What A Story! Could It Be Real?

Title: Life

Author/Illustrator: Cynthia Rylant/Brendan Wenzel 
Genre(s): Fiction, Nature Writing
Age: 4-8

    This book is highlights the beauty of nature and life and how things start out small and grow into bigger things. We see the beauty through the animals of the good and bad things. We started out with a baby elephant and they are one of the biggest animals, but life starts out small for them too. They grow beneath the sun and moon. The author implied asking the animals what they love about life, and the hawks would say the sky, the camel will say the sand, and the snake will say grass, all of these are where the animals are most comfortable from predators and danger. The turtle has seen a lot in his life, that's why he loves life, because he's seen so much. 

    But life isn't always easy. With human growth forests are becoming less common and birds may struggle to find home and shelter, but the wilderness does eventually come to an end. When the wilderness ends, it opens an opportunity for a new road to be taken. There is always something to love, and protect in the world, no matter where you look. Even when it seems that there isn't beauty left, we have to trust the rabbit that's in the field, or the deer that crosses our path. We must trust the wolf, and wild geese who always find their ways back home. The animals always know that life is ever-changing, but that makes it worth getting up every day to see what might happen. Since life begins small, and grows from there.

My Thoughts on this Book...

    I loved this book and the illustrations by Brendan Wenzel were very appropriate, and went with Cynthia Rylant's words effortlessly. I think anyone who reads this can relate to things starting out small and growing. We start out as babies and are constantly growing, getting bigger, stronger as the days go on, and experience many things during our lifetime. I loved how we looked at different animals throughout this story and what they love about their environments. The theme for this book is about life and things changing within nature. The animals fit so well into this, because we have animals that start out small, but become some of the biggest animals in nature, and even if some remain small, they grow in different ways. This is an important topic for kids, to help them understand that they grow and change everyday. This book highlights the many beautiful things in life whether they be good or bad.

Title: The Losers Club 

Author: Andrew Clements
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Age: 8-12

    This book is about Alec who loves books, however his principal wants him to pay more attention in class, but Alec has plans of his own. Within the first few minutes on his first day Alec is sent to the principal's office for reading during his art class. Principal Vance and his teachers came up with a plan where he would stop reading in class otherwise he would have to attend a summer school study program, for six weeks. This year his parents, who are computer programmers, returned to work in school, so he and his younger brother, Luke, were enrolled in the Extended Day program after school, where they would have to wait on their parents. He thought he could just spend his time here reading his book, however he had to choose from three programs: Homework Program, Active Games, or Clubs Program. He had the first couple of days to decide which program he wanted to be in. After being told he couldn't sit with a club, and needing to actually participate, the Clubs director, Mr. Willner, helped him with the idea of joining another club, or start his own. Alec decided to start a reading club, he just needed one other person to join his club.
       As he was running out of time to find his co-sponsor he saw a girl reading a book, even though she was in the Origami Club, and had a conversation with her and convinced her to join his club. They were able to join this club, and not have it be like typical book clubs where they talk about the books, but they could have a place to just sit and read. Alec started to get to know Nina through the Extended Day Losers Club, and realized he even had a class with her. Alec is beginning to develop feelings for Nina, but he starts to get the sense that she has eyes for Kent. The letter his principal wrote, about him constantly reading in class had made it's way home that Friday and by Saturday morning their was a family meeting happening. He told his parents that he had already changed his actions. However, his parents weren't too happy to hear about the Ext5ended Day program he chose to start up, and wanted him to join the Homework Room, and work on his homework after school, and then when he got home of there was still time for reading, he could do that, they wanted him to have friends and other interests. But they listened to his reasoning's and agreed to let him stay in the club, only after he told them the real reason he created the club. They agreed to a weekly report system and the minute he got below an eight he would be moved to the Homework Room.

    Kent is becomingly increasingly more interested in Nina, and Alec made the mistake of saying there wasn't anything going on between them, even though he really liked her himself. Kent is continuing to make his moves on Nina, and Alec is struggling with his self-identification. He has a talk with his dad and his dad suggests rebranding the name and finding a word that sparks joy in him. Kent has also started sending kids to Loser Club, when they mess up in kickball as a way of punishment, which irritated Alec, but Jason was one kid who actually liked reading books. The next week Alec decided to try his foot at kickball one day and made a bet with Kent. If Alec scored, Kent had to come to the Losers Club and read a book of his choosing, but if Kent won, Alec had to stay in the Active Games Club for a week. A few girls Alec met during this game of kickball, decided they wanted to join the Losers Club, and the member numbers went from three to eight. Alec ended up winning the bet, and it was time for Kent to come read. Nina had little faith that he wouldn't be a distraction and would actually read his book, but Kent read Hatchet, and didn't cause any distractions.
    While Kent was reading Hatchet, Alec could tell he was really enjoying it and he ended up finishing it, and then Kent thought because he finished one book, and Alec brought up their bet, and Kent sat down and was given another book, The River. The Losers Club had become such a big success that Luke had asked him if one of his friends could start it in the younger kid's program, and his brother loved the idea, however suggested they change the name since Mrs. Case, barely liked it when he presented the name of the club. Luke and his friend Charles, started their own book club called the Mini Losers. In his latest progress report Alec had a couple a sevens and even a six, so this meant he had to spend the next two weeks in the Homework Room, and get to work on his homework instead of reading books, but after pleading with his parents and explaining his sentence was reduced to just one week. During his week in the Homework Club, Alec was able to not only stay up to date on work, but get ahead on big project assignments that were due later in the school year., and posted his highest scores on test and quizzes. While in Homework Club, he never complained about not being in his Losers Club, and he enjoyed reading at home just like before. It's almost time for the Open House presentation and  quite a few members are wanting to change the name of the club, because they don't want their parents to have them in a club for "losers", but Alec was very hesitant about this change, but as he thought about it everything had changed around him, except for the books. However, this club was supposed to be a time for him to get an escape from thinking but lately it seemed to be all he had done while in his club.
    The time had come for the open house, and Alec had tasked the members with gathering some information from them. Alec had gotten all the books titles the students had ever read from the library, books they had at home, or borrowed from one another. He explained to everyone that in the Losers Club they read, he also explained his reasoning in the name for the club because he wanted a place where he could read and nobody would bother him, and though by titling it the 'Losers Club' nobody would want to join, but other kids loved having a space to read and not focusing on the name. He even rebranded the term bookworm to bookhawk, this was the best open house performance Mrs. Case had ever seen, since her time being a director. As Alec always did trying to compare moments in life to books he's read he couldn't think of anything, because this moment didn't compare to anything he had read. 

My Thoughts on this Book....

    I loved this book and it's story. What started as a way for Alec to be able to get time to read and not have to do any extra stuff was amazing. I liked Alec's determination and how he overcame things and was able to stand up for himself more, and not be such a push over. I'm proud of him for taking the initiative to start his own club, so that he could still read in school, just not during his classes. At first I was confused why someone would name a club the Losers Club, it wouldn't be anything I would want to join based on the name, but after reading I was surprised at how it turned out and it actually made me enjoy the story much more. I also loved hearing about so many different titles of books, some which I've read and others I haven't, I thought this was an important piece in this book, and exposes readers to other titles they may be interested in reading. The way Alec presented his club at the open house presentation touched me, because it was a thoughtful moment that all the members didn't see coming.