The Search for Historical Novels

Last week at school I was bemoaning because I haven't been able to find the perfect historical novel about the American Revolution to read aloud to my 4th grade class. One of the middle school language arts teachers started suggesting books to me. "Johnny Tremain? My Brother Sam is Dead?" I wasn't sure if my class could sit through Johnny Tremain, as much as I enjoy it, and I couldn't remember what My Brother Sam is Dead is about. Then she whipped out her phone and pulled up a list of Newbery nominated historical novels about the American Revolution. Technology is amazing.

I later looked carefully through the list, checked the closest public library, and made a trip. I was able to take out five novels from the children's section to preview. The next time I saw my middle school colleague in the teachers' lunchroom, I excitedly exclaimed, "I went to the library and got a stack of books!" A couple other teachers laughed, and one remarked, "Isn't that what you do at the library?" Yeah, it is. It was a pretty nerdy remark I made.

My problem in finding the "perfect" novel to read to my class is that I'm looking for an engaging story that works as a read-aloud and is historically accurate. In the past we have had students read Mr. Revere and I, in which Paul Revere's horse, a stuck up filly who came to the colonies as a British army horse, tells Revere's story and in the process changes her mind about the colonial yokels. The horse uses an awful lot of really big words, and of course, with a horse narrating, it's not historically accurate. We've also had students read The Fighting Ground by Avi, the story of a young boy who runs off to join a ragtag Continental Army group. The whole novel takes place within one day. I don't find that it lends itself to reading aloud. It works better when you see it on the page.

There are other novels, of course. My partner reads Spy, a novel about Nathan Hale. I read it a few years ago and didn't like it, though I can't remember why now. I love Johnny Tremain, but wonder if it's too long. My middle school colleague encouraged me to consider it. Of the books from the library I have so far read Five 4ths of July, which is a really good book, but for teens, not 4th graders. It is the story of a teenager who ends up on a British prison ship. It is well-researched and also follows the coming of age under brutal circumstances of the main character.

I'm also going to read Chains, about a 13-year-old slave girl who becomes an American spy in New York City, and Sophie's War, by Avi, about another girl who becomes a spy. I'm sure there are lots more choices waiting to be discovered.

Sunday Supper

In the teachers' lunch room today we had a conversation about family dinners. One of us said that family dinners during the week were pretty impossible because of sports and her husband's work schedule, but Sunday dinnertime was sacred -- the whole family would always be there, without other guests.

I think today many of us have to make those choices, even if we'd rather have family dinners every day, with home-cooked meals. The conversation reminded me of the Sunday suppers my family had when I was growing up. We did eat dinner together nearly every night of the week, but Sunday evening was special because my mom put out sandwich makings, chips, and hot chocolate. We each made what we wanted and took our plates downstairs to the rec room to eat and watch TV.

Of course, watching television during dinner is much frowned on, but my parents made this into a special family event each week. We watched Lassie, Mr. Ed, the Wonderful World of Disney, and we talked about the shows. I remember those Sunday nights very fondly, especially now that my family is scattered among four states.

The Viennese Connection - Trying New Things

We live in a suburban area where there's a lot of pressure on kids and parents regarding achievement in high school and what colleges kids get into. Somewhere along the way, before my kids entered high school, I realized that this was a culture that was fostering this type of thinking and the atmosphere that went with it, and that I didn't have to buy into it. It was quite liberating.

So we told our children that high school is a time for trying new things. There were other parents pushing AP classes and comparing GPAs and so on. We felt a bit like outliers. Our son took four years of art in high school and then went to art college. Our daughter went out for basketball and track, played in band and orchestra, and also took some AP classes, though not as many as she could have taken.

The band program at our high school has an exchange program with a high school, or gymnasium, in Vienna, Austria. Every three years the band goes to Austria and while they're in Vienna, the students stay with families from the gymnasium. Jamie went and had a wonderful, fun, enriching trip, including her stay with a lovely family who carefully accommodated her diet and took her on outings. Every fall, a group of high school students from Vienna visit our area for about 10 days, staying with band families.

The next time the Viennese were coming to Illinois, Jamie asked if we could host a student, and we agreed. It was not a successful exchange. The girl who stayed with us was primarily interested in shopping - the exchange rate was extremely favorable for Europeans at the time. She wasn't interested in spending any time with us.

So the next year when the band again asked for host families, I told my daughter no. She really wanted to try again and what she said to me was, "You said that high school is a time for trying new things. I really want to try this again." She was convincing, we agreed to another exchange student. We had a lovely visit with Sarah from Vienna, and she and Jamie stayed in touch for several years after the visit.

Try new things, sometimes more than once.

The Princess Bride

I'm going to say right up front, I'm a cat person. I like dogs fine, but I love my cats. This story is about a cat. And a movie.

I had never watched the movie "The Princess Bride." My children bought a VHS tape of it years ago, but I never watched it. Occasionally it would come up in conversation with someone, and they would say, "You've never seen it?" Apparently it's a thing with some people.

Then a friend posted a photo of an adorable black kitten on Facebook along with the story of how he and his wife came to adopt it. She went out one Saturday morning to buy cat food for their two cats, and came home with this kitten. He (the kitten) had an unusually large head, so, my friend said, they named him Fezzik.

