The Hunger Games

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic.

"I was so obsessed with this book..... The Hunger Games is amazing." - Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga

"Brillantly plotted and perfectly paced."- John Green, The New York Times Book Review


It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as The Hunger Games. I just could not put this one down so I devoured all 374 pages in one day. Modern Fantasy is not my favorite genre so I was thrilled that I enjoyed this book much more than I had first anticipated. I plan on reading Catching Fire  just as soon as I can get my hands on it. Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games in cycle format which is common to the Modern Fantasy genre. I became attached to Katniss the main character in the story so I can not wait to find out what challenges she faces in the next book.  The third book in the series is Mockingjay. I am sure I will read that one also.

The novel is centered around an annual televised event where the ruthless Capitol randomly selects one boy and one girl, each between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the twelve districts pitting them against each other in a game of survival where they are forced to fight one another to the death. The winner is awarded a new house for themselves and their families in their District, along with food, fame, and wealth.  As great as the rewards are it is dealing with the evil deeds one had to accomplish to become the winner that make this story the perfect tale of self vs. self. Katniss struggles throughout the story with moral choices. Will she make the choice that keeps her alive or the choice that keeps her  from hating herself?

The Hunger Games is a quest story. The quest is survival to be the last contestant alive at the end of the event. The monomyth that Katniss experiences throughout the story is quite a wild ride of self discovery. She begins as a young girl hunting in the woods to help her family survive after her father's death. Katniss answers the call to adventure only to protect her younger sister but the adventure she experiences will change her forever.  Katniss endures trickery, hatred, love and physical exhaustion as she evolves from hunting dinner to hunting her fellow man.       

The first person narrative style of the story allows the reader to experience the pain and triumphs personally as Katniss struggles to save herself and her family.   Katniss does not see herself as a likeable person but it is easy for the reader to fall in love with this young girl on a mission of soul searching and survival. The kindness she shows to others is returned to her throughout the story. I like how this book adds to my personal belief that no good deed is left unrepaid.  Katniss even though amidst a desperate battle for her own life finds ways to help others. Her choices to become an angel to others allow her to remain a strong contender throughout The Hunger Games.  The surprise ending had me begging for more.      

Big questions:

Have you ever put the needs of someone else before your own needs?

Would you still do something even though it was dangerous if it meant helping another person?     

Tell me about a time you were terrified to do something but felt so much stronger after you accomplished the task.  

Has there ever been a time that you felt very lonely but you were not alone? 

When I Grow Up

Yankovic, A. (2011). When I grow up. New York: Harper.


I could not resist buying this book when I saw the author was comedian Al Yankovic. I thought it was touching when I read the book cover and Al said his own father had told him to do whatever job that made him happy. Al has done many jobs including comedian, actor, songwriter, director and writer. The main character in the story Billy describes all the jobs he would like to have when he grows up.

As the story begins it is show and tell time in Mrs. Krupp's class.  The topic is what you want to be when you grow up? Billy is excited to be the first one to share at show and tell time. Billy shares that he wants to be the greatest chef ever seen. Mrs. Krupp's thanks Billy and asks the class who wants to go next?  Billy tells Mrs. Krupp to hold the phone because he is just getting started.  Billy continues to share many other exciting careers. Billy saves the special career for last.  Billy's creativity makes his classmates dream of exciting careers that they had never considered before.       

The first person narrative of this story makes it easy to make a personal connection to Billy and his career dreams. The poetic style used by the author adds a splash of humor and creativity to Billy's stories about his future career choices. The poetry is written in narrative form to describe how excting each new job would be for Billy. The illustrations in this book make Billy's career dreams come alive.  The illustrator uses surrealistic art as he mixes the images of Billy's classroom with unrealistic pictures of what may happen to Billy at one of his jobs. The illustrations are very humorous and would totally captivate a young audience.  

This book could be used in my classroom to introduce my community helper unit. The students could write career poems about what they want to be when they grow up.  This book would be an excellent one to use to discuss narrative poems. Also students could be instructed to write funny poems with the same rhyme patterns from the story. You could read aloud a page of the story without showing the students the illustrations and ask the students to create their own illustratation of that poem.  


Big Questions:

Can you have more than one job when you grow up?

What is the difference between a job and a career?

How does school help prepare you for your future career?


Book trailer can be viewed at :

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Library Lion

Knudsen, M. (2006). Library lion. New York: Scholastic.

This book tells the exciting story of how a Lion was discovered in the library.  The library director suprisingly says it is ok for him to stay as long as he isn't breaking any of the library rules.  All the children enjoyed watching the lion nap in the story corner. They weren't sure how to act around the lion since there were no rules about a lion in the library. Since the lion was being so well behaved then everyone went about their day in the library. The lion finally broke a rule when he roared so Ms. Merriweather told the lion that he would have to leave if he was not quiet.  The lion agreed to be quiet. He even showed up early the next day so Ms. Merriweather put him to work with library chores. The children and library workers decided the lion was very helpful. One day an accident happened that required the lion to break more than one library rule.  You will have to read the story to find out how this mishap made the lion a hero.             

Character development was evident in this story as the lion's role changed from mere observer to hero. The library was an integral setting in the story because the meaning of the story would have been altered if the events did not occur inside the library. The visual elements in the story contribute to the portrayal of the great admiration the children have for the lion. The illustrator's use of composition is noted when he established the lion as the focal point.  On almost every page of the book the children surround the lion and gave at him lovingly. The artistic style of the illustrator is expressionistic art. This is evident when the lion roars and his mouth is illustrated much larger than that of a real lion. The illustrations are beautiful and contribute to the underlying message of heroism in the story.

