The Truth Behind Reading

There's a lot more to reading than just reading the words and finishing the book. You have to spend time thinking about what you just read, making connections, predicting, creating character charts, jotting down anything on a Post-It and collecting background information! At school, we've been learning reading strategies. One of the things I always make sure to do in my reading notebook is starting a character chart. For those of you who have no idea what a character chart is, well, it's basically a list. All you have to do is write down the names of any characters in your book and then you can include their characteristics. For example, I just finished a book called Lost and Found by Andrew Clements. So, I wrote Ray Grayson and then wrote: brown hair, likes to play soccer, not too good at math, likes the Cubs. Another thing I'm always sure to include in my reading notebook is a Fact vs. Fiction Chart, but be careful with this one. It only works if the book you're reading is historical fiction. You just need to make a T-Chart, one side Fact and the other Fiction. Based on the book, you write anything in the book that really happened or background information that's real on the Fact side. Leave the other one for anything that was made up from the author's imagination. Another great way for me to keep track of my thoughts is Post-Iting. I like to mark important parts and write why on the Post-It. I also like to write down any questions or comments I have. Once a week, I try to do an activity about my book. Sometimes I write a letter to the character, make a collage, write down similar book titles, draw a comic strip, and much more. I hope this post was useful to all of you and that sometime, you'll give one of these strategies a try!

The Absolutley True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I am reading a really funny book called *The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* by Sherman Alexie. I just read the part when the main character, Junior, starts school at a white high school out of his reservation. Everyone is acting like Junior is a threat to their 'coolness' and no one wants to be his friend.

I don't think it's very nice of the other teenagers to do that to Junior because, I mean, he's a person too. Who cares what color his skin is and what his background is like? I feel really bad for Junior because he is being bullied by the other kids and has been taken advantage of.

On one of the pages that there's a sketch, it's a picture of a person split in half, one side's Indian and the other is white. Since people on the reservation are poor, Junior's shirt is from K-Mart, his backpack is a garbage liner, his shoes are made of clay, and his pants are from the Sale isle in the Safeway Supermarket. Meanwhile, the white half is wearing a Polo Ralph Lauren collared shirt, khakis from Tommy Hilfiger, a Timex watch, the latest Air Jordans, and is holding an ergonomic bag (with fancy cell phone). I feel bad for Junior because everyone is judging him by skin and clothing.

On example is when Junior was just minding his own buisness, the cooler group boys came up to him and yelled. The teased, "Chief, Red-Skin, Tonto, Sitting Bull, Squaw Leader!" and started to laugh. Poor, helpless Junior could do nothing but sit there and try to ignore them. He knew he couldn't fight back or they'd beat him up, but... it wasn't very nice of his classmates.

*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* is a great book, but some of the word choice is really inappropriate, so I'd only recommend it for older kids. Many of the parts are funny, but deep inside, this book is meaningful and sad.

The Meanest Doll in the World

I am almost finished reading The Meanest Doll in the World by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin. I can't forget this book's illustrator, Brian Selznick, because of his amazing pictures on multiple pages. The Meanest Doll in the World is in a series (titles in order): 1 The Doll People 2 The Runaway Dolls 3 The Meanest Doll in the World. This book is about two dolls who come to life and they accidentally end up at their owners school. The girls decide to take a look around the school and then get back into the backpack. When they reach home, it's not the Palmer's house they're used to. The girls are in a messy room that belongs to a boy, not their owner, Kate. A horrible doll, Princess Mimi (Mean Mimi), comes to attack Tiffany and her friend Annabell doll. They meet some trolls, the Cutouts, and three other mini dolls who have been bullied by Mean Mimi. The two dolls need to help save the others when Mimi attacks. Mean Mimi is mad at the other dolls because they don't want to be her friends anymore, due to her bullying them. She is also angry at Tiffany and Annabelle because they are helping the others. Mean Mimi controls some of the timid dolls and they attack too. There's a big commotion in the boy's room, but the dolls must be sure they won't be seen alive by a human.

I think Tiffany Funcraft is my favorite character in The Meanest Doll in the World. This is because Tiffany is adventurous. She is daring and always wants to explore, unlike picky Annabelle. Tiffany always loved her adventures with Auntie Sarah, Annabelle's aunt. She wasn't afraid of spiders or even Princess Mimi. Tiffany stood up to Mean Mimi when all the other dolls were so scared she was going to damage them. Tiffany was always nice to Annabelle, even when Annabelle hadn't treated her the same. Tiffany was always happy and cheering people up. She encouraged the other dolls to not give up and keep trying. That shows that Tiffany was brave and helpful. She always tried her best at everything, even if she wasn't interested.

I'm predicting that in the last chapter I have, everything will get back to normal. When Mean Mimi followed Tiffany and Annabelle home, she caused even more trouble. Now she was being seen in front of humans (alive!) and was being very rude and disruptive. Then she jumped off of a book shelf in front of Kate  (ut-oh!) and went to PDS. PDS is Permanent Doll State which rarely happens, if a doll is fully seen by a human. Mean Mimi looks paralyzed because her doll life is over. Everyone feels relieved, but it's sad. If I were of the the dolls who was having to deal with Mimi, I wouldn't care. I know that seems mean, but, it's true. Mean Mimi was a bully and she was putting dollkind at risk.

I SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS BOOK, BUT YOU SHOULD START FROM THE BEGINNING. THANKS FOR READING SUCH A LONG POST!! :)

Tuck Everlasting

I've been reading more of Tuck Everlasting and it keeps getting mire and more exciting. Right now, Winnie is still at the Tuck's house since thye kidnapped her. She goes out in the morning with Miles, trying to catch some fish for breakfast. When Miles catches a trout, Winnie can't stand even looking at the pain the fish is going through. "Put it back!" Miles looks at Winnie's scared face with tears in her eyes, and relcutantly releases the fish.

I think Winnie acted this way because she had just talked to Tuck about living forever and she didn't want the same to happen to the fish. I think the author, Natalie Babbitt included this chapter into the book because it has powerful connections. She's trying to say that the Tuck's live forever and they're just stuck on the wheel of life. They can never die, but eventually the fish will. Winnie wanted to let the fish swim away because she wanted to let it enjoy the time it has left.

Tuck Everlasting

In school right now, we're reading this book called Tuck Everlasting. I really like it because there is a lot of description so it's easy to create pictures in your mind. The author, Natalie Babbitt, does a very good job of setting the scene. She often uses vivid details like "sunsets smeared with too much color" and "the melancholy creases folded his daytime face". The storyline of Tuck Everlasting is amazing and it feels like you're on the adventure with Miles, Jesse, Mae, Tuck, and Winnie!