This year Edinger House concluded their study of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland with a radio play project. Below is a copy of the class blog post that will give you a sense of the process they took to create the play. And here is the radio play itself. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
As you may or may not know, before television there was radio. People listened to all sorts of radio programs that were very similar to the weekly television shows of today. The making of them was fun — actors had to be VERY expressive, there was live music, and people doing sound effects.
https://youtu.be/j0E15l_lKAQ
Prairie Home Companion Sound Effects Guy
You have been put into groups of two or three (based on the choices you gave me) to work on the scenes of our play. During the periods provided you will need to work with your team mates to decided on roles and — most of all — sound effects. A few have been indicated in the script, but I’m counting on you to come up with more (using materials available in the classroom).
You should rehearse the play with your group several times. Then, we will do one or two run-throughs with the whole class.
The play (with all your sounds and such) will be recorded and then put on the blog for you to share with others.
You will do one performance of the play for your parents on Tuesday, June 14th. It will be followed by — what else? — a celebratory Alice Tea Party!
Susannah Richards, professor of education at Eastern Connecticut State University, told me about book graffiti, a fabulous way to share favorite books. This week Ms. Edinger’s house gave it a try. Each student chose one favorite book from the current school year to feature. It could be one read independently or read aloud. They found photos of the book covers and then pasted them on a large sheet of brown paper. After that, students wrote their individual graffiti for the books they loved. The result is fabulous and we are certain to do it again.
Here is Edinger House’s Grafitti Board:
Edinger House has just completed a study of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. One element of our work was with Ms. Edinger’s book, Africa is My Home: A Child of the Amistad. It features a group of people who were taken captive, resisted, and returned home to their country of Sierra Leone as free people, the story of the Amistad rebellion as seen through the eyes of one of the children aboard, Sarah Margru Kinson. This was followed by a look at poems responding to enslavement by Phillis Wheatley, George Moses Horton (after learning about him through Don Tate’s Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton), James Monroe Whitfield , Langston Hughes, and Elizabeth Alexander before the children began crafting their own. Some of these are found poems using words and phrases from Ms. Edinger’s book while others used different forms. The finished poems were then presented as collages. The results below are powerful indeed. (Click on any individual collage for a larger image.)
Tomorrow we will be having a very special assembly in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr inspired by the organization The Dream Unfinished. In preparation for it, I talked with my 4th grade students about the March on Washington and read to them Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney’s Martin & Mahalia. The children were very excited as they recalled Andrea visiting their classroom a few years ago and reading another collaboration with Brian, Sit-In. And so I read that book aloud too. We enjoyed so much the history, the emotion, and the poetic quality of the text. Afterwards, hearing that the distinguished editor and author had been recently involved in a difficult situation involving the withdrawal of a book she had edited, several students were inspired to write letters of appreciation. Here they are:
I believe Sit-In is an AMAZING book that shows that you can stand up for your ethnicity, race, color of your skin or marriage. I think that Mr. and Mrs. Pinkney are an awesome book writing team. Many people, black or white, gay or lesbian, and ethnicities all over the world will adore this beautifully composed book. I hope that people around the world will love this book almost as I did. I have heard that Mrs. Pinkney has been told rude remarks. It is okay because everyone makes mistakes. Mrs. Pinkney, if you are reading this, please keep writing books. Ignore everyone who tells you, “You made a mistake” or “ Why did you do that”. You did what you did. It is over. What you did had to be done for a good reason. Please keep your hopes up. People will stop eventually.
I love your books very much. The way all the description and feeling makes it so interesting. I think that the “Sit In” was very good because the way you wrote things like,”For them, integration was better than any chef’s special,” made the sentences full of interesting description.
I think your book Sit-in is a great book. The writing is amazing! I really like the way you repeat a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side.
The stories you write have a great use of poetic language them and make me want to keep reading. I also like what you write about because I think if you are going to write something you should always have a reason and you get your point across really well in all of your books. I really enjoy reading your books and hope to see some new ones out soon!
I liked how both Sit-in and Martin & Mahalia have a rhythm in them that makes them sound like a beautiful song. That fits the story of Martin & Mahalia because the book is about strong words and song. The story of Sit-in is a very strong plot. It’s story connects with Martin & Mahalia. Both books have a similar message in them, which is not to segregate or discriminate.
