120 students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade participated in this year’s Do You Know Books!  A quiz show based on their knowledge of the titles chosen by the middle school librarians.

After several competitive rounds, the following students emerged as the top winners:

4th Grade

3rd Place:

Farnsworth House: Charlotte & Natasha
Noble House: Joshua & Graham
Vogelsang House: Lily & Zoe

2nd Place:

Vogelsang House: Gavin & Alejandro

1st Place:

Gordon House: Ellis & Gus

5th and 6th Grade:

3rd Place:

Fedonchik House: Oliver & Max

2nd Place:

Neubauer House: Dylan & William

1st Place:

Perry House: Lily & Leyla

Congratulations!

The Middle School Library Game Show for 4th and 5th grade students, DO YOU KNOW BOOKS?!, will be back in the spring of 2014.

This year’s titles are all beloved children’s books that were adapted for the Big Screen:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman	Holes by Louis Sachar
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien	The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum	City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Here are some of the books that Gordon House students have been reading, the students’ rating (from 1-10) of the titles, and some of the reasons why they liked or didn’t like the books:

House of Hades – 9

Twistrose Key – 7 and 10 (two students) — one said that the book can be confusing at times, the images are not always described clearly, while the other said that he/she can visualize all the images because the author did a great job describing the scenes.  There is also enough suspense to maintain interest.

Candymakers – 9.5 – It is suspenseful and surprising and fun.

Wonder – 10 or Infinity – It feels real, moving, and the characters stand up for what is right, and Auggie stands up for himself.

Kiki Strike #1 – 8 – It has a lot of mystery and actions.

39 Clues #5 – 7 – The student didn’t like the author’s writing style for this volume.

Savvy – 8 – The very beginning is a bit confusing, when introducing the complicated and unfamiliar magic in the world within the book.

A Mango Shaped Space – 10

Sisters Grimm #1 – 9

Half Upon a Time – just started, no rating yet

Force Out – 10 – For the great friendship and loyalty of the two friends, as well as the competition between them

Robot Dream – 7.5 – Not even of a “story”

Russian Roulette: The Story of  an Assassin – 9

Charlotte’s Web

• The book is very sad.
• I was crying so hard, it felt like I would not be able to stop crying.
• It made me really scared of axes.
• There are a lot of animal friendships — they are very meaningful.
• It’s a good read and I recommend it, with a lot of love.
• There are a lot of “changes” — for example, seasons, people growing up, emotions and moods, the animals’ personalities, the reader’s view on different things (such as spiders, rats, pigs, etc.).
• I compared the animals to the real world.  Even though in the real world, animals can’t talk, they still have a lot to express.
• This is a book about Life and Death.
• Even though the book is sad, there is also a lot of happiness and fun.

Noble House students also love the following books:

Book of a Thousand Days, Willow Falls series, When You Reach Me, Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, N.E.R.D.S. series, Lord of the Rings series, The Hobbit, Smells Like Dog series, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The House of Hades, Heroes of Olympics series, Brainjack, The Camp Confidential series, Love That Dog, Hate That Cat, Inside Out and Back Again, Geronomo Stilton series, Hunger Games, Smiles, Letters from Rifka, In a Glass Grimmly, The Mark of Athena, Alex Rider series, Cherubs series, Fake Mustache, Charlie Joe Jackson (2 books,) A Tale Dark and Grimm, Darth Vader and Son, 39 Clues series, Esperanza Rising, Wonder.

Edinger House (4th grade) listened to True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp by Kathi Appelt, read aloud by Ms. Edinger.  Here are some of the comments shared during Library:

• You never really know what’s gonna happen next.
• The sugar pies seem so yummy.
• A lot of different characters to make the story interesting.
• Scene switching is effective and entertaining and full of suspense.
• Each chapter starts with a different perspective — from animals to humans and even Sugarman, so it’s fun.
• It’s cool that each chapter is very short.
• The division of different parts (next day, next night, etc.) give you a good sense of the time
• The author is very creative in coming up with the characters.

The students also shared some of their recent favorite reads:

The Pushcart War, Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants, The False Prince, Timmy Failure, The Hunger Games trilogy, The Dragonet series, Ark Angel, Twistrose Key, Arnie the Donut, 13 Gifts, The Red Umbrella, House of Hades, Because of Winn-Dixie, The Fourth Stall, 39 Clues series, Inkheart, Inside Out and Back Again, and A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears.