It has been a long time since I wrote a book review.  It is certainly not because I haven’t read any books.  I think it is a little like high school English class, getting the book read was never my problem, writing about it was another matter.  I have been reading quite a bit in the last few months, mainly books that our literature group will be reading in the coming year.

The proposed line up for the older literature group to which L16 belongs:

The Chosen by Chaim Potok
I read several of Potok’s books many years ago because after enjoying the first I was drawn to look for more.  I enjoyed The Chosen just as much the second time round. It centres around two Jewish teenage boys, both fine students, sons of fine Jewish scholars.   One wishes to be a rabbi even though his strength is mathematics.  The other wishes to be a psychologist but is expected to take his father’s place as rabbi one day.  Although the fathers could never be friends, the boys become strong friends.
Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
A great favourite of mine, which I will enjoy reading again from the copy which belonged to my grandfather.
Far from the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy
Before Andrew and I had any children we went on a Thomas Hardy binge. We read one after another trading and comparing after each one.
Something by P.G. Wodehouse (We have yet to choose what we’ll read)
The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper
Unwind Neil Shusterman
L15 and I read this dystopian novel last year. It is set in a crowded world where teens can be “unwound” if for some reason they don’t measure up. It is disturbing but watching the main characters fight the system each in their own way brings up many questions which will make our discussion interesting I’m sure.

The younger group which A14 has joined will read the list below:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond Elizabeth George Speares
The Other Side of the Island Allegra Goodman
Watership Down Richard Adams
The Prince and the Pauper Mark Twain
Who Has Seen the Wind W.O. Mitchell
A novel by a famous Canadian author which I must admit I had my doubts about until well over half way through the book.  I am not sure whether the group will enjoy it or not.  The book meanders through prairie life and the reader gets to see it through the eyes of a young boy.  Consequently the story rests where the boy’s thoughts rest and passes over other things.  This young boy does do some very deep thinking at times though.  I found it hard to get into initially as it didn’t seem to pursue any of the subplots for long; I would just get interested in a few characters and their stint would be over;  someone else would take centre stage.  Having said that, by the end I had been pulled into the ups and downs, lefts and rights of Brian O’Connal and enjoyed seeing him reach the close of his boyhood.
Treasure Island R.L. Stevenson

Remember the Group of 4?  This year one of our families has left the group to attend school so we are now the group of three.  Of the eight children in the Group of 3, six attend Writing classes on Friday, classes the mothers (and I believe, the participants) are very happy with.  When planning for this year I spoke to a few mothers of  highschoolers about creating a literature component to supplement the writing classes.  Our writing teacher does a fabulous job and points the students to examples of great writing from great literature but does not require the reading of entire works as part of her writing course.  We wanted to make sure our highschoolers were reading some great literature but didn’t want to add another full subject to their load.

So the literature class, club, group was born.  Initially I was calling it a class but it isn’t; it is more of a discussion group.   We decided to meet once a month to discuss the book just read.  Each month one parent/child team takes responsibility for preparing questions and background then leads the discussion.

We are now onto our fourth book and it seems to be going well.  I don’t think we have chosen a book yet which everyone has loved but that isn’t surprising.  We began with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird which L15 really enjoyed.  I had not read it in a long time and I also enjoyed it.  Unfortunately L was sick the night of the discussion but we were able to attend a few weeks later when the group got together to watch the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck.

The following month we read Animal Farm by George Orwell.  As far as I could tell the boys in the group really enjoyed it and the girls did not.  The discussion, however was very interesting as we talked about the likelihood of being able to stand against the current when all around are being brainwashed and led astray.  Although we talked about the Russian revolution we did not dwell on the historic figures being portrayed by the animals, but talked more about the type of people they were and the character traits they exhibited.  There were quite a few comments which began, “If only they had…”

A few weeks ago we met to discuss Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot.  Naturally the conversation was quite different as we were discussing a biography.  Some members of the group really appreciated the fact that in the book a plane was a plane, it didn’t represent anything else!  Even though the story is now over fifty years old the testimony of the five missionaries’ lives impacted everyone in the group.  We discussed singlemindedness, commitment to eternal things and the incredible trust each man and his wife had in the sovereignty of God.

Currently we are reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  Unlike the three previous books I had never read this.  I did not know what to expect and found that it drew me in and disturbed me at the same time.  L15 is not too far in yet.

In April we will read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and then May, which is the month L15 and I are responsible for, has been left for a contemporary novel.  I am currently searching for something appropriate.  There are a couple I think might be good but L has read them already and I would prefer to find something new to her.

On the heels of our stock market unit we decided to do a novel study with group of four.  One of the mums found the perfect book which just happens to be funny, appropriate for the 8-12 year old age group, appealing to boys and girls, not too long and related to the stock market.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen is about a twelve year old boy facing a long summer with little money and no firm plans.  His grandmother, an unusual woman,  gives him her late husband’s ride-on lawn mower.  Understandably Lawn Boy is a little bemused by his grandma’s gift but investigates the machine  only to find that, despite its age, it works fine.  He sets off down the street on his birthday gift and within minutes has the beginnings of a summer job.

He finds out, as he picks up client after client, that the previous lawn cutter was involved in a neighbourhood scandal so there is plenty of work for him.  One of his first clients, Arnold, offers him an unusual deal, promising to pay him in shares, not cash.  He tells Lawn Boy he will buy shares for him and then sell and re-invest in whatever companies look promising.  Lawn Boy agrees, deciding that all he has to lose is the $40 fee.

The business grows beyond what Lawn Boy can handle and Arnold comes to his aid with suggestions and a partner.   Lawn Boy’s business and his stock portfolio  grow without his parents’ knowledge.  There are encounters with  a prize fighter and a local thug, also without his parents’ knowledge.  As Lawn Boy’s circumstances become more and more complicated he tries to explain them to his parents, but it is only when someone’s life is in danger that he finally spills the whole story!

All the children in Group of Four enjoyed the book and wanted to know why they couldn’t make money in the same amounts that Lawn Boy was raking it in.  We did some predicting along the way, but no-one even came close to guessing all the twists and turns.  Each child took  a chapter and converted it into a comic strip page, picking out the main events of the chapter and reading through the descriptions before drawing.   As most of the group are willing to act whenever given the chance, we gave out a couple of scripts taken directly from the  book with  narration removed.

Both weeks of the novel study we started with a story building activity, where the story was started by one child and then passed on to the next who took it wherever they liked and so on around the circle.  The first time we did it with no parameters and the second week the characters and setting were given.  The story made much more sense the second week, but was not as funny!  To make the most of the children’s enthusiasm for making money we asked them all  to think of a job they could do in their own community and make  posters advertising their services.  We’ll see if anything comes of their ideas.

In past novel studies we have given the children an open-ended creative project to  complete over a couple of weeks, then present to the group at the end of the unit.  I am always impressed with the variety and quality of the projects.  This time was no different.  One of the girls decorated a t-shirt with the word “POW” on the front and “Pinch your head” on the back!  (You will need to read the book to find out why)  Another made a movie with playmobil people playing the characters.  B8 made a lego model of Lawn Boy on his mower halfway  around the yard of a lego  house.  There was also a poster and a very detailed 3D bookmark.

I am always on the lookout for new authors, so this introduction to Gary Paulsen has been great.  Paulsen has written a great many books for children, often with boys as the main character.  I’m sure we will be reading more.