Reader Beware Evening for Year 6 boys

This week we will host a very special evening for our Year 6 boys and their dads titled

"Reader beware we dare you to take the reading challenge."

The challenge is to read a book with your dad and then the dad needs to complete a simple homework assignment which is marked by the students!

I have made bookmarks to celebrate the evening which include the names of some top authors for Year 6 boys. Some of these authors have amazing web sites so I thought I should include a list here...

Anthony Horowitz

Philip Pullman

Jerry Spinelli

Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord

Barnaby Grimes by Paul Stewart

Michael Wagner

Eoin Colfer

Justin D'Ath

Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan

Neil Gaiman

Kenneth Oppel

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver

There are heaps of other authors I could mention but these ones all had terrific interactive web sites with sound tracks and video footage!

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon

ANZAC Day is the good time to add music to our literature sessions as we listen to the Last Post and sing songs at school assemblies. A book I love to read at this time of year is Christmas in the trenches. This important picture book is based on a song by John McCutcheon and his song in turn is based on real events of World War One when troops on both sides met in no mans land at Christmas to play a friendly soccer game and exchange simple gifts. These young men forgot about sides and enemies and for a moment their true humanity shone through.

Using the voice of Frances Tolliver, John McCutcheon gives an important insight into this event. You can also read about this time in a book by Michael Foreman called War game - we have this one in our library too.

I first heard John McCutcheon sing one of my favourite poems 'The Kindergarten Wall' on the radio. When I finally tracked down the album with this song “Water from another time” I was so excited to also find this moving song about World War I. A few years later I discovered the book illustrated by Henri Sorensen with a CD inside with the song.  I have also found a video to complete this package.

Among the imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In this world of the future our food supplies have run out and governments have taken the decision to ban third children. To this end they have formed the population police. Luke has lived his whole life up to this point in hiding. His only experiences of the world of and of other people are limited to his mum, dad, and two older brothers. The outside world is limited to his farm and over the last year that too has been taken away as a new housing development is built around Luke’s home.

Watching from a hidden and high upstairs window Luke discovers another third child in hiding. Her name is Jen, but unlike Luke, she knows about the world and is determined to fight to have this repressive and unjust law overturned. Her protest has disastrous consequences and the first book in this fabulous series by Margaret Peterson Haddix Among the Hidden, ends with a shocking tragedy. The ending reminded me of Robert Cormier. His book After the First Death lingers with me even now twenty years after reading it.

As this second installment Among the Imposters begins Luke is forced to flee is home. He is sent to a remote boarding school and he is given a new identity as Lee Grant. This new environment is not just foreign for Luke, it is terrifying. There are no windows, the constant threat of demerits and hideous bullies.

The real power in this book for me was the totally unpredictable plot. There are so many twists and turns as Luke negotiates this horrible school and tries to make sense of himself and those around him. Luke discovers the outside world and begins to make a garden. Then just as things seem somehow bearable, his garden is destroyed - it is a scene of senseless destruction.

There are seven books in this series and I can’t wait to grab the next one… Among the betrayed. I highly recommend this fabulous series for all serious senior Primary readers. Check out my blog post on book one.

The Greatest Blogger in the World by Andrew McDonald

Save the day, get the girl and be the hero – this is the motto of Charlie Ridge.

The Greatest Blogger in the World is a fabulous title but while this is a light and funny book it is probably not the greatest book in the world. Having said that it does contain lots of ideas that are really clever and very ingenious.

Charlie is a highly intelligent boy but for reasons that I didn’t really grasp he is desperate to hide his abilities from everyone, especially from everyone at his school – kids and teachers. Blogging is perfect for Charlie because he can truly be himself, or so he thinks. And now there is a competition to be the greatest blogger in the world. First prize is a fabulous url www.thegreatestbloggerintheworld.com.

There are plenty of quirky ideas and characters in this book. I especially liked Charlie’s friend Phattius Beatts (his real name is Gene Bollingworth), the duck called Barcode and Joshua, his little Kindergarten brother who wears a small tuxedo 24 hours a day. Breakfast is Corn Flookes, the teacher makes every day special by focusing on odd things like donuts and the school mascot is a large model of a sheep called the Unshorn Merino.