Edinger House has just completed a grand adventure with Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. First students followed along in a wide variety of editions (each with a different illustrator) while Ms. Edinger read the book aloud. Along the way, they:
They then had a wonderful tea party with funny hats, scones, tarts, tea sandwiches, crumpets, tea (of course!), and more lovely treats. Together Ms. Edinger led them in a reading of “Jabberwocky,” they watched the Hello Kitty version of Alice (which is surprisingly cute). Finally, they all wrote letters to Lewis Carroll or a favorite characters. Ms. Edinger even found Carroll’s own font which many used (sometimes in purple as that was an ink color used by Carroll). Here are some of them:
“When you grow up your differences actually become your super powers.”
Cece Bell, El Deafo
For the past few years Edinger House has read a new book in literature circles in the spring. Last year it was Africa is My Home and the year before it was the Newbery winner, The One and Only Ivan. This year, after falling in love with Cece Bell’s graphic novel memoir, El Deafo, Ms. Edinger chose it. Rereading in preparation a few weeks before the Newbery awards were announced had her realized that it had a shot for that and so she wrote a blog post advocating for it to win. Of course, she was over-the-top thrilled when it got an honor and very pleased she had already decided (and gotten the books) for the class to read. Happily, they all loved it as much as she did!
After reading and then discussing the book in small groups and as a class, the students all wrote responses on their blogs. Here are quotes from these.
This book is very inspiring because it shows how being deaf, didn’t stop her. Stevie Wonder was blind, but he still is a great musician. It shows that if you have disability, use it to your advantage.
I have recently read a wonderful graphic novel called El Deafo…. El Deafo won the 2015 Newbery Honor for its amazing writing.
Personally I loved the book and wish there was a sequel. It is great and even just looking at the cover you can tell that it is gong to be great. I extremely enjoyed the humor….I was curious why she made all the characters have bunny ears. I thought maybe it was because Cece Bell was showing what a big thing hearing is in the book but I still didn’t understand why she thought of bunny ears not dog ears or something. Whatever the reason it definitely made the book funnier. A big theme of the book is friendship. Most books have a big theme of friendship but this is different. An example is Charlotte’s Web. A big theme of that book is friendship but it’s about having an amazing friendship and not wanting to let it go. But in El Deafo it is about Cece trying to find a good friendship. And I think the uniqueness makes El Deafo an even better book. Overall El Deafo is an amazing book.
I think this was a great book, because it has many important themes, such as friendship, optimism, and turning differences into superpowers. In my opinion, it was very cool to turn a story like this into a funny graphic novel. I think this book can be very inspiring for someone who has a disability, or is just different in some way; they may somehow be able to turn it into a good thing like Cece. I really like many parts of the book that, are funny, like when Cece can hear her teacher using the bathroom. My favorite part of the book is the ending, where she gives the fuzzy things to her friends. It’s a great ending because she becomes friends with Martha and Ginny again, and everyone is happy. After reading it, this has become one of my favorite books. This truly is a great story, and almost everyone can get something out of this book.
El Deafo is a really funny book.… It’s also written well. Even if you aren’t looking at the pictures, you can picture what’s going on. El Deafo has a lot of themes in it, including overcoming obstacles. Cece has to overcome obstacles all the time, from not being able to understand her friends to not knowing what to do in P.E., both of which happen because it is so hard to lip read. But she always manages to get past it, and eventually toward the end of the book things start to go her way.
El Deafo is an absolutely AMAZING book…. I really like how Cece makes all these different friends, like first it’s Laura then it’s Ginny, then it’s Martha….I think El Deafo is a very strong character, in all she goes through. I think everybody should read El Deafo.
I really liked El Deafo because of how much Cece has to go through.
I think El Deafo shows how important hearing is, and how sometimes your differences can be your superpowers. I really enjoyed El Deafo.
I love El Deafo. One thing I like about El Deafo is that she is always moving forward. When something bad happens to her she keeps on going…. You usually hear stories about how much people were teased because of their differences. I like how in this book, you hear the bright side of her differences….El Deafo is an inspiring story that proved that your differences is what makes you, yourself.
CeCe Bell’s El Deafo was a funny, and cartoony very humorous graphic novel. It is very similar to her actual life.
I think that El Deafo is a good and interesting book, and it is so cool that it is a true story.
I loved all of the humor and emotion in El Deafo. I think that the bunny ears were a brilliant idea, because it really shows how important hearing is, and you can see the cords going up to Cece’s ears….It is definitely Newbery worthy, and definitely worth reading.
Overall I really liked El Deafo and I hope that Cece Bell releases a sequel.
The graphic novel El Deafo, a Newbery and Kirkus honor award winner, is based on how the author, Cece Bell, grew up deaf. Growing up deaf is not particularly so easy even today, but even more so at the time Cece grew up.
I really liked how over time she got comfortable with being deaf and she just accepted who she was.
