Reading With Class #2

Reading with Class is a weekly meme hosted by yours truly where I talk about the books that I have read this week for my library classes! I might not always want to do a full fledged review on some of these books...but they are still worth mentioning!

For my YA Lit class, we had to read Lord of the Flies - I had never actually read this before. I'll admit, I struggled through a lot of it. And nobody's who's read it cannot tell me that they didn't find it a wee bit disturbing. A plane full of British boys, aged 6 through 12, are marooned on a desert island in a plane crash with no adults. While it starts out as a "fun" adventure, it quickly turns into a story of savagery vs. civilization; good vs. evil. It ended up being pretty exciting at the end. I take a test on it tonight - hope I understood it the way I was supposed to!

I read this cute little book of poetry to satisfy 1 of my 3 kids' poetry book requirements. I chose it because it sounded funny! Plus, I love Judith Viorst and her Alexander books! It was a fun little read - most poems were funny, but there were a few that were surprisingly somber. Ok, I've got to post one to give an example:

What Dads Do

"Make bookshelves.

Make burgers.

Make money.

Make funny faces that make you laugh.

Scratch your back when you can't reach where it itches.

Lift you up on their shoulders.

Snore when they're sleeping (but say they don't).

Pitch - but not so fast that you can't hit their pitches.

Play tickles with you when you feel like a silly person.

Snuggle up close with you when you feel like a sad one.

Dads explain electricity

And peninsulas

And help you count the stars.

I wish I still had one."

Awwwww, doesn't that just make you "awwww" out loud?

I read Love That Dog to fullfill 2 out of 3 poetry requirements. My daughter really liked this book. It was the cutest little thing! It was about a boy who is required to write poems in a journal by his teacher. At the beginning of the book, he hates it, and even says that poetry is "for girls." By the end of the book, and with the encouragement of his teacher, he finds that he loves poetry, and is good at it. Just a very sweet, cute book.

I read Sick Day for Amos McGee to fill one of my Caldecott requirements. The illustrations in this book were so whimsical and heartwarming. The story was really cute...just a really nice picture book.

There you have it - my school reads for the week. Have you read any of them?