Module 9 : Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clown

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SUMMARY

Aunt Molly's wallet was stolen at the circus. Cam begins to think that there is a clown that is up to something, and she's going to get to the bottom of it.

APA REFERENCE

Adler, D. (1998). Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clown. New York: Penguin Group.

IMPRESSIONS

This was a cute book with some twists and turns for a young reader to enjoy. Cam Jansen are easy reads and a great way to get young readers into chapter books.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

[Review of the book Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clown by David Adler]. Kirkus Review retrieved on October 27, 2014 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-a-adler-25/cam-jansen-and-the-mystery-of-the-circus-clown/

The latest Cam Jansen mystery, alas, is an open-and-shut case that makes only minimal use of her trademark photographic memory. (With a moment's thought, Cam's sidekick Eric could have solved it--and even the inattentive reader can hardly miss.) Cam, Eric, and Cam's scatty, loquacious, globe-girdling Aunt Molly (who supplies a smidgin of comic interest) are at the circus. Aunt Molly's wallet disappears. Other people's wallets disappear. A clown has bumped those people. Clown's themselves tan disappear, notes Cam, by shedding their disguises. At this point another clown misdirects her away from the Bumping Clown-who, it turns out, is his (female) accomplice. Nothing quite clicks (Cam even has to verify her own hunches here); but fans of the series will probably forgive it an occasional lapse.

LIBRARY USES
This book could be suggested to a small group for book club or a young reader starting chapter books. 

Module 8 : The Maze Runner

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SUMMARY

Book one in a trilogy, The Maze Runner is very popular amongst young readers today. The main character Thomas mysteriously arrives at a place called the "Glade" and inside the Glade are robotic creatures called Grievers, and he has no memory recollection other than his name. Around the outside of the Glade there is a maze with walls so tall no one can see out of it. Although Thomas befriends some of the others in the Glade, he still feels as though he has been there before. His connections run so deep that his friend Teresa is able to speak to him telepathically. The same night she speaks telepathically to him, and they find out that the Maze's doors would stay open and the Grievers will take only one person that night. It is their job to figure out how to get through the Maze by solving a code word.

APA REFERENCE
Dashner, J. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte Press.


IMPRESSIONS

I am not a fan of post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels. These sort of dark and violent books are very hard for me to read, however I do feel The Maze Runner was well-written, and very descriptive. I found myself wanted to get out of the Glade as quickly as I entered it. I do not think I will continue reading the trilogy.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW
[Review of the book The Maze Runner by James Dashner]. Kirkus review retrieved on October 19, 2014 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-dashner/the-maze-runner/.

Boys come to the Glade via an empty freight elevator with no memory of how they got there or of their prior lives. This disorientation is made more frightening when they realize that to survive they must lock themselves in every night to avoid the horrors of the Grievers, beings that are part machine, part animal—and altogether deadly. The boys in the Glade send out Runners each day to find a way out through the Maze that surrounds their one patch of safety, with no success. Life goes on until one day the elevator delivers a girl. She brings a message: She is the last child to be sent, and there will be no more deliveries of food or supplies. Now the Glade is cut off, and as the Grievers gather for an all-out attack it’s clear that it’s now or never—the Maze must be solved. Dashner knows how to spin a tale and make the unbelievable realistic. Hard to put down, this is clearly just a first installment, and it will leave readers dying to find out what comes next. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

LIBRARY USES

There could be a group discussion on comparing and contrasting The Maze Runner and Hunger Games. There could also be a discussion on the slang and language used in the The Maze Runner and how it would feel to be thrown in a new community where you spoke the language, but there were certain words that everyone knew the definition except you.

Module 7 : Out of My Mind

 

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SUMMARY
This is a story about a strong and intelligent young lady who has cerebral palsy, yet no one knows just how bright she is until she receives a machine that allows her to communicate like she has never done before. She excels in life to the best of her abilities, she makes friends, and eventually gets to be on a scholastic team. She has the opportunities to travel with her teammates, until an unfortunate event happens.


APA REFERENCE
Draper, S. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

IMPRESSIONS
Out of My Mind is well written, and full of emotions. The reader is placed in the mind of a young girl with cerebral palsy, and is taken on an emotional journey through her daily struggles at home, and at school. The reader is allowed to feel the pains and joys of her life, and Melody becomes a part of the reader by the end of the story.


PROFESSIONAL REVIEW
[Review of the book Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper]. Kirkus review retrieved on October 14, 2014 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sharon-m-draper/out-of-my-mind/.

Melody, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, cannot walk or talk. Despite her parents’ best efforts, the outside world has defined her by her condition. Melody’s life changes when inclusion classrooms are introduced in her school, and she interacts with children other than those in her special-needs unit. To these children, Melody is “other,” and they are mostly uncomfortable with her sounds and jerky movements. Normal problems of school friendships are magnified. Preparation for a trivia competition and acquisition of a computer that lets her communicate her thoughts reveal Melody’s intelligence to the world. Melody is an entirely complete character, who gives a compelling view from inside her mind. Draper never shies away from the difficulties Melody and her family face. Descriptions of both Melody’s challenges—“Going to the bathroom at school just plain sucks”—and the insensitivities of some are unflinching and realistic. Realistically, Melody’s resilient spirit cannot keep her from experiencing heartbreak and disappointment even after she has demonstrated her intellect. This book is rich in detail of both the essential normalcy and the difficulties of a young person with cerebral palsy.

LIBRARY USES
Since this book is too long for a read aloud in the library, a good use would be to ask the ELA teachers to read this book in class and then upon completion come to the library have a class discussion about tolerance and understanding their fellow students that may deal with the same difficulties day in and day out.

Module 6 : The Day the Crayons Quit

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SUMMARY

In The Day the Crayons Quit a box of crayons each write letters to Dalton about why they are overused, overworked, and under-appreciated. This is a fun-loving story about how kids always use the same colors to color things. For example, fire trucks are always red, the ocean and sky are always blue, etc. At the end of the story, Dalton colors a picture using colors that are not "the norm" and he gets an "A" for creativity.

APA REFERENCE
Daywalt, D., & Jeffers, O. (n.d.). The day the crayons quit.

IMPRESSIONS

This is a quick and easy read, with a thrifty perspective from the crayons point-of-view. This book has the opportunity for many lessons to be derived and taught after reading it. The illustrations appear to be done by a small child, very amateur-like, however the details are so lovely the reader has so much to look at while reading about each individual color.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

Duncan wants to draw, but instead of crayons, he finds a stack of letters listing the crayons’ demands in this humorous tale.

Red is overworked, laboring even on holidays. Gray is exhausted from coloring expansive spaces (elephants, rhinos and whales). Black wants to be considered a color-in color, and Peach? He’s naked without his wrapper! This anthropomorphized lot amicably requests workplace changes in hand-lettered writing, explaining their work stoppage to a surprised Duncan. Some are tired, others underutilized, while a few want official titles. With a little creativity and a lot of color, Duncan saves the day. Jeffers delivers energetic and playful illustrations, done in pencil, paint and crayon. The drawings are loose and lively, and with few lines, he makes his characters effectively emote. Clever spreads, such as Duncan’s “white cat in the snow” perfectly capture the crayons’ conundrum, and photographic representations of both the letters and coloring pages offer another layer of texture, lending to the tale’s overall believability.

LIBRARY USES

A good library use would be a read-aloud, and then have the children work in groups, choose color without looking, and then write a letter from Dalton, back to the crayons. Once the students have completed their letter, then can illustrate their paper. The completed letters can be hung in the library for everyone to see.