I think that El Deafo is an inspiring story, for some people who are embarrassed about being deaf.
I think learning about someone else’s story in comic is a fun project. At first I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it, but the book has the best cliffhangers, making you want to read more….So all in all, El Deafo was a magnificent book and the writing was amazing. I’m not saying that it should change, but if it were to become a novel, I would see it the same. Reading is a fun thing to do, especially if the book appeals to you, and El Deafo has my seal of approval.
I liked that in the book El Deafo dreams that she is a super hero that stops all of the bad things that happen in her real life.
A majority of the book is about Cece’s hunt for a friend, and the lesson of the book is to always stay strong no matter what the situation is.
El Deafo is a great book that everyone can enjoy.
Edinger House students have been deep into a study of Cinderella. After considering how they had first encountered the story (many had it read to them or saw the Disney movie), exploring the different folkloric tale types, they read from a huge classroom and online variant collection. Additionally, they watched movies, considered the theme as it shows up in popular culture, and explored the idea of motifs.
Once the students had encountered approximately 20 different versions (some read independently and some read to them) they were asked to select 10 that they consider the best along with reasons why. To do this the class made the following list of criteria.
After identifying their own top ten Cindies the children met in table groups to come up with three lists. In order to do this they had to follow a very careful process, one that was designed for each person to have a voice.
All of the winning Cinderellas are now on display in our classroom. Congratulations to all of them!
All three groups selected:
Two of three groups selected:
The following were each selected by one group:
As the culminating activity four our study of E.B. White we made boxes featuring the themes of Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and Trumpet of the Swan. Inspirations for these included works by Joseph Cornell, Carin Berger, and Melissa Sweet. The materials were mostly old F&Gs, picture book galleys Ms. Edinger had saved. We hope you enjoy our boxes!
Introducing Charlotte Little!
“Lilacs bloom and make the air sweet, than fade. Apples blossoms come with the lilacs and the bees visit around among the apple trees.” Charlotte’s Web, page 42
“Stuart closed his eyes and lay there in the dark, but he couldn’t seem to go sleep. He tossed and turned and the bedclothes got all rumpled up. He kept thinking about Margalo downstairs in the Boston fern and the way Snowbell’s eyes gleamed.” Stuart Little, page 53-54
My box’s theme is about nature and friendship. My books were Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. I included Stuart from Stuart Little, and Wilbur and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web. Even though the other theme is nature, I am more focused on friendship. An example of this is Stuart riding Wilbur. I think that is an example of friendship because a person (or in this case, mouse) riding anything is an example of good friendship. Also, I think that Stuart and Wilbur would become instant friends because they were both born small. So, in conclusion, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little were awesome books, and I think I choose great themes to get of of it.
Friendship in E.B. White
“Wilbur liked Charlotte better and better each day.” Charlotte’s Web page 48.
“Stuart felt his heart leap for gladness. It seemed to him that he had never seen any creature more beautiful as this tiny bird, and he already loved her.” Stuart Little page 52.
I like the friendship in all of E.B White’s books because he makes it sound like it is really happening right in front of me and that’s why I made my E.B. White Box about friendship. Friendship and love are important in both Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. For example, Wilbur and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web are friends as are Fern and Henry Fussy. So are Margalo and Stuart from Stuart Little! I hope that you enjoy my box!
Theme of Nature in E.B. White books
“Lilacs bloom and make the air sweet, and then fade. Apple blossoms come with the lilacs, and the bees visit around the apple trees. Charlotte’sWeb page 42.
“‘Swamps where cedars grow and turtles wait on logs but not for anything in particular; fields bordered by crooked fences broken by years of standing still; orchards so old the have forgotten where the farmhouse is.” StuartLittle page 129.
My box’s theme is nature. It has trees, animals, flowers, and clouds with raindrops forming a rainbow. The pig and the spider in my box represent Charlotte, and Wilbur, and the mouse and bird represent Stuart and Margalo. The sun on the top right side of the box lights up the scene, the other side with Charlotte’s web gets darker, and darker because of the shadow. On the darker side of the box, the clouds are actually raining water. All of these features of my box show and represent the theme of nature, which is a major theme in the books Stuart Little and Charlotte’sWeb by E.B. White.
