Summer Reading Club 2008

Our first meeting will be on Thursday, June 19th at 5:45.  We will meet at the Springboro Library.

We will meet for one hour to discuss our first book -

Friendship According to Humphrey  by Betty G. Birney.

You can read this book yourself or have it read to you. (We have students of all ages and abilities participating in our club.)

  We will discuss the first eight chapters this week and the following seven chapters the following Monday- June 23rd.

This should give everyone a chance to read the book and prepare to answer some questions about the book.

If you are a fast reader... and you finish the book and want to read more...try another one of Humphrey's books.

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Here are some questions for you to think about:

Humphrey and Og-

• Why does Humphrey feel jealous of Og's appearance in the classroom? Think of three reasons why he feels jealous.

• Have you ever been jealous of a friend or family member before?  What made you feel jealous?  Were you able to get over those feelings of jealousy?  If so, what helped?

• Humphrey feels that Og does not want to be friends.  Is this true?

• Have you ever formed an opinion about a classmate and then later found out you were wrong?

Mean Martin Bean is the school bully in FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY.

• Humphrey helps put him in his place. Later, what adult helps Martin learn to be friendlier to the other students? How does he do that?

• The children who rode the bus with A.J. and Garth were all afraid of Martin Bean.

•  If Humphrey had not helped them, name three other things they could have done to deal with Martin’s bad behavior.

• Have you ever had an experience with a bully or seen someone else have one?

•  How did you or the other person handle it?   

•  Why do you think someone becomes a bully? Name at least three reasons a person might act like a bully.
•  Do you ride the bus to school? What kind of problems have you run into on the bus?
• What would it feel like to be a bus driver?
• What kind of problems might you have?

• Have you and your best friend ever had a big argument? How did you feel?
  Were you able to make up and become friends again?
  If yes, what steps did you take to make up? If no, what could you or the other person have done?
  What did you learn from that experience?
THE NEW KID: TABITHA

• Tabitha is the new kid in Room 26 and she has a hard time making friends until Humphrey lend a helping paw.
• Have you ever changed schools and been “the new kid?” How did you feel on your first day of school?
• How long did it take for you to make a friend?
• Did other students try to make friends with you? What did you do to make friends?
• Why did Tabitha hang on to her toy bear, Smiley, even though the other kids felt she was odd?
• What did Humphrey do to help her reach out and make friends?
•  How did Seth end up being Tabitha’s first friend?
• Humphrey is surprised that boys and girls can be best friends. If you’re a boy, have you ever had a close friend that was a girl? If you’re a girl, have you had a close friend that was a boy?
• Do you believe boys and girls can be good friends? If a boy and girl are friends, do their friends some times tease them or give them a hard time?
• Why do you think this is?
• Do you have a favorite stuffed animal?
• ART SMART: Draw a picture of your favorite stuffed toy, either something you still have or were attached to when you were younger.

 

I hope you enjoy our first book.  I look forward to our first meeting next Thursday evening!

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Upcoming Books

• BOOK 2 of our summer reading series will be  Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep

We will meet to discuss this book at 5:45 on Monday, June 30th (we will not meet on Thursday June 26th  this will give everyone the chance to start this book and be prepared to answer some questions about it.  We will not meet on July 3rd but will meet again on Monday, July 7th for book three.

• Be prepared to answer the following questions about Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep

  How old is Emily?

  Where does she end up moving with her mom and dad?

  How does she feel about being half human half mermaid?

  How would this make you feel?

  How does her father live with her?  Does he need any special accommodations?

  What does she do to impress Althea and Marina?

  How does Shona feel about this?

  What happened when Emily went into the lagoon?

  Who is Mandy Rushton?  Did you notice anything different about the book when it was Mandy's point of view?

   What happens to Mandy's family?

  Be prepared to tell about the setting, characters, conflicts and resolutions.

  • Book 3 of our reading series will be Moxy Maxwell Does not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford

    Continue to check back here to this website and I will update with guided reading questions. (I have to finish the books myself first!!!)