Catching Up

The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 1 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
The series was set in London during the American Revolution (but for some reason the magicians had cars). The series revolved around the conflict between the magicians running the government and the commoners. I really enjoyed the differing perspectives in the whole series of these books. It was cleverly written, for some reason just not a "can't put down" book.

The Golem's Eye: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 2 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
This book had twists and turns, and it took me about the whole thing to figure out who the villain behind the golem was. The character development of the main character was interesting as well.

Ptolemy's Gate: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 3 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8
The third book tied up some questions about the past of the characters and gave background information. It was really tied up very well. I just didn't love the series. Great writing, though.

Settling in Michigan by Lynne Deur
Genre: Primary source, history Rating: (out of 10): 6.5
Short stories in this book gave accounts of early Michigan. Useful for teaching.

Orphan Trains: Researching American History by Deitch & Bracken
Genre: Primary Source, history Rating: (out of 10): 8
This book contains a variety of types of sources: newspaper, firsthand accounts, adoption documents, etc. Very complete picture of what the orphan trains were like. It will be indispensable for my unit.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
I'm tempted to give two ratings: One for the beginning of the book and one for the end. I thought that the climax of the book was about halfway through, and the rest was superfluous. Dave did point out to me that there were some loose ends that needed to be tied up. The plot was predictable as it was heavily foreshadowed in the beginning of the book, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh
Genre: Children's Literature, Science Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 6
The book is about a group of people who are forced to evacuate Earth and live on an unknown planet. I am thinking about starting the year with a space theme, and I heard of this book from an example unit. The book was a little strange, though... not sure it will accomplish what it is meant to accomplish as an introduction to the year, and afraid that it will scare the kids- make them worry about the end of the world. We'll see. I may try it.