My Friendship Box
“Underneath her rather bold and cruel exterior, she had a kind heart and was to prove loyal and true to the very end.” Charlotte’s Web, page 41
“It seemed to him that he had never seen any creature so beautiful as this tiny bird, and he already loved her.” Stuart Little, page 52
I find that why I love E. B. White’s books so much, are because of the friendship and the love and that is why I chose friendship as my theme for this assignment. Charlotte, from Charlotte’s Web is a loyal, clever and sweet spider and Wilbur is a sweet and sensitive pig who is destined to be killed at Christmas time. E. B. White is foreshadowing in that line and is speaking about their friendship. In the second quote from E. B. White is in another one of his books, Stuart Little and he is explaining Stuart’s (a human born mouse) feelings for a small bird named Margalo who he is obsessed with and loves with all of his heart. As you can see, my evidence shows a lot of friendship that happens in these two books. And as I said before, I love E. B. White’s writing because of the friendship and love.
Friendships in Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little
“Fern loved Wilbur more than anything.” Charlotte’s Web Pg.8
“I’ve never been so glad to see anybody in all my life,” Stuart Little Pg.62
The right side of the box is Charlotte’s Web and the left is Stuart Little. On the Charlotte’s Web side, Wilbur is just meeting Charlotte for the first time and Charlotte is says “salutations!” Wilbur is happy because he has found a new friend and he is bouncing on his tail. On the Stuart Little side Margalo is saving Stuart. Stuart is grateful that Margalo was flying to safety and is tipping his hat to her. These are some true friendships of the E.B.White books.
Life and Death Collage
“One evening, just before Christmas, snow began falling…Wilbur had never seen snow before.” Charlotte’s Web Page 173.
“Beware of a strange cat who will come by night.” Stuart Little Page 71
My box is about how much E.B White uses life and death. In the front, you see a small collage of words that that have to do with life and death. In the back you see Wilbur with snow falling. That is to represent the fact that Wilbur isn’t killed and he gets to see the snow. I also have Margalo in the top. That is because Snowbell’s friend wants to eat Margalo. I chose life and death because E.B White uses it to make books really intriguing.
Amazing E.B. White Nature Box
“When the first light comes into the sky and the sparrows stir and the cows rattle their chains, when the rooster crows and the stars fade, when when early crs whisper along the highway” Charlotte’s Web, page 143
“…the elm trees were green and higher than the houses…where the streets sloped down to the stream and the stream flowed quietly under the bridge….” Stuart Little, page 100
I read Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little and I thought a big theme of both books is nature. That is why I made my box’s theme nature. In my box for Charlotte’s Web I put Wilbur, a barn, a spider’s web, and the words that were in the web. For Stuart Little I put a bird in the sky that was supposed to represent Margalo. Even though nature was a theme in both books from my perspective nature was more in Charlotte’s Web than in Stuart Little because a lot of Stuart Little was in New York. That is why I focused on Charlotte’s Web more than Stuart Little. Personally I think E.B. White did a great job of describing nature in both of his books.
How E.B. White Focuses on Friendship
“He would have felt lonely and homesick, had Charlotte not been with him.” page 141 of Charlotte’s Web
“And he threw a kiss to Margalo.” page 56 in Stuart Little
The characters that I focus on in my box are Charlotte and Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web and Stuart and Margalo from Stuart Little. My box shows how much Charlotte cares about Wilbur by using a lot of her time just to make a web to save her friend’s life and I think that is friendship. And in Stuart Little when Margalo swoops in and saves Stuart’s life I think that is also friendship. I think E.B. White is a great author and I love all of his books and if you haven’t read his books I highly recommend you read E.B. White’s books.
Victory and Love of the Northern Cross
“‘Lurvy!” he called. ‘There is to be no more cow manure thrown down into that pigpen. I have a terrific pig.’” Charlotte’s Web, page 96
“Looking at Serena, Louis thought to himself, ‘ I think love is like the rapture of the deep. I feel so good I want to stay right where I am. I’m experiencing rapture of the deep even though I’m right on top of the water. I have never felt so good, so peaceful, so excited, so happy, so ambitious, so desirous”. Trumpet of the Swan, page 197
During the first quarter of the school year I read two E.B. White books. both of the White books I read had similar themes, one of which I displayed in an “E.B. White box”. Right now I am describing to you my box of which I worked extremely hard on. There are a lot of “bonds” that connect Louis and Serena and also Charlotte and Wilbur that are expressed in this masterpiece thus the theme of it is love. The materials are quite basic and are probably easy to find in a household. belief was a big path to victory while making my E.B. White box. I think Charlotte’s web of words was a creative idea . The reason I chose this specific title for my box was that the constellation the Northern Cross otherwise known as Cygnus represents a swan or cob and its victory. And I hope you like my box to describe it!
