Wednesday, November 11, 2009

South Carolina Book Award Club

Each year our media specialist, Mrs. Kelley, puts together a book club for third, fourth, and fifth graders (and any teacher who wants to join), based on the South Carolina Book Award Nominees for the year.

The expectation for members is that you read at least six of the twenty-one titles within a six week period (a book a week!). As she says...the club is not for wimps :)

While everyone had a good time and read a lot of books the above picture shows the ten students left standing at the end. We gave them a round of applause (as well as a pizza party and auction) for setting and reaching their reading goal in the club.

The South Carolina Book Award Nominees for 2009 are... (click on the comments to read some of the student/teacher reviews).

Attack of the Turtle by Drew Carlson
The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It by Sundee Tucker Frazier
The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Dragon’s Egg by Sarah L. Thomson
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Leepike Ridge by Nathan D. Wilson
The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy by Diane Stanley
No Talking by Andrew Clements
On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins
Swindle by Gordon Korman
Two-Minute Drill by Mike Lupica

7 comments:

Mrs. Heaton's Class said...

I really liked the following three books:

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It - I liked it because the boy was interested in science and finding out the answers to questions he had (including why he had never met his Grandpa). I am a science teacher so it was nice to see some science stuff about rock collecting :)

No Talking - As a teacher I would LOVE to have three days of no talking but I don't know if my students would be as creative as the ones in the book were!

Me and the Pumpkin Queen - I am fascinated by those huge fruits and vegetables they have at fairs and I thought they were easy to grow. This book shows me how wrong I was!

Anonymous said...

My favorite book was Emma Jean Lazarus fell out of a tree because it was funny. It was about a girl named Emma Jean and she likes fixing problems and one day she tries to fix a problem and it does not turn out as she planned. If you want the rest of the story you will have to read it.
Caroline

Anonymous said...

Me and the pumpkin queen- Me and the pumpkin queen is my favorite book club book because of the ending.It is about a little girl that is inspired by growing giant pumpkins.When an old man tells her about it she is up for the ride of her life.
aydan

Anonymous said...

A Friendship for Today- I liked this book the most because it is about a beautiful frienship of a colored person and a white person and how they put aside their differances.

Anonymous said...

This year I set myself the goal of reading all 20 of the SC Book Award titles. I managed to read them all a whole lot easier than to pick just one as my winner. I can review my top 3 picks:
1. The Aurora County All Stars
This book is not just about baseball - it is about life and growing up, particularly in a small country town and how the children in the town manage to not only put on the founder's day show, but also play their most important ball game of the year against their rivals - very exciting game at the end of the story!
2. Leepike Ridge
This story has all the action,adventure, and mystery any kid (or adult) could wish for. Falling down a waterfall into secret caverns to find the truth about his father and long lost treasure the main character in this story has one amazing journey!Read it start to finish in one sitting!
3. The Mysterious Benedict Society
This book is enormous! It's well worth the read though, as it is so cleverly written and keeps you guessing about these 4 amazing kids who are brought together for their even more amazing talents to help save the world! Fascinating, with a super surprise at the end - can't wait to read the next one...
Mrs. Booth

Anonymous said...

Eleven, by Patricia Giff, was my favorite because I remember having fun, many years ago, wondering what my life would have been like if my family had not been my real one. It wasn't such fun for Sam. His friend Caroline was my favorite character of all the ones I met while reading book club titles. M.Kelley, Librarian

Wm Chamberlain said...

Richard Peck is my favorite YA author. His character development is second to none and his writing, while often funny always points to the importance of enjoying our time together.
Mr. C