In a primary classroom, I would use this book to discuss our own library rules for our school library and our classroom library. I would also discuss the fantasy elements in this story how the lion could not really become a library helper. Science could be incorporated by doing a compare and contrast graph with this lion and a lion in his natural habitat. I could also have my students write about real life animal heroes. I have a non-fiction pet hero book that would be an excellent follow up to springboard a discussion about real animal heroes. Students could then write a story about someone who is a hero.

Big Questions:

Is it ever ok to break the rules?

What are the characteristics of a hero?

Can an animal be a hero?

Can you think of someone who was a hero to you?         

Connecting Literature, Math and Social Studies All in One Book

Zimelman, Nathan. (1992). How the Second Grade got $8,205.50 to visit the Statue of Liberty. Chicago: Albert Whitman and Company.  

This was a picture book that I discovered while researching books online to incorporate Money and Literature.  It quickly became one of my favorite picture books. I was delighted to discover it also allowed me to include Social Studies into my Literature lesson. We were studying U.S. Symbols at the time I read this book aloud to my students so we did some extra research on the Statue of Liberty after completing the book.  My students thoroughly enjoyed their virtual tour of the Statue of Liberty after discussing the book.  I was easily able to incorporate Economics too with this book because it discussed expenses and profit.   My second grade students also made an expense report for the characters in the book to calculate how much income was earned from each fundraising activity the kids in this book attempted.

The story is told in first person by Susan Olsen who is the class treasurer. Susan describes each business venture the kids embark on to earn enough money for the class field trip to New York. The first attempt was a newspaper and all kinds of paper as the kids called it recycling plan. The kids had to use some of their profit to buy back some comic books that they were not supposed to recycle. This was their first hint that making money might not be as easy as they had thought. They then tried a lemonade stand which they thought was a sure thing because they had all their supplies donated. Unfortunately though the neighbors cat had a little mishap in their batch of lemonade.  They then tried candy sales. My students enjoyed this part of the story since they were currently selling candy bars to raise money for our own school.  The final fundraising event in the story was a car wash that turned out to be one of the most exciting car washes in the history of car washes. You will have to read the story to find how much money they made at this event.  The twist ending was a delightful surprise for my students.    

The illustrations in this book are beautiful watercolors. The attention to detail is outstanding.  The expression on a shocked squirrel's face as he watches the cat tumble into the tub of lemonade is hysterical. The look of pride shown on each kid's face in the book as they earn more money towards their goal is very well illustrated.  Also the illustrator did an excellent job showing disappointment when an event did not go as planned. The author did an outstanding job building to the climax of the story. He also offered a surprise solution to the problem in the story as to how the students would reach their goal of $8, 205.50 .       


Big Questions: What are some ways that kids can earn money?  What are some things that you must consider when starting your own business?  Have you ever saved your money to buy something special?      

Viorst, Judith. (1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York: Scholastic, INC. 


I chose this book for my first picture book selection because my students seem to really connect to the main character in this story. After reading it aloud to my students then I always do a text to self connection lesson. During this lesson we discuss and write about a really bad day we experienced.  My students always laugh out loud when I tell them about my worst day ever. Then we talk about how having a positive attitude can change how we feel about an unfortunate situation. What seemed so terrible when it was happening to us might not be so horrible now.    

Poor Alexander gets his day off to a rough start when he wakes up with gum in his hair.  His day doesn't get any better when he arrives at school and learns his best friend is no longer his best friend. After school an argument with his brother makes Alexander's day even worse if that is even possible. The problems Alexander encounters when he gets home make him believe that his day was the most teribble, horrible, no good, very bad day ever  and that he my as well move to Australia. His Mom offers a simple solution to his problem. You will have to read the story to discover her motherly wisdom. 

I discuss the illustrations with my students as I read the story aloud. We talk about how on every page Alexander has the same grumpy expression on his face. We discuss if Alexander tried to be a little happier then maybe all the events that happen to him in the story may not have seemed so awful to him. We also talk about the repetition in the story of how Alexander keeps repeating the same line over and over to himself after each bad event. The first person narrative of this story makes it very easy to connect to Alexander so the audience can experience the events right along with him. I also do a sequencing of the events in the retell of the story with my students. Some of their terrible, horrible, no good , very bad day stories turn out so well that we use them as their personal narrative piece in their student portfolio.  

Big Questions: What does the statement "laughter is the best medicine" mean to you? In what ways could Alexander have used laughter to make his day seem not so horrible?  What would you do for someone to cheer him up if he was having a really bad day?         

About Me

Hi!  I teach second grade at Bardstown Primary in Bardstown, KY. This is my fourth year as a primary teacher. I also taught fifth grade in Frankfort, KY for six years. I enjoyed teaching fifth grade but second graders have my heart! They are incredibly sweet and so cute at that age! I LOVE my school! I feel very blessed to have found my way there.

When I am not teaching, then I am volunteering for a non-profit dog rescue that I founded called Barktown. Since our beginning three years ago we have saved 1,026 dogs and puppies from being killed at our local shelter. I am very passionate about the rescue work that I do.  We are a foster home based rescue and currently have 50 dogs in our rescue available for adoption. If anyone is looking for a new best friend our dogs can be viewed at http://www.barktownrescue.org/. Before Barktown was founded, Nelson County euthanized 1,400 dogs and puppies in 2008. I have adopted 5 rescue dogs from the shelter. One of which includes a very sweet Pit Bull named Emma.  
 
My husband and I have been married for seven years. We currently have no children. We have considered adopting a child once I have completed my Master's. My husband is an engineer. His company is based in Belgium. We recently were able to travel to Europe for his work. I fell in love with Paris. I can’t wait until we have a chance to see more European destinations. Italy is next on my wish list!  At our hotel in Belgium, they served chocolate with every breakfast. I told my husband that he needs to put in for a transfer. Any country that serves chocolate at breakfast is a country that I can call home!