I thought the story was funny, and so I repeated it to my family. My son thought the name Fezzik was a wonderful and hilarious name. It didn't mean anything to me, so I asked if it came from somewhere. Yes, he said, Fezzik is the giant in "The Princess Bride." "Oh," I replied. "This kitten has a really large head." My son laughed even more. I resolved to watch this movie, which was attaining mythic status in my mind.

One Saturday afternoon, I sat down to watch the old VHS tape. There was Andre the Giant playing Fezzik. It was an entertaining movie, a kind of tongue-cheek swashbuckling fairy tale. And now I can say that I have seen "The Princess Bride."

Meanwhile Fezzik has grown to match his head.

Stories in report cards

I have been writing the narratives for reports cards. Assessment is not my favorite part of teaching, and to sum up a trimester of learning and growing... I have to write about 150 words about each of my students. When I sit down to write, I think about each child in turn. What to write? How to tell parents about their child's successes and challenges and also capture that special individuality of each child?

The little girl who loves to write and also to laugh with her friends. The boy who just wants to do well. His desire is almost a tangible part of him. The new boy who is trying so hard to fit in. The absent-minded one, lost in his own world. Each one is so alive and individual. Each one has his or her own stories.

I give a lot of thought to each child, and also look over their grades. Who is excelling in math, who finds the interesting insights in books, who helps everyone get along together?

This reflection and writing on my part often gives me new insight into my students, so I guess that's an additional benefit of writing report cards. I am so busy day to day, teaching, planning lessons, grading papers, that forcing me to stop and think about each one of my students turns out to be a positive activity. And it reminds me of what delightful children I have in my class.

The joys and stresses of reading

I read an interview with Bill Gates in the New York Times this week that revealed that he reads about 50 books a year. He also has a blog where he reviews books that he has read, which was a surprise to me. I know he's a smart, interesting person, but I never thought of him as a book person. He reads pretty heavy-duty books and reviews mostly books that he likes rather than writing negative reviews.

That led me to think about my own reading. I do a lot of reading, too. Over the winter break, I caught a cold and laid around the house for a couple days mostly just reading. In spite of being sick, spending so much time reading was wonderful!

I read a lot of novels, some just for fun, some for a book club, and some because they sound intriguing. Mysteries are a favorite along with historical fiction. I also read a fair amount of nonfiction of various genres. I like biographies and history especially, but I also read books about education and music.

The book club selections are often the ones that cause me stress. Some of the club choices have been wonderful and I'm so happy that I discovered a particular book because I had to read it for book club. Wonder was one of those books. Also The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. Me Before You. The Year of Wonders. The Other Wes Moore.  Other books I wished I hadn't wasted my time reading and still others I just couldn't finish. Following Mr Gates's lead, I won't name them, but there is a certain pleasure in rippiing them apart in a book club discussion. I'm currently reading The Nightingale and I'm finding it somewhat stressful since I know things are going to continue getting worse for the characters. It's World Way II after all.

I like historical fiction because it's a window into the past - a way of seeing what life was like at different times rather than just learning about the big events that shaped the time. On the other hand, when I choose a book to read, it's for me and I don't feel the need to make myself miserable reading a book I hate or that makes me lose sleep. I know I'm not the only one who has trouble sleeping when reading a disturbing book.

But mostly reading is a pleasure, the best kind of entertainment. I read every day no matter how busy I am. It's a way to relax, to recharge.

I'm on Goodreads, if anyone wants to join me there. What books do you recommend?

Go Cubs!

I discovered this evening that I am not a sports bar person.

The Chicago Cubs are in the playoffs that come before the World Series. They're playing the Mets, I'm pretty sure. It's very exciting because the Cubs haven't won the Series since 1908 and the second Back to the Future movie predicted that they would win in 2015. Pretty cool, especially if it happens in real life.

My husband has been watching the games. He grew up watching Chicago baseball, mostly the Cubs, with an uncle who took him and his brother to many games at Wrigley Field. The current playoff games are being shown on a cable station that we don't get, so he started going to the sports bar near us to watch.

I came home today after a long day of teaching, meetings, emails to parents, and the occasional crisis to find that I didn't thaw the ground turkey that I had planned to use for dinner. My husband said, "No problem, I'll just eat at the sports bar." I thought maybe I would just go eat there, too, and then leave. He warned me it could be loud, but he said he'd really like to eat dinner with me.

There were a lot of people in the sports bar. And there were zillions of televisions, all showing the Cubs game. It was pretty loud between the volume of the TVs and the conversation of the patrons. We got a booth and looked over the menus and waited for a waitress. And waited. And waited as one after another they took care of all the tables near us. It was loud enough to make conversation difficult, especially for a person with a naturally soft voice. On top of that, my husband really wanted to watch the game, not talk to me.

I do know how baseball works, but I'm truly not interested enough to follow what's happening on the screen. I was gazing around at all the TVs, the other people in the bar, and wishing I had brought a book. Now that's ridiculous. Who brings a book to a sports bar when a major game is on?

So I left.

I hope they win. I really do.