 is The Titan's Curse. Both are middle school novels. Lizzy Bright is historical fiction,set in 1912, and deals with some very serious subject matter. Young Turner Buckminster is the son of the Congregational minister and they've just moved to a small coastal town in May. He doesn't fit in with the others in town, and he makes friends with Lizzy Bright, an African-American girl who lives on a nearby island that is home to a small group of what the town considers the "riff-raff". The town is trying to evict the small island community so that they can convert build a hotel to attract tourists from Boston. He has to deal with being a minister's son, disobeying his strict father, racism, and he has to figure out how to help his new friend. It's a pretty heavy book and it's based on a true story. I'm not sure I would recommend it to any of my 6th graders, but certainly some motivated 8th graders would enjoy it.

I loved The Titan's Curse. This it the 3rd in the series by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson is a modern teenage boy who discovers he's the son of Poseidon and a mortal. He and some other "halfbloods" are attempting to prevent the end of civilization as we/they know it. It's funny, clever, full of adventure and excitement, and updates Greek mythology. A lot of my students have been reading this series and they love it. It helps that we study Greece and Greek mythology this year so they get the references. I was surprised though, because I thought this was going to be the last book, but apparently it's not. I'm glad, because I've enjoyed them!

On a related note, I'm reading The Odyssey to my 6th graders and they are eating it up! I had them on the edge of their seats today - literally. They can't wait til tomorrow to find out how Odysseus and Telemachus get rid of Penelope's unwanted suitors. I love it!!