In place of a whole-class novel this term, we will be using literature circles to explore several novels that share some common themes. This means that you will be grouped together based on your interest in reading a particular title. You will then be responsible for completing both group and individual assignments based on your reading. For a general explanation of how literature circles work, please click HERE
There are five novels to choose from for our first unit. At the bottom of this page you will find a link to a google form in which you will need to indicate your first and second choices. Ms. Napert will make every effort to place everyone within their first choice groupings, but understand that this may not be possible. Below you will find information on each of the novels. Take the time to consider each one carefully before making your decision.
You must submit your responses by Monday, November 4, 2013.
There are five novels to choose from for our first unit. At the bottom of this page you will find a link to a google form in which you will need to indicate your first and second choices. Ms. Napert will make every effort to place everyone within their first choice groupings, but understand that this may not be possible. Below you will find information on each of the novels. Take the time to consider each one carefully before making your decision.
You must submit your responses by Monday, November 4, 2013.
The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24nUBMgXjRE
On the back cover:
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
By Markus Zusak
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24nUBMgXjRE
On the back cover:
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VETGYkLFfw
On the back cover:
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.
By Harper Lee
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VETGYkLFfw
On the back cover:
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.
The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLvqiaw_fRM
On the back cover:
The New York Times bestseller and international classic loved by millions of readers.
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.
By Khaled Hosseini
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLvqiaw_fRM
On the back cover:
The New York Times bestseller and international classic loved by millions of readers.
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.
Holes
By Louis Sachar
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2JnEiHnbic
On the back cover:
This winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award features Stanley Yelnats, a kid who is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake: the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
By Louis Sachar
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2JnEiHnbic
On the back cover:
This winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award features Stanley Yelnats, a kid who is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake: the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
Jacob I Have Loved
By Katherine Paterson
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtP8jE7J-Ew
On the back cover:
Sara Louise Bradshaw is sick and tired of her beautiful twin Caroline. Ever since they were born, Caroline has been the pretty one, the talented one, the better sister. Even now, Caroline seems to take everything: Louise's friends, their parents' love, her dreams for the future.
For once in her life, Louise wants to be the special one. But in order to do that, she must first figure out who she is . . . and find a way to make a place for herself outside her sister's shadow.
By Katherine Paterson
Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtP8jE7J-Ew
On the back cover:
Sara Louise Bradshaw is sick and tired of her beautiful twin Caroline. Ever since they were born, Caroline has been the pretty one, the talented one, the better sister. Even now, Caroline seems to take everything: Louise's friends, their parents' love, her dreams for the future.
For once in her life, Louise wants to be the special one. But in order to do that, she must first figure out who she is . . . and find a way to make a place for herself outside her sister's shadow.