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While I never considered myself a lover of Greek Mythology, Percy Jackson is doing his very best to change that. With the classic Greek stories told in his voice, I'm allowing myself to suspend disbelief and roll with the action. Hats off to writer Rick Riordan; He hits all the right notes. 
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Grandma Dowdel is a force. She’s not much for talk, but she rarely lacks action. 
A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.
When her grandchildren come to visit, they slowly learn that country life (outside of Chicago during the depression) is anything but boring. In fact, there are remarkable lessons to be learned if you just stick with Grandma Dowdel and pay close attention.
Simultaneously the town outcast and the town leader, Grandma Dowdel will remind you what’s important. She’ll keep you humble. She’ll set things right.... and this will all occur when you least expect it. While reading these books, I couldn’t help but think of the great-aunts who both boss me around and endlessly love me. As a child, I wasn’t always sure where we were going, but I was happy to follow, because I knew the destination would be unlike anything I had seen before. I hope one day, I’ll have my own chance to be a wise (and spirited) grandma. It’d be a great blessing to have a life of love, strength, and a bit of mischief... all for the greater good. Fabulous Middle School reading for both boys and girls: Check out Richard Peck's magical writing. Last year my son and I read a variety of books from the Dear America Series. A Picture of Freedom was my very favorite. This first-person narrative of life as a plantation slave was moving, thought provoking, and age-appropriate for my 9 year old. 
We also checked out the movie from the local library - and were not disappointed. It's a great addition for those studying the underground railroad, the civil war, or cotton plantations of the south. 
For my oldest son, 4th grade has been the year to go from 'little kid' to 'big kid'. His feet are getting bigger. He’s earned more freedom (and responsibility) at home. He was assigned his first oral presentation at school. My son took to this new school assignment immediately. He worked at home for several evenings, seriously pouring over his books. I admit to occasionally hovering over his shoulder and asking questions, but otherwise I stayed hands-off as he prepared his notes, speech outline, and visual aids. Asked to tell his classmates about the life and work of Cesar Chavez, my son created a timeline to tell of Chavez’s birth, his childhood in poverty, and the experiences that led him to found the National Farm Workers Association. Although I was not well versed in the history of this famous man (or his methods), I did have one resources that I couldn’t help but offer to my son. 
The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez is a powerful book that details the life of migrant farm workers. Written from the perspective of a growing boy, the historical fiction gives life to children who speak a different language, change schools often, labor beside their parents, and dream of a better life.
I first read this book as part of a university class, but find the writing and message equally accessible to a fourth grade reader. My son was quiet when he read the book and clearly interested in the story. When done, he told me: “It’s sad, Mom.” Later at the grocery store, he asked me: “Are those union grapes?” Yes, he’s getting bigger, growing older, and stealing his mother’s heart… again and again!  When Joshua’s family leaves Missouri in hopes of finding a new home in the Oregon territory, his grandfather gives him a journal so that the young boy can record “the good and the not-so-good.” Thus begins the My America series by Author Patricia Hermes which illustrates the joys and tragedies of travel along the Oregon Trail. My eight year-old first found these books, but I too have enjoyed reading the first-person, journal-entry formats. The themes of life and death, growing-up, caring for others, and greed are explored through Joshua’s young eyes with a wonderful innocence. After several losses among the wagon train, the boy begins to understand a glimmer of the worry his mother must feel for him and his young sister. As an admittedly overprotective-mother, I was touched by the story that unfolds over the trail, in Oregon City, and as the family builds their new home.
After reading all three books in this series, my son and I talked about the relationships in the books and how they are similar and different than our own. In books (and life) I have great respect for any boy’s journey to becoming a man. |
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