A Tale Dark and Grimm ~ April Book Club Choice

Our next book club choice is a bit scary so be warned!  A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz sees Hansel and Gretel weave through eight classic fairy tales...but these aren't your light hearted fairy tales...these are dark. 

Recommended by our Grade 6 boys, A Tale Dark and Grimm takes a unique if not somewhat gruesome look at the adventures of Hansel and Gretel. This book is not for the faint of heart but it is a great read for those liking the darker side of fairy tales.

 

Book Club - 11:00-11:45 Wednesday April 24th in the library.  I'll be sure to have ghoulish snacks and look forward to your reviews.  We currently have 11 copies circulating so be sure to pop in and see me if you want to read this adventurous tale.

Dancing Through the Snow Book Club

Dancing Through The Snow.
I like this book because it gives a lot of emotional feelings.
My favourite charectar is Jess because she is soft hearted and king, always lets
people off and she always forgives people.  I would reccomend this book to ages nine or ten.
Book club was a great experience for me because we all got to share are feelings about this book.
I felt really sad in some parts because Min always got regected from her foster parents.  I loved when Min and Penny sang Where is love from Oliver.  I think that even though Min might not be the best singer she is always going to be a good singer because she tried.

By:Sarah


This month our book club read Dancing Through the Snow by Jean Little. We had 12 girls from grades 4-6 take part in our lunch hour discussion.  We discussed what it would be like for Min to go from foster home to foster home and how her trust grew by living with Jess.  The girls were chatty about character development saying Jean Little is very good and building strong characters, especially female characters.  Those participating loved the story and offered great reflections.

Some comments included:

The book was a great book and I want to red it again!  At first I felt sorry for Min but things got better.  I think it was funny when Min and her friends chased Laird the bully.  Gr. 4 student

I felt sorry for Min at First.  My favourite character is Jess because she has personality. I liked Maude because she had personality.  Gr. 4 student

I thought it was a good book out of what I read.  It is very interesting.  After the first couple of pages you just dive in!  I think it's beautiful.  The author used lots of good ways to express the characters thoughts and feelings.  My favourite would be Jess Hart.  Overall of what I read so far, it's awesome!  Gr. 6 student

I think that Min at first is quite left out until she meets Jess.  I also think that Jess is very kind hearted person, always willing to help and soft hearted.  I think Toby is a funny, intelligent person.  He is very brave & loves dogs.  Gr. 4 student

Dancing through the Snow

 I thought dancing through the snow was a really cool book. In the beginning it was sad because Min was dropped off at childrens aid for the fourth time. Then a docter that she had met before took her in. Now she has a injured dog. I am not finished the book but i am exited to finish it.

Danielle Fourth grade

First book of 2013 - Dancing Through The Snow

Happy New Year Randerson students, staff and parents. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow and hearing about your holidays and all the great books you've read :)

I just finished Jean Little's Dancing Through the Snow. I look forward to our February book club where we will chat about it in detail.  It's a book that catches you right from the start as you follow Min, a grade 5 girl who travels from one foster family to another, searching for a family.  It isn't until she is basically abandoned just a few days before Christmas that her life begins to change.  I don't want to give away too much as there are suprises early on.  I just want to recommend this book to
Gr. 4,5 and 6 students.



February Book Club

When: Thursday February 21st

Where: Library

When: Long recess

What to do: Read the book ~ Dancing Through the Snow

                       Come and have fun and enjoy some treats while chatting about Min, Dr. Hart and Toby.



January ~ Conspiracy 365

The first of Gabrielle Lord's 12 book series, January Conspiracy 365, gets your adrenaline flowing right from the first page.   Fifteen year old Callum Ormond is chased by a dying man who is screaming his name.  This man has secret information he wants to pass on to Callum. Callum wants nothing to do with him.  We soon learn he better listen to the clues to help him get through the next 365 days. 

Be it capsizing boats, bad guys chasing him or trying to solve the mystery that caused his father's death, Cal is constantly on the run.  This adventure is fast paced, gritty and mysterious.  The first book ends with the reader wanting to grab February Conspiracy 365 and keep reading.  I look forward to discussing this book in our first book club of 2013. 

PS - Take note of the page numbers while reading....It's all part of the countdown to December 31st.

Book Clubs begin in January

Randerson's First Book Club choice for 2013 .........

January / Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord. 

It's a thriller that will keep you turning the pages. You will be captured by the intensity of the main character Callum, as he unravels the mystery behind his dad's death.  Join us Thursday, January 24th at long recess for a great discussion on this action-packed novel.

Randerson Readers Rock!!!

Well deserved prizes for our Randerson Readers Rock program

Congratulations to our Randerson Readers Rock participants for their diligence in our summer reading program.  Every student who participated by filling out a reading log and telling us a bit about the great books they read, received a Randerson Readers Rock prize package. 

Book Clubs are back at Randerson
We are about to start our book clubs and are looking for great titles you want to read and discuss.

Here are some of the requests to date:

Gr. 7 book club - Recruit, The first book in the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. This series is about undercover teenage agents and is full of adventure and thrills.  From the author interview it sounds intriguing yet at times mature.  I have recently purchased the book and look forward to reading it to better understand its maturity level. 

Grade 6/7 - Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - although this was a book club choice last year many of our Grade 5's who are now Grade 6's would like it to be chosen again this year.

Gr. 6/7 We all Fall Down by Eric Walters.  Our grade 7's read it last year and enjoyed it so much they all rushed to the library for the sequel "United we Stand".  This would be an excellent book choice as Eric Walters is visiting Vancouver Island in February and we are working hard to get him booked into our school for an author visit. 

Gr. 4/5 Underneath by Kathi Applett is a critically acclaimed novel about two unlikely friends and how they become a family.  An abandoned cat and a chained up hound become a family Underneath the porch.  Beautifully written this story is of friendship and family.


Keep your suggestions coming in.  We will choose a book this month and begin reading for our first book club meeting in November.  Please stop by the library if you have any book club recommendations.