(Yes, I know I said Wednesday and today is Friday--I am a slacker librarian!)
There may be some secrets revealed in these questions, so be warned if you haven't finished the book yet!
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
How important is it that Demi and Sadye changed their names? Would their story have been different if they had stayed Douglas and Sarah?
The characters in Dramarama revel in their over-the-top personalities and the drama around them. Do you have friends like that (are YOU like that?!)? Would you want to be friends with "theater folks"?
Do you think Sadye was right to challenge Reanne about the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream?
Most of the students at Wildewood accept everything Jacob Morales tell them, except Sadye. Do you think her point that they are all terrified of him is valid or is she making excuses?
Would you have taken the fall for Demi and Lyle if you were Sadye?
By the epilogue, Sadye has found a way to match her gifts and talents to the theater world she loves. What do you think her future will be like?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Information on Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Dramarama is the story of Sadye and Demi, two high school students from Ohio whose theater dreams take them to a summer drama institute where they learn way more than how to hit the high notes and nail a tap routine.
The coolest thing--I think--about Dramarama is that you get this glimpse into this whole other world that's going on all around us--the theater world! It's as razzle-dazzle as Sadye hopes it will be, equal parts hard work, sweat, bandaged toes and glitter. As Sadye puts it, "Theater folk are like this, I realized. Physical right away. Kissy, huggy. . . . Theater people will act like your oldest friend when you've just met. And they do it while they're competing with you."
E. Lockhart is the author of several other books for teens, including one of last year's most talked about books, THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS. You can visit her website here: http://e-lockhart.com/main/index.php
She also has a blog at http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/e_lockhart_blog/ Follow the link in the Categories section "Dramarama Stuff" (on the right side of the page) for videos, music and blog posts related to Dramarama.
Discussion questions on Wednesday . . .
The coolest thing--I think--about Dramarama is that you get this glimpse into this whole other world that's going on all around us--the theater world! It's as razzle-dazzle as Sadye hopes it will be, equal parts hard work, sweat, bandaged toes and glitter. As Sadye puts it, "Theater folk are like this, I realized. Physical right away. Kissy, huggy. . . . Theater people will act like your oldest friend when you've just met. And they do it while they're competing with you."
E. Lockhart is the author of several other books for teens, including one of last year's most talked about books, THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS. You can visit her website here: http://e-lockhart.com/main/index.php
She also has a blog at http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/e_lockhart_blog/ Follow the link in the Categories section "Dramarama Stuff" (on the right side of the page) for videos, music and blog posts related to Dramarama.
Discussion questions on Wednesday . . .
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Discussion Questions for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
There may be some secrets revealed in these questions, so be warned if you haven't finished the book yet!
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
How is Junior’s life similar to/different than your ideas about life on a reservation?
How do alcoholism and violence impact life on the Spokane Reservation?
When Junior asks Gordy for advice about getting Penelope to like him, Gordy comes back
and tells Junior he’s a racist just like everybody else. Is he?
Junior loses three people he loves to alcohol-related accidents in a very short time. How
do these losses affect him and shape his views about life?
What do you think about “The Unofficial and Unwritten (but you better follow them or
you’re going to get beaten twice as hard) Spokane Indian Rules of Fisticuffs”? Why do you think Roger and his friends think it’s okay to call Junior names but freak out that he responds with a punch?
Junior explains Rowdy’s anger and sense of betrayal by saying that “Some Indians think
you become white if you try to make your life better.” Gordy argues that if that were true,
all white people would be successful. Who do you think is right, Rowdy or Gordy?
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
How is Junior’s life similar to/different than your ideas about life on a reservation?
How do alcoholism and violence impact life on the Spokane Reservation?
When Junior asks Gordy for advice about getting Penelope to like him, Gordy comes back
and tells Junior he’s a racist just like everybody else. Is he?
Junior loses three people he loves to alcohol-related accidents in a very short time. How
do these losses affect him and shape his views about life?
What do you think about “The Unofficial and Unwritten (but you better follow them or
you’re going to get beaten twice as hard) Spokane Indian Rules of Fisticuffs”? Why do you think Roger and his friends think it’s okay to call Junior names but freak out that he responds with a punch?
Junior explains Rowdy’s anger and sense of betrayal by saying that “Some Indians think
you become white if you try to make your life better.” Gordy argues that if that were true,
all white people would be successful. Who do you think is right, Rowdy or Gordy?
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Sherman Alexie's first book for teens (he's written many award-winning works for adults) and won a bunch of awards including the National Book Award.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the story of Arnold Spirit Jr. (just Junior), who lives on the Spokane Indian reservation and who decides to shock everyone he knows by leaving the rez to go to high school in the nearby white town. Splitting his time between two very different worlds, Junior finds love, faces many tragedies and starts to figure out who he is and who he wants to be.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is lol funny and make-you-cry sad. It's really all about hope and how to keep fighting when everyone tells you you're nothing.
The best news? There's a sequel on the way! That's right, Sherman Alexie is working on The Magic and Tragic Year of My Broken Thumb, the story of Junior's second year in high school. For more information on the book and Sherman Alexie, visit his website: http://www.fallsapart.com/index.html
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the story of Arnold Spirit Jr. (just Junior), who lives on the Spokane Indian reservation and who decides to shock everyone he knows by leaving the rez to go to high school in the nearby white town. Splitting his time between two very different worlds, Junior finds love, faces many tragedies and starts to figure out who he is and who he wants to be.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is lol funny and make-you-cry sad. It's really all about hope and how to keep fighting when everyone tells you you're nothing.
