More Books continued

Since I last mentioned it, I have finished two more of the books my students will be reading for their book clubs this month.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt - This is a challenging read using very poetic imagery and requiring some intellectual thought. I am assigning it only to my advanced 5th graders, and I will still need to guide them through several parts. In this story a little girl discovers a family that has become immortal after drinking from a very special spring. They talk of many important things, including why the spring needs to remain a secret and what life is like when there is no death waiting at the end. Although I found some of the interpersonal interactions to be a little contrived, I am excited to see what my students think of the basic premise.

The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth - A farm family in 1950's New England discovers that their hen has laid a very unusual egg. When it hatches into a very unusual creature, Nate has his hands full feeding the hatchling, working with scientists and fending off over-zealous politicians. A fantastical story that every child will wish they had been a part of.

I have also begun From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg but I am not yet prepared to comment on it.