by Carolyn | Boys, Character Training, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Movies, Older Elementary
I just finished Wonder by RJ Palacio. Maybe I should say, I just finished sobbing through the ending of Wonder. My kids know it’s not the tragic things that make me cry. It’s the sentimental ones. And this book certainly knows how to tug on your...
by Carolyn | Biography, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Movies, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
Several years ago, when my older kids were four and six, I decided to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret to them. My husband and I had just seen the movie, so I was pretty excited about the book. I put it on hold at the library and waited patiently. I was expecting a...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Discussion Guide, Dystopian Future, Girls, Highschool, Movies, Young Adult
The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth is a thrilling narrative of a 16 year-old girl and her battle for self-identity. Told in a first-person present-tense voice, the character Beatrice Prior is reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. However, unlike...