The best news? There's a sequel on the way! That's right, Sherman Alexie is working on The Magic and Tragic Year of My Broken Thumb, the story of Junior's second year in high school. For more information on the book and Sherman Alexie, visit his website: http://www.fallsapart.com/index.html
Monday, June 22, 2009
Info and Discussion Questions for Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
In a future just a couple of hundred years from now, turning 16 means turning pretty. An operation makes you stunningly gorgeous and starts a life of non-stop parties and excitement. Tally is the last of her friends to turn 16 and as she's waiting to turn, she meets Shay, who raises the question: What if you stayed ugly when you turned 16?
This is something Tally has never even considered, but her friendship with Shay introduces her to an underground society of uglies who question the very nature of turning pretty and whose lives Tally changes forever.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Pretties, Specials and a fourth book, Extras. For more information about Scott Westerfeld, the Uglies (and his many other) books (and a cool interview about why he wrote Uglies) check out his website: http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
There may be some secrets revealed in these questions, so be warned if you haven't finished the book yet!
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
1. When you first started reading about being pretty, did it sound like fun? Did it sound like something you'd want to do at 16?
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
3. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
4. Were you surprised when David's parents revealed that the pretty operation also changes people's brains? Why or why not?
5. When did you figure out that "the Rusties" were us, people living in the 21st century?
6. After finishing Uglies are you planning to read the rest of the series?
This is something Tally has never even considered, but her friendship with Shay introduces her to an underground society of uglies who question the very nature of turning pretty and whose lives Tally changes forever.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Pretties, Specials and a fourth book, Extras. For more information about Scott Westerfeld, the Uglies (and his many other) books (and a cool interview about why he wrote Uglies) check out his website: http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
There may be some secrets revealed in these questions, so be warned if you haven't finished the book yet!
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
1. When you first started reading about being pretty, did it sound like fun? Did it sound like something you'd want to do at 16?
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
3. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
4. Were you surprised when David's parents revealed that the pretty operation also changes people's brains? Why or why not?
5. When did you figure out that "the Rusties" were us, people living in the 21st century?
6. After finishing Uglies are you planning to read the rest of the series?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Discussion Questions for Dairy Queen
There may be some secrets revealed in these questions, so be warned if you haven't finished the book yet!
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
If you want to discuss the questions, use the comments (go to the end of this post and click on (#) comments, then select the Name/URL option to add your comment. Please use the nickname you used to register for the Book Slam and again, NO LAST NAMES!).
******SPOILER ALERT**********
- Dairy Queen could be described as a sports story, a family story, or a romance. Which description do you think fits best?
- Curtis, Amber, and D.J.’s mother are also keeping secrets. What does it mean to D.J. when she discovers them?
- D.J. often identifies herself through her physical appearance. Do you think she has a healthy or unhealthy body image?
- In what ways does Brian match and break the stereotype of a popular high school quarterback? Did your impression of him change over the course of the story? If so, how was this accomplished?
- What do you think will happen to Curtis in eighth grade and high school?
- Is D.J. an appropriate role model for fifteen-year-old girls? If she attended your school, would you consider her a role model?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The first book we're slamming this summer is Dairy Queen. It's the story of D.J. Schwenk who is basically running her family's Wisconsin dairy farm while her dad recovers from hip surgery. She is also asked to train the quarterback for her town's rival football team (her two older brothers are star college football players), which gets a little complicated when she starts to wonder if a guy like Brian (popular, smart, gorgeous) could fall for a girl like her.
One of the things I loved most about Dairy Queen is that D.J is NOT a typical teen fiction heroine. The line from the book that sums it up is "Because us Schwenks aren't rich, and we're not that smart, and except for Bill, and Mom when she was thin back before she got married, we're nothing to look at. But one thing we can do is work. you want to learn how to work hard? Just look at us."
What about YOU? What did you like (or not) about Dairy Queen?
Did you know that Dairy Queen is the first book in a trilogy?! D.J.'s story continues in The Off Season and will conclude this fall with the tentatively-titled Front and Center.
For more information about Dairy Queen and Catherine Gilbert Murdock, visit her website: http://www.catherinemurdock.com/
Later in the week, I'll post more detailed discussion questions for comments, but I want you to have a chance to read the book first! ;)
One of the things I loved most about Dairy Queen is that D.J is NOT a typical teen fiction heroine. The line from the book that sums it up is "Because us Schwenks aren't rich, and we're not that smart, and except for Bill, and Mom when she was thin back before she got married, we're nothing to look at. But one thing we can do is work. you want to learn how to work hard? Just look at us."
What about YOU? What did you like (or not) about Dairy Queen?
Did you know that Dairy Queen is the first book in a trilogy?! D.J.'s story continues in The Off Season and will conclude this fall with the tentatively-titled Front and Center.
For more information about Dairy Queen and Catherine Gilbert Murdock, visit her website: http://www.catherinemurdock.com/
Later in the week, I'll post more detailed discussion questions for comments, but I want you to have a chance to read the book first! ;)
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