Author: Jean Craighead George
Main Character: Julie aka Miyax
What an interesting book. I really like that she learned to coexist and even become a part of the family with a pack of wolves. The family took her in as her own and protected her and cared for her. In return, she protected them when she could and cared for them immensely. Amaroq was the head wolf, following in order of status were Silver, Nails, Kapu, Zing, Zat, Zit, Sister, and Jello. She went out on her own as a 13 year old girl who is part American and part Eskimo. She understood some of the ways of the modern world and be eventually she found that being an Eskimo was who she really was. This a story of survival and of learning. I found the bond of the wolves and her very poignant. She lost her mother at age 4, her father at the age of 11 and was sent to live with an aunt to go to school. To her, her father was the wisest man that lived. Eventually she found that her father had not died, but had run away to start a new life. He was different and became all the things that she despised about the Americans. Her disappointment led her to live her life on the tundra rather than go to San Francisco. Overall, it was a great story, though the underlying premise of her marriage and the near-rape experience for her running away seems a little mature for some of my students. I am sure they will take more away than that part when they read this book. This is one of the books on my science books list.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Night of the Twisters
Author: Ivy Ruckman
Main Characters: Dan, Arthur, and Stacy
Dan and Arthur are best friends. Total opposites, but they were like brothers. Their day started off like any other summer day. Little did they know that their lives would be changed forever that night. What a great story! When left alone with his little brother (6 month old Ryan), Dan and Arthur heard the siren go off, tornado looming. They ran with the baby to the basement bathroom just in the knick of time. After what seems like a lifetime, they come out to find the house is gone except for the foundation, and Arthur's sister Stacy calling to them. Escaping the house they find Dan's mother and a neighbor who is trapped. Only twelve years old, Dan and Arthur come to the rescue of many people that night. This is a true story of bravery in the face of horrible destruction. This was a book on my science books list, and I will definitely have it on my class list for the students to read in the spring.
Main Characters: Dan, Arthur, and Stacy
Dan and Arthur are best friends. Total opposites, but they were like brothers. Their day started off like any other summer day. Little did they know that their lives would be changed forever that night. What a great story! When left alone with his little brother (6 month old Ryan), Dan and Arthur heard the siren go off, tornado looming. They ran with the baby to the basement bathroom just in the knick of time. After what seems like a lifetime, they come out to find the house is gone except for the foundation, and Arthur's sister Stacy calling to them. Escaping the house they find Dan's mother and a neighbor who is trapped. Only twelve years old, Dan and Arthur come to the rescue of many people that night. This is a true story of bravery in the face of horrible destruction. This was a book on my science books list, and I will definitely have it on my class list for the students to read in the spring.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Plantations of the Low Country: South Carolina 1697-1865
Author: William P. Baldwin, with research by Agnes L. Baldwin and pictures by N. Jane Iseley
This book is a collection of pictures and descriptions of the many beautiful houses and churches of the Low Country. To those who don't know, the Low Country is the area in and around Charleston, SC including Edisto Island and Fripp Island just to mention a few. Again, I am doing family research and this is just another one of the many I have found recently. I really enjoyed the history that was put into the descriptions. I wish there had been a few more pictures, though the ones that were in the book were really beautiful. I found a few of the houses and churches that I want to go and see in person to help me on my search to know everything about this branch of my family. I especially liked some of the quotes used from an outsider's point of view like the northerner that was passing through to Fripp Island on Black Creek. I have never been much to learn about history until now...I always thought history was boring. Little did I know that all it would take to get me to learn about it was to throw in some relatives. Ha ha. I just like stories and stuff to feel real to me, and now history like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War seem far more real than used to feel.
This book is a collection of pictures and descriptions of the many beautiful houses and churches of the Low Country. To those who don't know, the Low Country is the area in and around Charleston, SC including Edisto Island and Fripp Island just to mention a few. Again, I am doing family research and this is just another one of the many I have found recently. I really enjoyed the history that was put into the descriptions. I wish there had been a few more pictures, though the ones that were in the book were really beautiful. I found a few of the houses and churches that I want to go and see in person to help me on my search to know everything about this branch of my family. I especially liked some of the quotes used from an outsider's point of view like the northerner that was passing through to Fripp Island on Black Creek. I have never been much to learn about history until now...I always thought history was boring. Little did I know that all it would take to get me to learn about it was to throw in some relatives. Ha ha. I just like stories and stuff to feel real to me, and now history like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War seem far more real than used to feel.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tales of Edisto
Author: Nell S. Graydon
I have been researching my family genealogy lately. I have found one branch to have begun in the US in Edisto, SC. The earliest time I have found them is back to the late 1700's. I have taken it upon myself to find any and all resources that have been written about Edisto Island. This is one of the many I have hunted down. I really have enjoyed the history that was interwoven into the stories that were told in this book. It was originally written in the 1950's. Nell interviewed many of the older residents on the island and was able to glean some great stories and information. Many of the people in the stories are linked to my lineage and I love feeling as though I have a personal connection with them. This was a good read, not only for me because of the family connection, but it would be for anyone who likes to hear about the old south and their ways. It was a great time of wealth, hardship, and extraordinary people.
I have been researching my family genealogy lately. I have found one branch to have begun in the US in Edisto, SC. The earliest time I have found them is back to the late 1700's. I have taken it upon myself to find any and all resources that have been written about Edisto Island. This is one of the many I have hunted down. I really have enjoyed the history that was interwoven into the stories that were told in this book. It was originally written in the 1950's. Nell interviewed many of the older residents on the island and was able to glean some great stories and information. Many of the people in the stories are linked to my lineage and I love feeling as though I have a personal connection with them. This was a good read, not only for me because of the family connection, but it would be for anyone who likes to hear about the old south and their ways. It was a great time of wealth, hardship, and extraordinary people.
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