Some Friends
“It is not often that someone who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” Charlotte’s Web page 184
“Whenever Louis was in trouble, his thoughts turned to Sam Beaver. Sam had helped him before; perhaps he could help him again.” The Trumpet Of The Swan page 86
I have read two books by E.B White. Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet Of The Swan. While I was reading them I realized that friendship was such a big part of both books, so I decided to do it as my theme. The friendship in Charlotte’s Web is between Fern and Wilbur, or Wilbur and Charlotte. The friendship in The Trumpet Of The Swan is between Louis and Sam. In my box I have all of the main characters in the book displayed. Charlotte is hanging from a web labeled “Some Pig”. She is dangling from a string by a window where Fern’s head is sticking out. She is surprised and happy to have Sam and Louis over at the barn and petting Wilbur. I tried to display all of the main characters in both books, all making friends with each other. My favorite part of my E.B White box is Charlotte’s web hanging over the doorway of the barn.
Changes in the Stories of E.B. White Children’s Books
“The autumn days grew shorter, Lurvy brought the squashes and pumpkins and piled them on the barn floor where they wouldn’t get nipped on frosty nights.” Charlotte’s Web, page 173
“The sun shone down, strong and steady. Ice was melting; patches of open water appeared on the pond.” Trumpet of the Swan, page 244
“Before daybreak next morning he got out his biggest handkerchief and in it he placed his toothbrush, his money, his soap, his comb and brush, a clean suit of underwear, and his pocket compass.” Stuart Little, page 73
My E.B White box is about changes. Stuart goes from the city to the countryside, Louis goes from the pond to roaming looking for work, and finally Wilbur goes from being a runty pig to an award winning one. I have four sections in my box that represent Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. Books need to have changes in their plots to make them interesting. I wouldn’t want to read Trumpet of the Swan if Louis didn’t have a voice the whole story and never left the pond. That would be boring. I think everybody should read E.B. White’s books because they have great changes in them to keep them interesting and they are really funny.
A World of Pure Nature
“Lilacs bloom and make the air sweet, then fade. Apple blossoms come with lilacs, and the bees visits around the apple trees.” Charlotte’s Web, page 113
“The day would break clear. Already the birds were beginning to stir and making sounds overhead.”Stuart Little, page 125
I read two books by E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. I think that both of these books both have a lot of nature in them so I chose to do that theme in my box. My box shows pictures of lots of plants, flowers, blue skies and lakes. The two characters I used from the book are Wilbur and Margelo. I think that nature is a very important thing in the world and I think that E.B. White thought that too.
Friendship in E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.
“Who’s going to save me?” “I am,” said Charlotte. Charlotte’s Web, page 51.
Snowbell crept softly toward the bookshelf and climbed noiselessly up into the chair within easy reach of the Boston fern where Margalo was asleep. Stuart stepped out from behind the candlestick, knelt down, bent his bow, and took careful aim at Snowbell’s left ear-which was the nearest to him. Stuart Little, page 55.
The characters I focus on are Wilbur and Charlotte for Charlotte’s Web and Stuart and Margalo for Stuart Little. I chose Charlotte and Wilbur because Charlotte helps Wilbur when there is no real benefit for her so it is a completely selfless act. I chose Stuart and Margalo because Margalo saves Stuart from being killed and when Margolo leaves Stuart runs away from his home just to find Margalo! In my box there are two scenes that don’t happen in the book but make sense. The scene to the left is my Stuart Little scene where Stuart and Margalo are travelling through the city and the scene to the right is my Charlotte’s Web scene where Wilbur is underneath the web that says terrific. In my my opinion Wilbur and Charlotte and Stuart and Margalo are the two most significant friendships in the two books.
Changes In Both The Trumpet Of The Swan and Charlotte’s Web
“It is my egg sac, my magnum opus.” Charlotte’s Web, page 144.
“Eggs, of course can’t wiggle, so the swan decided she must have something under her that wasn’t an egg” The Trumpet OfThe Swan, page 29.
The theme of my box is change. The way I show change in my box is I made a web and put an egg sac in it with Charlotte on it. For The Trumpet of the Swan I drew a swan on a nest with eggs inside. This is how I showed change in both books. The characters I focus on are Charlotte and her eggs from the egg sac, from Charlotte’s Web and the swan mother and cygnets from the eggs, from The Trumpet Of The Swan. The Trumpet Of The Swan and Charlotte’s Web are AMAZING books!
Friendship
‘’Wilburt liked Charlotte better and better each day.’’Charlotte’s Webpage 48.
‘’She and Stuart became fast friends, and as the days passed it seemed to Stuart that she grew more and more beautiful.” Stuart Little page 48.
