Savvy

Right now I am reading Savvy by Ingrid Law. Savvy means to understand something... in this book when the children in her family turn thirteen they learn about a special gift, that is called savvy, that they have. Mibs, short for Mississippi, is about to turn thirteen as the book begins... she is wondering what her savvy will be. Her brother creates storms, they had to move to Kansas/Nebraska to avoid the hurricanes he creates. Her grandmother could save sounds in jars... anyway you get the idea.

I think at about the age of thirteen most kids are deciding what talent they have (even if it isn't a fantastical savvy). If you are lucky you realize early and can focus in school on that talent and it can lead to a career (instead of just a series of jobs to pay bills). When I was a teen I was certain I would be a computer programmer and also work with science. Those were also my favorite classes in school.

Back to the book. The book is more enjoyable than my blog. Mibs goes on an adventure leaving her birthday party to go visit her dad who was in a car accident. I think it is strange her mom didn't take her there already; trying to protect a child from visiting someone in the hospital is scarier than letting them visit. I know what her savvy is, but I'll let you discover that when you read the book because I highly recommend it. The story is an exciting tale about family and how special everyone is (even if they don't have a "savvy").

I like to include a quotation from the book in my musings because then you have a taste, that may make you hungry for more, of the author's use of words... here is the opening paragraph of the book (because the other ones I picked gave away some of the ending).

"When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it. I had liked living down south on the edge of the land, next to the pushing-pulling waves. I had liked it with a mighty liking, so moving had been hard—hard like the pavement the first time I fell off my pink two-wheeler and my palms burned like fire from all the hurt just under the skin. But it was plain that Fish could live nowhere near or nearby or next to or close to or on or around any largish bodies of water. Water had a way of triggering my brother and making ordinary, everyday weather take a frightening turn for the worse." pg 1 Savvy by Ingrid Law

Underneath (The Front Cover)

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt is one of those adventure animal as the main characters books. It reminds me of The Fox and the Hound (which I haven't seen since I was little so I may be way off on that). Come to think of it in The Fox and the Hound they just never could be friends... since I haven't finished the book I hope that isn't how it ends.

This story is about a hound and a cat and her two kittens... but it is about so much more. There is an evil human, Gar, a king of the alligators, and legends and nature.

I am enjoying this book because I keep finding myself touched by the beautiful way the author uses language.

"Loss. A small, hissing word. A word that simmers into nothing. Beneath the old pine, Grandmother stewed inside her jar. Loss engulfed her as it had a million times before in this dark space. Lossssss! she whispered. — A word that scrapes against the skin." pg 92

Grandmother is a mysterious snake trapped in a jar, that has been knocked loose, under an ancient tree... her story is told in bits woven through the story of the animals and Gar. It is too bad that all too often the most vile horrible creatures in story are human. Too often it is true. In this story Gar has more than a rough childhood and lives to gain respect from the few humans he sees. The author describes the important words and here she describes Gar's view of respect:

"The word 'respect' floated in the thick and heavy air that surrounded him. Respect buzzed in his ears, like a thousand hungry mosquitoes. He swatted at his face and neck, but couldn't shoo away the hissing sound the word made on is tongue. Respect. He swallowed the word whole and licked his lips." pg 20

These could be poems and that is why I like it. It is like the author is holding out a thought and showing me all the different sides — a fine jewel sparkling on the page. I hope to finish this book tonight...

Book Buzzzzzzzzz

Clan Apis by Jay Hosler is a great read. Apis means bee and it is a graphic novel about the life of a bee. Along the way you'll learn lots of fascinating facts about bees but I promise you won't be bored. The illustrations are fun, the dialogue is entertaining and everyone should read this book. Really, I was following Mrs. Benson around the house on our snow day telling her she should read it... but I took it to the classroom for you instead of leaving it for her (she didn't seem that interested now that I think about it).

Nyuki upon learning how metamorphosis works... "I was scared before you told me what to expect, now I'm terrified... I didn't want to know that I'm gonna get scrambled from the inside out!"

Sweet Coraline

Coraline's words of wisdom, "I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?" pg 120 Enjoy the book. If you want to know more about the author check out his web-site, www.neilgaiman.com , it is full of interesting stories and links.

Getting the Drift(s) of Graphic Novels

Graphic when you talk about books means the books have pictures. There is nothing wrong with enjoying some art along with the plot of a fine book. In fact great readers picture what is happening in the story in their mind... these give you a little push in that direction by providing some of those pictures right there on the page with the text.

Some of the graphic novels in the classroom are about the plots of books that are also in the classroom (or the library). Those of you who enjoyed the graphic novel Coraline should notice that the book Coraline is also in the classroom. Both books are excellent, and reading the regular one after having read the graphic novel will make it easier to understand and more enjoyable. Those pictures from the graphic version will become more detailed and you will notice things you may not have noticed without the graphic version (some things were even left out).

Some of the graphic novels you should watch for in the classroom are: Stormbreaker, Frankenstein, Redwall, Coraline, The Call of the Wild, The Red Badge of Courage, and Treasure Island. I also added some nonfiction graphic books like The Cartoon History of the Universe (Volumes 1,2,and 3).
(Though you know, of course, not all of those books are novels.)

You know there are others, please enjoy reading them and keep them in good shape for others to read in the future. Blog on about what you think about these new additions to the classroom library.

New Newbery

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is this year's winner of the Newbery medal which is only given to one book a year "for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Many of my favorite books ever were winners of the Newbery Medal and this one was just added to my list.

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

Are you hooked? After a beginning like that the single chapter I planned to read before I went to sleep last night turned into reading the whole thing. The book opens with murder, and a child being hunted down by the murderer by his smell. But the boy escapes... into a graveyard. What would it be like to be raised in a graveyard? The author imaginatively leads the reader through Bod's adventures (short for Nobody)... and eventually the hand in the darkness with the knife is dealt with. But I want to not say too much, nothing is worse than giving away clues to a good mystery.

Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline, which has been enjoyed in the classroom by many, and also wrote The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish which are in the poetry/speech books. He has a quirky sense of humor that reminds me of The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also wrote another version of Coraline, Stardust and M is for Magic. I'll order those for the classroom. They will no doubt be fun imaginative stories much like The Graveyard Book which I highly recommend.

I'll conclude with a passage from the book that I thought was powerful. Silas, Bod's guardian, is explaining to Bod that although he might know that death isn't scary, it is much different than living... (the "they" here are the dead).

"..they are for the most part, done with this world. You are not. You're alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished." pg 179

Fun and imaginative, yes. But also something to think about. The infinite potential of life.