Thursday, July 16, 2009

A Pen Pal for Max

A Pen Pal for Max by Gloria Rand is a picture book I enjoyed reading. It is the story of Max, a boy from Chile, becoming pen pals with a girl in the United States. It reminded me of some of the pen pals that I had growing up, including Laura, who lived in Hong Kong. It was always exciting to get a letter from her. We probably wrote for several years and I acquired a lot of postage stamps from there. I think that she even sent a coin or two. I realize now people know people from all over the world via e-mail, but I don't think it can compare with the excitement of getting a real letter in the mail from a distant place. I wish that I would have been able to keep in touch with her cause maybe I would have eventually been able to meet her. Did anyone else have a pen pal growing up?

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo is a book I enjoyed reading. This book tells the story of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit. I picked the book up because I have read a few of DiCamillo's other books (Because of Winn-Dixie and some of the Mercy Watson series) and this story did not disappoint. When I realized that Edward was a china rabbit owned by a girl, Abilene, the story reminded me of The Velveteen Rabbit. It would be a great read aloud for bedtime for school aged children, as at the end of each chapter, you are wondering what adventure will befall Edward next. There is a more mature theme in one part of the book that I would say makes the book not necessarily great for very young children. When I finished, I thought that the ending was thought provoking, maybe more for adults than children. The illustrations are great, too, though there aren't a ton of them. If I ever teach fourth or fifth grade, I would definitely consider this for a read aloud.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

recommended reading

A couple of weeks ago I gave my brother a short list of books I thought he should read. He made a comment about it not even being February and I love to read month. It seems to me that it is always a good time to read, and below are a few books that I think everyone should read. If you click on the title, you'll be able to see what I wrote about it on my blog.

Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin

Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris

End of the Spear by Steve Saint

Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Saint Ben by John Fischer

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

Have you read any of these?