I read Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little and I thought that they both had a lot of friendship and love, I thought that it was a big theme of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. For example, in Charlotte’s Web at first Wilbur was a little freaked out because Charlotte (a spider) sucked bug’s blood, but as he got to know her more they became best friends. Charlotte was like Wilburt mother because she cared so much about him she cared more about Wilbur then she did about herself. For a final example, in Stuart Little when Stuart first met Margalo he cared so much about her and he was so worried about Margalo he risk his life when he was still sick to make sure Snowbell did not do anything to her. I thought that Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little have a lot of friendship and love and I think that E.B White did a really good job showing that.
Nature & E.B .White
“Lilacs bloom and make the air sweet, and then fade.Apple blossoms comes with lilacs,and the bees visit around among the the apple trees.” Charlotte’s Web, page 42
“Warm air, soft and kind, blew through the trees. All the creatures that lived in the pond and the woods were glad to feel the warmth. They heard and felt the the breath of spring new life stirred with hope.” Trumpet of the Swan, page 9
In Charlotte’s Web and Trumpet of the Swan E.B. White uses a lot of nature which is shown in my box. I focused on Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web and the swans from Trumpet of the Swan. Nature has habitats and animals. In my box I showed plants, flowers, trees, and a pond. I also have animals like a bird and spiders which could be Charlotte and her children. E.B. White really liked the outdoors and animals so he wrote many books about them for children since children love to play outdoors and they love animals too.
My E.B White Box
“The early summer days on a farm are the happiest and fairest days of the year. Lilacs bloom and make the air sweet then fade. Apple blossoms come with the lilacs and the bees visit around among the apple trees.” Charlotte’s Web page 42
“My business has taken me into spruce woods on winter nights where the snow lay deep and soft, a perfect place for a carnival of rabbits. I know fresh lakes in the north undisturbed by fish and hawk…”Stuart Little, page 131
I annotated Charlotte’s Web and read Stuart Little and then came up with a theme that they both have in common. Both Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little have nature. In my box on the left side there is winter and on the the right side there is spring. I tried to make the winter side look cold and snowy. On the spring side I tried to make it look sunny. Even though Stuartlives in the city he goes to Central Park rides a boat on the pond. In the box I focused on Charlotte’s Web more than Stuart Little because Stuart Little is based more in the city and Charlotte’s Web is based mostly on a farm. For Charlotte’s Web I put a pond with fish on the spring side because during the summer it said that Avery likes to fish in the pond. I think that E.B White did a great job describing nature in both Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.
E.B. White Friendship Theme
“The early summer days on a farm are the happiest and fairest days of the year.” Page 42 in Charlotte’s Web.
“With a flutter of her wings, Margalo rose into the sky, carrying Stuart along, and together they flew out over the ocean and headed toward home.” Page 63 of Stuart Little.
The the theme of my box is friendship because Stuart is flying with Margalo together and they are friends. And for Wilbur he is happy in the barn. E.B. White writes good books and more people should read them. Also making the boxes was fun.
Friendship & Life/Death From E.B. White
“Fern loved Wilbur more than anything.” Charlotte’s Web, page 8
“With a flutter of wings Marglo rose high in to the sky, carrying Stuart along, and together they flew out over the ocean and headed toward home.” Stuart Little, page 63
Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web are shown in my box. The main characters in these books are Wilbur and Charlotte and Stuart Little and Marglo. My box is showing friendship. I have Stuart getting saved by Marglo which shows friendship because if Margol did not save Stuart he would have died in the ocean. I have Wilbur talking to Charlotte because they are good friends since Charlotte saved Wilbur’s life by writing the words in her web throughout the story. Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web are good books written by E.B. White because he includes a lot of themes in them that make them more exciting to read!
Edinger House members are great readers who, when I asked for some summer reading suggestions for their peers, had a great time. The rules were they had to come from their independent reading choices; that meant they couldn’t list books I’d read to them or others they’d read for class projects. Being avid readers, this wasn’t a problem. In fact, what was a problem for some was limiting their list to ten! What I love is how the lists show what wide-ranging readers they are. You will see that one moment they are reading very sophisticated books and at the next something young and light. The following are only a few from each child’s list (which, by the way, they annotated beautifully) to give you a taste of their wide reading range and to use when looking for books for children in your own environment.
I recommends Jeanne Birdsall’s Penderwick series, Wendy Wan-Long Shang’s The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard, Sarah Week’s So B. It, and Christopher Paul Curtis’s The Mighty Miss. Malone.
J1 recommends Michael Buckley’s Nerds series and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.
J2 recommends Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl, Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games, Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, and Ruth Stiles Gannett’s My Father’s Dragon.
N recommends Gordon Korman’s Ungifted, Lemony Snicket’s File Under 13 Suspicious Incidents, Louis Sachar’s Holes, Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses, and Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion.
