|
Reading Center
 |
|
Bobby,
Christian, and Miss Talley are reading The Watsons’s Go to
Birmingham.
Enter
the hilarious world of 10-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird
Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta,
Kenny, and Byron, who's 13 and an official "juvenile delinquent."
When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma, Dad
comes home with the amazing Ultra Glide, and the Watsons set out on
a trip like no other. They're heading south. They're going to
Birmingham, Alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in American
history.
|
 |
 |
Makai,
Sonney, and Jeremy are reading Touching Spirit Bear.
Will
the attack of the Spirit Bear destroy Cole's life or save his soul?
Cole Matthews has been fighting, stealing, and making trouble for
years. So his punishment for beating Peter Driscal senseless is
harsh. Given a choice between prison and Native American Circle
Justice, Cole chooses Circle Justice: He'll spend one year in
complete isolation on a remote Alaskan island. In the first days of
his banishment, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and nearly
dies. Now there's no one left to save Cole, but Cole himself.
|
 |
 |
Cody,
George, and Brodie are reading The Young Man and the Sea.
|
Twelve year old Samuel "Skiff"
Beaman, Jr. is a determined young man trying to survive
after his mother's recent death and his father's subsequent
depression. Skiff is forced to become an adult as he
desperately tries to get his father to get back into the
family fishing business.
One day, while at the
marina, he sees an amateur fisherman who caught a large
bluefin tuna, which can sell for over a hundred thousand
dollars. This gives Samuel a brilliant idea. He makes
plans to head out to sea in his ten foot skiff with a
borrowed harpoon from Mr. Woodwell. He will hunt the great
bluefin tuna! Twenty five miles out to sea, he runs
into thick fog and realizes that he had forgotten to take a
fog horn. He makes the best of his situation by putting out
baits for the tuna, but he is soon ready to head home after
he realizes his foolish lack of preparation. This story is
about courage, survival, and the adventure of deep sea
fishing off the coast of Maine. |
|
 |
 |
Hailey, Tashyana, Jariel, and Kayla are reading Gathering Blue.
Kira, newly orphaned and lame from birth, is taken from
the turmoil of the village to live in the grand Council
Edifice because of her skill at embroidery. There she is
given the task of restoring the historical pictures sewn
on the robe worn at the annual Ruin Song Gathering, a
solemn day-long performance of the story of their
world's past. Down the hall lives Thomas the Carver, a
young boy who works on the intricate symbols carved on
the Singer's staff, and a tiny girl who is being trained
as the next Singer. Over the three artists hovers the
menace of authority, seemingly kind but suffocating to
their creativity, and the dark secret at the heart of
the Ruin Song.
With the help of a cheerful waif called Matt and his
little dog, Kira at last finds the way to the plant that
will allow her to create the missing color--blue--and,
symbolically, to find the courage to shape the future by
following her art wherever it may lead. With astonishing
originality, Lowry has again created a vivid and
unforgettable setting for this thrilling story that
raises profound questions about the mystery of art, the
importance of memory, and the centrality of love.
|
 |
 |
PJ,
Dominic, Mason, and Avery are reading The Teacher's Funeral.
"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a
bad time of year for it." So thinks Russell
Culver, when his "teacher, Miss Myrt
Arbuckle, hauled off and died." With no
teacher in his one-room schoolhouse, Russell
thinks he's home free -- until his big
sister, Tansy, takes the job. Unlike Miss
Arbuckle, Tansy isn't hard of hearing or
arthritic -- she can still whup plenty hard.
Hardheaded, no-nonsense, and determined
to call her students to the "trough of
knowledge," teacher Tansy is Russell's worst
nightmare, and he aims to head out for
harvest in the Dakotas. Even accidentally
setting fire to the boy's privy on the first
day of school doesn't slow her down, nor
does a series of pranks and mishaps that
includes an exploding stove and a snake in
her desk. But both Tansy and his father are
smarter and wiser than Russell knows, and
they have some definite ideas about his
future.
|
 |
 |
Alexis, Angel, Brianne, and Sarah are reading Esperanza Rising.
Esperanza Rising tells the growing-up story
of the young and spoiled Mexican girl, Esperanza
Ortega. She happily lives on her rich family's
estate surrounded by fancy dresses and servants. Due
to family jealousy, her father is killed by bandits
(possibly hired by his brother, Tio Luis). Her
birthday ends up a mourning for her father. Her home
is burned to the ground and she and her mother have
two options: her mother marries Tío Luis, and
Esperanza gets forced by Tio Luis to a boarding
school so she can learn some manners after she said
that she hates him in another city, or they escape
to the United States. They choose to flee to
California to live as migrant workers on a labor
camp. Here Esperanza has a difficult time
confronting the reality that she is no longer rich,
and has a hard time adjusting to the difficult work
in the camps.
|
|