I love listening to NPR in the car. So, I was thrilled to hear that NPR is starting The Back-Seat Book Club hosted by All Things Considered for children ages 9-14 as a way to get children listening and participating in the conversation.
Every month will be a new book to read or listen to and children can email their questions to the author who will be interviewed at the end of the month.
The first Back-Seat Book Club book is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. A fantastic choice for October! You can listen to the details of the book club below.
For the Passport to Reading project, third grade students read a fantasy book and wrote a review. Then they recorded their reviews so you can listen to them! Just click on the blue “play” button. And feel free to add your own comments if you read the book, too!
For the Passport to Reading project, third grade students read a fantasy book and wrote a review. Then they recorded their reviews so you can listen to them! Just click on the blue “play” button. And feel free to add your own comments if you read the book, too!
Fourth Graders created an online poster for his/her favorite summer reading book. They chose the appropriate text, images, graphics, fonts, colors, media, and links that capture the essence of the story while enticing you to read the book. Click the poster to see a larger, interactive version.
I must say . . . it has definitely been a long time since I’ve been excited about a Newbery book. How nice it is!
This is the sad and beautiful story of a baby who escapes from his house one night as a killer murders his entire family. He finds himself in the graveyard across the street where the inhabitants take him in and raise him after they discover what has happened to his family. Gruesome beginning but the heart of the story lies in the graveyard. The ghosts call him Bod, short for Nobody Owens, and give him the Freedom of the Graveyard, a gift not usually given to the living. He meets plenty of dark and gritty characters, some evil, some misunderstood, all unique in their own way. And throughout the story, the man Jack, who murdered his family, continues to search for the baby who escaped . . . to finish the job.
Gaiman’s storytelling is exquisite and the illustrations by Dave McKean are equally moody and lovely in an edgy sort of way. Gaiman’s imagination and vision is extraordinary. You wonder where he gets his ideas; they are so dark and disturbing. This is so different from what I usually read but I just found myself drawn to this ghost/horror/fantasy story. I sort of think of Neil Gaiman as the Tim Burton of children’s literature which I hope he doesn’t mind.
Naturally, if you enjoyed reading The Graveyard Book then you also need to read Gaiman’s Coraline. It has just been made into a movie; you can check it out here: Trailer of the movie Coraline.
And for those of you who just can’t get enough, then don’t miss Graveyard Sudoku found on Neil Gaiman’s web site.
Neil Gaiman is obviously an intelligent man but it makes you wonder what kinds of things do you have to understand well to be able to write the kinds of dark things that he writes? Watch the video below and it may answer this question.
Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, an errand boy whose job it is to deliver messages, notices, packages, etc. in his Victorian London-like city. Barnaby is one of the best tick-tock lads because he is also a highstacker–someone who easily travels around the city on the rooftops of the buildings.
One night, when Barnaby is highstacking, he is attacked by a vicious and mysterious beast. Barnaby manages to kill the beast but finds himself on the trail of a strange mystery. What happened to his friend who one day simply disappeared? What about the tall and clever Dr. Cadwallader whose miracle medical tonic seems to make those who take it feel strangely wonderful? And what was that supernatural beast who found him on the rooftops?
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery thriller. This story was The Magic Thiefmeets Sherlock Holmes. The setting was vivid and creepy and added so much to the “look and feel” of the story. The characters are extremely interesting and unique and the amazing pen and ink illustrations add so much to the drama. However, I especially enjoyed the Victorian London language. For some readers, some of the vocabulary may be difficult but that won’t take away from understanding the plot as it unfolds. All the clues to this adventure are clearly in place if you want to try to solve the mystery before Barnaby does. I am looking forward to reading the other two books in this series: Return of the Emerald Skull and Legion of the Dead.
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddellhave a wonderful web site. Check it out to see more about the Barnaby Grimes books (and play the Highstacking Game!) along with their other books, The Far-Flung Chronicles and The Edge Chronicles.
To find out more about the authors’ Edge Chronicles, watch the video interview below:
A Drowned Maiden’s Hair: A Melodrama by Laura Amy Schlitz
There were two reasons why this book caught my attention. One, it was written by the woman who just won the Newbery Medal for her nonfiction book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. Two, the subtitle says it’s a “melodrama” . . . ooooooohhh, a melodrama. You don’t see that too often in a title.
It is the story of eleven-year-old Maud who lives at the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans in the year 1909 and she hates every second of it. In fact, she likes to be a bit of a troublemaker and thus, ends up spending an awful lot of time being punished. The opening sentence of the first chapter is wonderful . . . On the morning of the best day of her life, Maud Flynn was locked in the outhouse, singing, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
It’s the best day of her life because three stylish sisters agree to adopt Maud. After they hear her singing in the outhouse, they decide that Maud is “perfect.” Maud assumes that her life is about to become wonderful now that she has a real home with real loving parents. Unfortunately, Maud soon finds out that the sisters have different plans that involve trickery and deceit.
While Maud tries to figure out who really loves her and what role she plays in the sisters’s business–conducting seances– she finds herself drawn to the ghost of a young girl who had drowned while swimming in the ocean near her new home.
I loved this story. It was so unusual and suspenseful and I just loved Maud. She is feisty and clever and just dying for someone to love her. This story was part mystery, part ghost story, and part historical fiction. It was my favorite book this summer and anyone who loves a “melodrama” will love A Drowned Maiden’s Hair.
For more books like this one read Ghost Girl: A Blue Ridge Mountain Story by Delia Ray or How It Happened on Peach Hill by Marthe Jocelyn.
The Skull of Truth: A Magic Shop Book by Bruce Coville
Charlie tells lies. Lots of them. The kind of lies that don’t really hurt anyone but keep him from getting into a lot of trouble. Then one day, Charlie finds himself passing by a shop that sells strange and curious items. Compelled to look inside the shop, Charlie finds himself mysteriously drawn to a skull on display. There’s no one in the shop, the shopkeeper is no where to be found and Charlie just wants to touch the skull. Before he knows it, Charlie has snatched up the skull and takes off with the skull hiding in his jacket. Little does Charlie know that what he just took is a magic skull that forces the owner to tell only the truth . . . all the time. Getting the skull was easy; getting rid of it will prove to be much harder.
Would you be able to tell only the truth all the time if you had to? What kind of trouble do you think you would find by telling the truth, especially when nobody wanted to hear it?
This story was fun and mysterious. Bruce Coville is great at writing supernatural stories that make you laugh. If you liked the Borgin & Burkes shop in Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter books, you’ll love The Skull of Truth.
Mrs. D'Elia is the Librarian in a very purple elementary school library. She believes that every child should have at least one favorite book. If you are a child and you don't have a favorite book yet, come and visit me in the library because we need to fix that.
I love listening to NPR in the car. So, I was thrilled to hear that NPR is starting The Back-Seat Book Club hosted by All Things Considered for children ages 9-14 as a way to get children listening and participating in the conversation.
The Graveyard Book 
