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Showing posts from May 31, 2009

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Walk Two Moons is the Newbery winning book by Sharon Creech. The storyline is composed of three different time periods in Sal's life. The novel weaves these narratives together; one is reaching towards the future, one is the recent past, and the third connects to events in the more distant past. Sal is moving forward on a cross-country road trip with her grandparents on her way to see her mother. Along the way she tells stories of her new friend in the town she recently moved to, these connect back to deeper memories of her childhood. While the book deals with a lot of dark themes, it is more concered with the reality of life rather than being a menacing tragedy. The novel explores how we all have struggles in our lives. One of the moments in that book that explores some themes is when the class reads and tries to understand a poem. "Mr. Birkway read a poem by Longfellow: "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls." The way Mr. Birkway read this poem, you oculd hear the tide ...

Midnight Swing

Midnight Swing ( from Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Away ) When I can't fall asleep I sneak out to the yard and climb onto the swing that's attached to a branch of sweet scented pine. As I glide though the night and I hang back my head I see stars and a moon that's following me through the evergreen trees. And I fly on my swing through the midnight ice cold as the swirling white clouds of my own frozen breath brush my tingling cheeks. And my nightgown wafts up and my hair billows out as I float through the air and there's only the sound of the dark whooshing past. And my thought drift to you on a day long ago when my legs were too short so you helped me climb up and you taught me to pump. ---Sonya Sones
This is the exact imaginary, figurative gold star that was actually awarded to me in real time by the spectacular Neal Shusterman!! (After I demanded he do so.) (How I love those that bend to my will!) How did I earn this gold star? Besides by sheer force of will? Well, it ends up that one of my favorite books that I have read in the past year written by one of my favorite authors that I have discovered in the past year is being released in paperback. And much like my desperate plea for this hard earned gold star, Neal issues his own plea. Tell ten people about the impending release so he can put his son through college! :D So, now I told you and you need to go tell ten people. Then maybe you will get a gold star too. But not this one. This one is mine. NO TOUCHING. This one was virtually presented to me by one of my favorite authors and you can't have it. Of course I didn't gush all over him about how much I think he is a genius. And also I do feel kind of stupid after pr...