Newbery Night

Thursday, March 17, was Newbery night for book group.  We talked all things Newbery including the history of the medal, the man the mental was named for, some "winners" and some "losers" and some controversies.  We lamented the fact that although adults generally LOVE the Newbery books, often kids don't (depending on the book).

A list of the Newbery winners can be found at http://is.gd/jAvtsW

We then had an enthusiastic discussion based on the following questions of one of the stellar Newbery winners, The Giver, by Lois Lowry.
 

Discussion Questions

1.Why wasn’t the title of the book The Receiver rather than The Giver?

2.What were some of the good things about Jonas’ society?

3.What are some of the things you would miss most living in Jonas’ society?

4.What is the significance of the eye color?

5.Sameness was an important goal in the society.  Lowry made an effort to make the gender of a character insignificant.  What are some examples of this effort, and what are some examples where the differences in gender retained their stereotypes?

6.Euthanasia is controversial. Did Jonas’s society condemn, promote, or conditionally accept the practice?

7.What on EARTH happens at the end of the book?

8. Describe to a partner what your perfect world would be like.

 We also discussed the great work the Children's Literature Association of Utah (CLAU) does in picking Beehive award books for the state.  A poetry book, chapter book, non fiction book, and picture book is picked each year in January.  You can see their list at:

http://www.clau.org/books

Fire in the Bones by S. Michael Wilcox - February 2011

Brenda Lovell guided our discussion of Fire in the Bones by S. Michael Wilcox.  An invigorating discussion, great quotes, provocative pictures and some fun activities sparked the interests of all.  These well designed questions lead to a heated discussion.

How was Tyndale prepared for his life’s work?

What kind of a person was Tyndale?

What was Tyndale’s grand obsession?


What reasons were given for not wanting the Bible to be in the common tongue?
Were there other reasons?

How does Wilcox compare Tyndale to Joseph Smith?

Did the people want the bible in their own language?

What were some of the doctrines that Tyndale supported that were the most offensive to
those opposed to the translations into English?

What did we loose because of the death of Tyndale?

What was something you learned while reading the book that especially impressed you or
interested you?

How strong is my testimony of what I believe? Am I willing to stand up for it?

What lessons can we learn from the life of William Tyndale?

“I call God to record against the day we shall appear before
our Lord Jesus, to give a reckoning of our doings, that I never
altered one syllable of God’s work against by conscience, nor
would this day, if all that is in the earth, whether it be pleasure,
honor, or riches, might be given me.”
-William Tyndale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -- January Book Group

Deborah Hanson pulled the invisibility cloak off our minds and revealed to us all the secrets of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling.  She bewitched us with information about Rowling's life and the process she went through to get her series published.  Deborah shared with us a multitude of facts including that Rowling was paid $10,000 for the rights to Harry Potter from the British publisher and later Scholastic paid her $105,000 for the American publication.  This was the highest amount ever paid to a first time children's book author. 

One of the most fun parts of Deborah's lesson was learning about the names in the books.  One of the most popular characters is Minerva McGonagall.    Minerva was the Roman goddess of war and wisdom.  Minerva also happens to have a famed reputation for morphing herself and others into clever disguises.

We also learned that Rowling is a fan of anagrams.  The most important is, of course, Tom Marvolo Riddle is I Am Lord Voldemort.  But we all agree that Dursley is rude and sly!

The most touching story of the evening was this:  

Natalie McDonald is the only real person named in the entire Harry Potter series.  In the summer of 1999, the books provided an escape from the nine year old girl’s struggles with leukemia. Knowing how much Natalie loved Harry Potter, a friend of the McDonald family contacted JKR’s publisher who passed along the message. The author wrote an email to Natalie and her mother, including not-yet-known details about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but sadly, it arrived the day after Natalie died. Her mother wrote back to thank JKR for her kindness and the two struck up a friendship. In the book, JKR paid tribute to Natalie by making her a first year and sorting her into Gryffindor.

The Harry Potter series brought the muggle world together and revived our love of reading and sharing what we read.

By the way, did you know that so many fans visited King’s Cross station to take a photo of platforms nine and ten, that they erected a bricked in archway that reads Platform 9-3/4?

 

 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Book club in November was great.  We had a good group and a great discussion about the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!  We watched a YouTube video on the old Panama Hotel, we experienced some Seattle Jazz, and we listened to an interview of the author, Jamie Ford.  We had an excellent discussion on topics like actually Japanese attack on the US during WWII,  the internment camps, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, our favorite characters in the book, the Chinese button and more.  We also answered the four discussion questions:

• If Ethel knew what was happening with Henry's letters. (Probably)
• If Henry gave up on Keiko too easily.  (They were about 13.  How many of your old boyfriends from that age are you in touch with?)
• If Keiko make enough of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp.
• (The romantics said, "no," the realists said, "yes")
• If the US government was right or wrong to "relocate" Japanese-Americans. (Hindsight said definitely and we hope something like that never happens again!  In those frantic early days of the war, the absurdity of what was done to these Americans was not nearly as clear.  120,000 Japanese were interred.)

 
We also thought these facts from the book and interviews were interesting:

•The man who killed an internee was fined for the unauthorized use of the bullet.

•Interracial marriages were against the law.

•“Families hadn’t even left, and people strolled right in and took lamps, furniture, anything that wasn’t nailed down.

•"Hotel has been translated into 24 languages. I’m still holding out for Klingon (that’s when you know you’ve made it)." ---Jamie Ford

 

Here's our new graphic!

The Undaunted by Gerald Lund

Our book discussion on The Undaunted by Gerald Lund was very lively.  Twenty-eight people attended book group on Wednesday, September 15th.  Many of the group participated in the discussion.  The main focus of the discussion was a debate on whether the expedition to Hole in the Rock was foolish or worthwhile.  We all agreed that it took a great deal of faith on the part of the pioneers to participate in this arduous journey.  Some people felt that the initial goals of the expedition were not met, since many of the settlers left the area within 3 or 4 years of their arrival.  Others argued that experiences like this in early pioneer times is what makes us a strong group of people now.  Some felt that the personal growth those pioneers experienced made their trials worthwhile.  We were all overwhelmed that there were so many children and expecting mothers in the group.  We also were amazed that they took a journey in such challenging wilderness without scouting out the trail first.  Many were touched by the account early in the book of conditions for coal miners.  It was noted that it was a blessing that men with the talents that were needed had agreed to go on the journey.  It was indeed a act of faith by undaunted pioneers.

Our book for October will be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  We will meet on October 21st at Lee Hassard's home.  Please feel free to comment on our blog.  I will show you how to post entries at a future meeting.  You may want to check this out.  It is an interview with the author that gives you a good feel for the book:
http://is.gd/fcQ3y