H recommends Philip Pullman’s I Was a Rat!, Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Roald Dahl’s Danny, the Champion of the World.
M recommends J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pittacus Lore’s I Am Number Four, and Rick Riordon’s Percy Jackson series.
W recommends Anthony Horowitz’s Scorpia, Kevin Henke’s The Year of Billy Miller, Jeffrey Brown’s Jedi Academy, and Joseph Bruchac’s Code Talker.
J3 recommends Jane Smiley’s A Good Horse, Brian Farrey’s The Vengekeep Prophecies, Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy, and Lauren Myracle’s Twelve.
C recommends Jeff Kinney’s Dog Days, Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise’s Regarding the Fountain, and Raina Telgemeier’s Smile.
A1 recommends Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Cynthia Lord’s Rules, Holly Goldberg Sloan’s Counting By Sevens, Carl Hiaasen’s Hoot, and Clare Vanderpool’s Navigating Early,
J4 recommends Tommy Greenwald’s Charlie Joe Jackson series, Lincoln Peirce’s Big Nat series, and W.C. Mack’s Athlete vs Mathlete: Double Dribble.
A 2 recommends Stephan Pastis’s second Timothy Failure book, James Patterson’s I Funny, and Tone Almhjell’s The Twistrose Key.
B recommends Andy Griffiths’ 13 Story Tree House, Ellen Potter’s Otis Dooda, and Louis Sachar’s Wayside School.
G recommends a whole bunch of Lauren Myracle’s books including Violets in Bloom, R.J Palacio’ Wonder, and Ceelo Green’s Everybody’s Brother.
L recommends Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday, Tui T Sutherland’s Wings of Fire, and Carl Hiaasan Flush and Chomp.
R1 recommends Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses, Whoopi Goldberg’s Sugar Plum Ballerinas, Andrew Clement’s Lunch Money, and Joan Bauer’s Hope Was Here
A3 recommends Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, Chris Rhylander’s The Fourth Stall, Cressida Cowell ‘s How to Train Your Dragon, and Kate O’Hearn’s Pegasus.
R2 recommends Wendy Mass’s A Mango-Shaped Space, Melissa J. Morgan’s Camp Confidential series, and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice series.
Edinger House was fortunate in that their teacher Ms. Edinger received a very early ARC of Jennifer Holm’s The Fourteenth Goldfish to read aloud. Here are some of their comments and thoughts after it was finished.
The following are spoiler free.
RS wrote:
Dear Jennifer Holm,
The Fourteenth Goldfish is a very good book. I like how in the beginning Ellie doesn’t exactly like her grandfather, but in the end they are really close. If you made a sequel I think it should be about the grandfather coming back and telling Ellie and her mom about his road trip, and how Ellie is taking care (or not) of the jellyfish. It should be called The Fourteenth Jellyfish!
AP wrote:
The 14th Goldfish is an amazing book by Jennifer L. Holm. She should make a sequel The new jellyfish should be able to teleport and get teleported into the T. Melvinus and somehow get stuck inside. This is a suggestion for another book. The 14th Goldfish was an amazing book and I liked it a lot.
LR wrote:
Note to the author: Like I said in one of my earlier blogposts I’ve really enjoyed The Fourteenth Goldfish. I think the humor in the book is my favorite aspect. My favorite part of the book is when they try to get the T. Melvinus from the lab. I also enjoy the parts when Melvin acts like he’s older than he actually is. In the end, it’s a hilarious book, with an interesting plot, thatI enjoyed listening to.
From MH:
I love/hate the ending of The Fourteenth Goldfish. It’s so interesting when authors make cliffhangers like that without making a sequal. If there was a sequal, I’m not sure how it would work. Probably it would be about Melvin’s future in science, maybe somehow Ellie got involved. I’m not sure.
From AL:
Dear Mrs. Holm,
I loved your book, The Fourteenth Goldfish. It was an awesome book. I love all the characters, Ellie, Raj, Melissa (Mom), and even Brianna. My favorite though, is Mevin. Melvin was funny and stubborn. I loved how devoted he was to his science and discovery of the T. Mevinus. What he did at the end was fantastic. Ellie changed him in a way. I sort of felt like the ending was like the ending of a play. Maybe you should make a sequel. Maybe the jellyfish at the end that was discovered makes you grow several years older. I really liked the ending of your book and am wondering: Are you writing another book? Are you writing a sequel to the one you just wrote? I hope that if you write a sequel that it will be as good as the first one.
A loyal reader,
A.L.
