Can you recommend a great book for me to read?

Let's share some great titles and authors here! What book did you just finish reading? Who wrote it? Now tell me what you thought of the book and why. Use specific examples from the book to support your opinions.
Hopefully you will inspire me and others to read your book!

Thanks!
Mrs. H

Pictures Painted With Words!

The ultimate goal of a writer is to use his words as a paintbrush to paint vivid pictures for the reader. They can be pictures of a character, a scene that's unfolding, or a special place in the story. These images are the basis for the movies that we create in our minds as we read.

Here is an excerpt from Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah where the author creates a vivid picture of one of the characters, Anya:

"Meredith saw the mess grief had made of her mother's beautiful face: it had sucked in her cheeks and made her bones appear more prominent; it had drawn the color from her skin until her flesh nearly matched her hair. Only her eyes-startlingly blue against all that pallor- held any semblance of who she'd been a month ago."

Now find an excerpt from your book where the author paints a vivid picture for the reader. Make sure you give credit for the work by mentioning the title of your book and the author!

Say What?

I've been thinking a lot lately about characters and how authors develop them for the reader. They almost always help a reader to visualize characters by providing physical descriptions, and they often reveal what characters are like through their actions.
Did you know we can learn about a character by what he or she says or thinks? This will often show the reader what type of person he or she is. Think about it. Have you ever listened to someone talk and then made a judgment about what kind of a person he or she is based on what was said?

I want you to look through your book and find some dialogue between two characters or a part of the story where a character is thinking. Read it carefully and decide what the words spoken or thought by the character reveal about him or her. Then tell me:

1. the title and author of your book
2. the character's name and what he or she said or thought
(Be careful to use quotation marks correctly!)
3. Tell what this revealed about the character to you.

For example, here's what I would write based on a character in a book I recently read :

In Water for the Elephants, written by Sara Gruen, the main character Jacob is thinking, "I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did - for the rest of her life, and then beyond. In seventy years, I've never told a blessed soul."
From these thoughts I know that Jacob is an extremely trustworthy and one-of-a-kind soul! Most people can't keep a secret to themselves for over five minutes!

Get the idea? Okay! Now tell me about one of your characters!

And they lived happily ever after? (#4 - 5th six weeks)

At long last we have come to the end of our journey with Miyax Julie Edwards Kapugen...and what a journey. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! It's sad to leave all of the characters that we have grown to know so well, but fun, at the same time, to imagine what lies ahead for them.

What do you see in the future for Julie? If you could predict the sequel to her story, what would you place in store for her? If she does indeed return to Kapugen, what will her life be like in his Americanized household? What about Daniel? What about her beloved wolves? Tell me how you think the story would continue.

I hope you enjoyed the book enough to read the real sequel, Julie, by Jean Craighead George, and also Julie's Wolf Pack which continues the story of the wolves. Storytelling at its finest!

Looking forward to your responses!

Love,
Mrs. H

The End is Near! (#3 - 5th six weeks)

And no! I'm not talking about the end of the school year, I'm referring to the end of the novel we've been reading together in class, Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George.
Because she is such a gifted and extremely descriptive writer, I once again want you to look for an example of figurative language in the book today that you particularly like.

1. Quote the figurative language you chose (make sure to use quotation marks!)
2. Identify the type of figurative language it is. (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, idiom, alliteration, imagery etc.)
3. Lastly, tell me why you picked it.

What's Next? (#2 - 5th six weeks)

Just finishing Part II, Miyax the girl, of Julie of the Wolves, what do you think is going to happen next? Where do you think the story is going? Will Daniel or his family come after Julie? Will Pearl's involvement in Julie's running away be discovered? Will she ever see the wolves again? Is her father Kapugen really dead? Does she ever make it to San Francisco?
So many things to consider! Can't wait to hear what you think! Can't wait to finish the book!

Mrs. H

Class Novel Study (#1 - 5th six weeks)

We have finished Part I, Amaroq the Wolf, of Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, and I can tell that you are enjoying the story. The author has filled the pages with rich, colorful language that only increases our enjoyment.
Today I want you to select a line or section from the story that you enjoyed, quote it, and tell me why you are impressed with that particular selection.
I can't wait to see what you choose!

Mrs. H