When the Unshorn Merino is stolen from the school the story reaches a hilarious climax. Children looking for illegal red cordial are also a great inclusion.

This book has large print (I always love this!), it is interspersed with Charlie’s blog entries and the plot moves along at a fast pace so I would recommend this book to boys in middle and senior classes. Check out the fun web site and since this is a first novel by Andrew McDonald make sure you visit his web site too. When you go to his web page you can see him reading this book! His little video will surprise you.

Chess Nuts by Julia Lawrinson

This is a book for chess players and non chess players. I am not a chess player and have no real interest in this game but I did enjoy this simple story about friends and sport and rivalries.

In this school, Phoenix Primary, there are the sport heroes and the chess players and the two groups do not mix. Then one day Jackson walks into the chess practice room “Jackson wanted to come back in, sit down, and blitz them all, but how could he? Everyone knew Jackson was the best athlete in the school, and why would someone like that hang around the chess room?”

At the heart of this story is friendship and self-discovery. Both Anna, the number one chess player, and Jackson have a lot to learn about themselves and each other, about prejudices and stereotypes and most of all about trust.

This book is a quick and enjoyable one especially if you don’t think deeply about character motivations or the strange parent child relationships. If you like chess then in this book you will also find game diagrams and quotes from famous chess players. If you are keen on sports then in this book you will find great scenes of swimming carnivals and cross country running.

Motormouth by Sherryl Clark

If you are a motormouth does it mean you talk to much or does it mean you talk to much about cars or does it mean you know a lot about cars?

This is the season for verse novels and here is one for the boys! Motormouth by Sherryl Clark is a terrific emotional roller coaster ride as we piece together the truth about Josh, the new kid in town and discover what has happened to Dave all through the eyes of their friend Chris.

The impact of this book reminded me of Steven Herrick and Tom Jones Saves the world or Do wrong Ron.

There are some great little gems in this writing “this kid Josh sticks to me like chewie on my runners.”…. "Dad takes to Josh like a flea to a dog”….

This is a very short book but it is so powerful. The illustrations, end papers and black and white graphics are just perfect. I think this book would be great reading for senior boys who have not yet discovered just how a book can tug at your emotions and include some funny parts too!

January Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord

If you want to read a book that puts you on the edge of your seat right from the first page. "It was the wild, billowing black cloak, streaming behind the menacing figure, that first caught my eye.” to the last – on the final page (of the first book January) you will be underground in an oil storage tank with oil rapidly filling up around you.

If you are looking for a series to take you through the whole year – yes there will be 12 of these books.

If you have ever wondered what you might do if you only have 365 days to solve a major crime and stay alive in the process then this is the book or series of books for YOU!

In the first book the author carefully reveals the gripping facts. Callum’s dad has been on a mysterious visit to Ireland, he has sent Callum some letters and drawings, someone has tried to warn Callum of the danger he faces, his uncle Rafe seems implicated when their small row boat sinks far out at sea on a wild and stormy night and now Callum is accused of murder so he is on the run from the police and a gang of sinister thugs.

I just loved Conspiracy 365 January and am sure I will be telling you about February very soon. The book design is just perfect with crumpled letters, from Callum’s dad, and drawings interspersed through the diary style entries. The decisions Callum has to make about his family and especially the safety of his little sister reminded me of that terrific series called Surfers we have in our library especially titles like The Last Bus and Runnaway train.

I do hope Gabrielle Lord can keep up this pace through all 12 books. I also hope the plot twists don't slacken. I have begun to make my predictions about the Ormond Singularity and especially about Rafe, twin brother of Callum’s dad.

The web site is totally out of control!!

Don’t blink don’t forget to breathe - this is really good advice.

I thoroughly recommend these books for senior primary boys especially if you enjoyed books by Anthony Horowitz and Robert Muchamore.