From RW:
Dear Jennifer L. Holm,
This is a great book! It has a little mix of everything and together it makes a perfect story. A little bit of science, a little bit of friendship troubles and teenage life as well. When the story starts you have Elle as a preschooler getting a goldfish then the story skips to her as a 5th grader when she comes home from school and fins out the fish is dead. I love how you start the story with the whole goldfish thing and then end with the goldfish. All together I loved this book and think I might read it again.
R.W
From JM:
So as a class, we read a super awesome book called The Fourteenth Goldfish that Jennifer L. Holm wrote. The main character is a girl named Ellie. She is a normal 14 year old. Her grandfather discovers a odd jellyfish and he calls it a T. Melvinus. The book is funny, suspenseful, and overall just awesome.
The following have possible spoilers.
IA wrote:
Dear Jennifer Holm,
I enjoyed The Fourteenth Goldfish very much. I liked how you had funny parts in it but it was still a serious story. Ellie’s grandfather was my favorite character. I loved how he acts like a grandfather but he looks like a kid. Especially when Ellie and her mother first meet him and we don’t know that he’s her grandfather yet. I liked the ending a lot but it surprised me. It was an awesome story.
JI wrote:
In the last part of lab, Ms. Edinger reads us a book. Yesterday, we finished one of our read aloud books. This book wasThe Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. I am going to be telling you about the ending. Basically, there is a girl named Ellie and her grandfather is a scientist. One day, one of his experiments called the T. Melvinus (because his name is Melvin) turns on him. He was turned into a fourteen year old boy! He comes to live with Ellie and her mother, but there is a problem. He is CRAZY! He definitely does not act like a fourteen year old boy. I don’t want to give away the whole book, but in the end, Ellie becomes very close with her grandfather and discovers that she enjoys science just like Melvin. I loved The Fourteenth Goldfish and I definitely think the author should make a sequel. I think in the sequel Melvin should invent something else crazy and him and Ellie can go on all different adventures together.
AS wrote:
Dear Jennifer L Holm, The Fourteenth Goldfish is a great book. It has many positive messages and is very funny. I am really hoping you will make a sequel. I love how Melvin turns into a teenager and finds a cure for old age (aka the T. Melvinus). I also like how Melvin tries to fit in and keeps acting strangely in school. I really hope that you make a sequel!
Sincerely,
A loyal Reader
From HF:
Dear: Jennifer L. Holm
I think that your book, the 14th Goldfishis very fun and I like that it is about a cool new discovery that makes you young again AKA the T. Melvinus. I think that you should make another because it ends on a giant cliff hanger.
From JB:
Dear Jennifer L. Holm,
The 14th Goldfish is not bad at all. It is a laugh for children of all ages and adults as well. When Ellie, an average girl, discovers a random 13-year-old that turns out to be her grandfather (Who’s a mad scientist), Ellie dives into an unexpected adventure full of many T. Melvinus (Jellyfish that turn your growth around) and unexpected allies. The 14th Goldfish is a wonderful laugh for all ages.
From CK:
Dear Jennifer,
I really enjoyed The Fourteenth Goldfish. I like how Melvin turned into a 13 year old by finding a cure for old people. I like when Ellie started to like science. I have few questions for you… I there going to be a sequel? Did Brianna want to be friends with Ella?
BR wrote:
The Fourteenth Goldfish has a really good plot. Ellie’s grand father is a thirteen year old boy but he still acts like he is a grand father. What made him young is the T. Melvinus. I love how Melvin is the fourteenth goldfish.I hope Jennifer L. Holm makes a second. I loved the book.
NC wrote:
The Fourteenth Goldfish is about a girl named Ellie, who’s grandfather, that is a scientist, Melvin uses a formula made from Jellyfish, that he names T Melvinus that decreases his age to 14! Ellie’s mom who is a drama teacher. Melvin is forced to go to school with Ellie and complains about everything. Melvin tries to get his formula back from his lab, but is caught by a guard. So he tells a kid named Raj to help him. Will Melvin keep failing or will he get his formula back?
From WI:
We just finished the book in class and I really liked it. My teacher says this paragraph has to be of the end of the book, so here we go! I really liked it! It’s about a girl named Ellie, Her mother (an actress), and her grandfather Melvin (a scientist). He invented something called the T Melvinus and that can make people younger. Ellie thinks that if he wins the Nobel that everyone would become young and then there would be nobody in charge. Melvin thinks that won’t happen, but they get in a fight and don’t talk to each other for a while. After Ellie’s mother does a play, Melvin tells Ellie that he flushed the T Melvinus down the toilet. If the author, Jennifer L. Holm, was to write a sequel, I think it would be great.
