Harris and Me : A Summer Remembered
Summary
A boy is sent to live with his relatives on a farm. His home is not a good place so other people in his family take care of him sometimes. On the farm he meets Harris and his family. The two boys get in to lots of predicaments in an exciting summer.
Citation
Paulsen, Gary. (1993). Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Inc. .
Impressions
This is the funniest book I have ever read. Paulsen's descriptions of the mishaps of the boys is dead on and you can really see it in your mind. I dont have a huge farm background, but I could relate to the things going on in the story. As with many of Paulsen's books, the target would seem to be males but I have found that females enjoy the story as well.
Review
Full Text:
A nostalgic journey through a boy's breakneck summer. Told by a narrator recalling his experiences the summer he was 11, the stories begin with his being dropped by a deputy at the farm home of a distant relative. “We heard your folks was puke drunks, is that right?” asks the beguiling and reckless nine-year-old Harris almost immediately. Of course they are, but that dismal fact of life is forgotten nearly at once as Harris leads the two of them off on one wild adventure after another. As one might suspect from Paulsen, there are no ordinary characters residing on this backwoods farm: there's Vivian, the ornery, kicking cow; 300 pound pigs who don't look kindly on wrestling matches with boys; Ernie, the attack-rooster; Louie, the hired hand with strange table manners and an artistic streak; Buzzer, his pet lynx; and Harris's older sister, Glennis, who is constantly whacking him for swearing. (At times the language does get a little salty.) The plot is a loosely constructed romp with each chapter an episode that's fast paced, highly descriptive, and funny. Using headings such as “In which war is declared and honor established,” Paulsen raises readers' expectations and sets the tone for the action to follow. Some stories push beyond believability and edge into tall-tale territory, but it doesn't matter, for this is storytelling in the tradition of Twain and Harte, memorable and humorous and very telling of human nature.
Uses
Somehow set up a small farm scene or even do something outside where the students could milk a cow or at least use a rubber glove to simulate.
Module 7
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
Summary
The sisters are back home and trying to get back to normal. Their aunt gives their father a letter from their mother who had passed away a few years back. The letter urges the father to remarry and carry on with life. The daughter have other plans in mind and try to sabotage the plan. The father really doesnt want to do it either. There are some school project issues which the girls try to do one anothers work that backfires and a great woman moves in next door. In the end, the girls come around because the woman is the right one and they are all happy.
Citation
Birdsall, J. (2008). The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. New York: Knopf.
Impressions
I did not read the first book so I didn't have any background on it. It is a story dealing with a few normal reactions to life's twists and turns. Many kids will be able to relate to what it feels like when a new adult is introduced into a family, no matter what the circumstances are. I liked the humor of the girls trying to hatch this Save Daddy plan. Even he really didn't want to be back in the dating world. No one can replace a mother but sometimes things work out pretty good. The mixture of the drama of the co worker being stalked and the issues with the neighborhood boys makes for a relatable story that I very much enjoyed. Maybe Ill get to read the rest of the series sometime.
Review
Steele, Linda (2008). School Library Journal 54(9). p75-76. Retrieved from Library & Information Science Source. 3 Dec 2013.
Gr 4-7-- Jeanne Birdsall's second book (Knopf, 2008) about the Penderwick family is even better than her first, the National Book Award-winning The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Knopf, 2005). The story begins as the four daughters return home to begin a normal school year. Much to their surprise, they find that their aunt has given their father a letter from their mother who died three years ago. In the letter, she begs him to continue on with his life, date, marry, and have a happy family life. The oldest daughter, Rosalind, hatches the "Save Daddy Plan" since she is determined never to have a replacement for her late mother. Of course, plans have a way of going awry and father has a few plans of his own. In the meantime, the sisters have their own problems. What will happen to Rosalind's relationship with her neighbor Tommy? Sisters Skye and Jane have homework and school disasters, and youngest sister Batty goes on a secret spy mission. Susan Denaker's narration creates a pace that's soothing but never boring. Listeners will relate to the well-drawn, charming characters. Birdsall plans at least three more installments to this series.
Uses
I think this would be another chance at a quick writing opportunity. It would be about each of their feelings about how they would react to news of a parent dating again after losing the other parent.
Uses
Somehow set up a small farm scene or even do something outside where the students could milk a cow or at least use a rubber glove to simulate.
Module 7
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
Summary
The sisters are back home and trying to get back to normal. Their aunt gives their father a letter from their mother who had passed away a few years back. The letter urges the father to remarry and carry on with life. The daughter have other plans in mind and try to sabotage the plan. The father really doesnt want to do it either. There are some school project issues which the girls try to do one anothers work that backfires and a great woman moves in next door. In the end, the girls come around because the woman is the right one and they are all happy.
Citation
Birdsall, J. (2008). The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. New York: Knopf.
Impressions
I did not read the first book so I didn't have any background on it. It is a story dealing with a few normal reactions to life's twists and turns. Many kids will be able to relate to what it feels like when a new adult is introduced into a family, no matter what the circumstances are. I liked the humor of the girls trying to hatch this Save Daddy plan. Even he really didn't want to be back in the dating world. No one can replace a mother but sometimes things work out pretty good. The mixture of the drama of the co worker being stalked and the issues with the neighborhood boys makes for a relatable story that I very much enjoyed. Maybe Ill get to read the rest of the series sometime.
Review
Steele, Linda (2008). School Library Journal 54(9). p75-76. Retrieved from Library & Information Science Source. 3 Dec 2013.
Gr 4-7-- Jeanne Birdsall's second book (Knopf, 2008) about the Penderwick family is even better than her first, the National Book Award-winning The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Knopf, 2005). The story begins as the four daughters return home to begin a normal school year. Much to their surprise, they find that their aunt has given their father a letter from their mother who died three years ago. In the letter, she begs him to continue on with his life, date, marry, and have a happy family life. The oldest daughter, Rosalind, hatches the "Save Daddy Plan" since she is determined never to have a replacement for her late mother. Of course, plans have a way of going awry and father has a few plans of his own. In the meantime, the sisters have their own problems. What will happen to Rosalind's relationship with her neighbor Tommy? Sisters Skye and Jane have homework and school disasters, and youngest sister Batty goes on a secret spy mission. Susan Denaker's narration creates a pace that's soothing but never boring. Listeners will relate to the well-drawn, charming characters. Birdsall plans at least three more installments to this series.
Uses
I think this would be another chance at a quick writing opportunity. It would be about each of their feelings about how they would react to news of a parent dating again after losing the other parent.
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