To Nightowl From Dogfish

January Book pick:

From Common Sense Media:

"Tweens will easily relate to the authentic, distinct voices of Avery and Bett as they explore what family and friendship mean through their dads' romance, and reunite with long-lost and distant loved ones. The plot is well constructed to keep the pages turning. Be sure to have a tissue handy for Avery and Bett's wedding toast."

2019 Throwdown!

Our movie this month is Little Women (the newest one--we're going to see it in the theater over winter break).
Meanwhile, we had our throwdown!
Head over to our Book Log to see the final picks for 2020! 

Beyond the Bright Sea

The daughters are now almost halfway through 7th grade and decided they wanted to make some changes.

Super understandable that things can't (and shouldn't!) stay the same since 3rd grade.

The changes we made:

• The blog is too overwhelming to keep up with with all their other responsibilities.  One of the moms will take over posting and it truly will be more of a log-- just the book we read + 3 questions
• Instead of a different girl leading the entire discussion (which includes prep), each girl will come with 1 question to ask each month.
• We will shift from the moms choosing most of the books for the throwdown to the daughters choosing about 75% of the books for throwdown.  Each daughter will suggest 3-4 books every November.

On to the book!

Questions

Norah:
What do you think this means: “Because that’s what people do when they think something doesn’t belong to you. Like taking the treasure because it was buried on a state land, even if it belonged to someone else before that. And claiming a little island that nobody else could have thought of wanting, until someone else wanted it.”

Kaia:
Why do you think the author made the choice for Crow to never meet her brother?

Zoe:
On page 209, Osh said "People don't want much until they have plenty, then they want more and more." Where do we see this in society?

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Questions:
1.  Why is Carmen the narrator?
2.  Which of the 4 girls are you most like?
3.  Do you think 10 years from now they will still be friends?
4.  How does Bridget feel at the end of the book versus the beginning/middle?  Why?

Wishtree

Questions

1.  Which character do you most relate to?

2.  Red says of Sumar and of him/herself that they need to “stand tall, reach deep.” What does that mean to you? Have you ever had to stand tall and reach deep?

3. What wish would you tie on the wishtree?

4.Red likes to make others feel safe. Are there things in nature that make you feel safe?

The Inquisitors Tale

 A girl who can see the future. A boy who can heal any wound. And a monk who is so tall you would have to climb a ladder to be his height. Funny, adventurous, and filled with different stories, the Inquisitors Tale is a book you'll want to read. 
  I found myself laughing at every page of this book! I especially liked that this book was told from several points of view, not just one storyteller. It was cooler that way. Much more interesting.
  This book made me think about if I had special powers like these kids. I don't mean to be cheesy but that would be SO. COOL. I think that even if I was made fun of for having special abilities I wouldn't care because I'd be a REBEL and I would have freakin' powers. 
  My favorite part of the book was when all of the kids (Jacob, William, and Jeanne) teamed up to fight the knights and succeeded and ran away together like REBELS!! 
  I think this book is for ages 11+, it's a little too--religious and a bit confusing at times. I would recommend this book to people who love adventure, danger, storytelling, and kind-of sad books. The lesson I learned from this book was, "Sometimes life is tough, but your friends are there when nobody else is."

The War That Saved My Life

        The War That Saved My Life is a tragic, but heartwarming novel written by award-winning author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The War That Saved My Life was awarded and honored with the following achievements:

        Ten-year-old Ada has a club foot, and due to her mother's humiliation, she has never left her one-room apartment.  So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada she sneaks out to join him. A new adventure has begun for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who has no choice but to take in Ada and her brother. Ada learns how to ride a pony,  to read, to watch for German spies, and finally to trust Susan, and Susan learns to love the children back. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother return to the cruel hands of their unloving mother?