As in, two wonderful books about mice - and two groups of wonderful kids to discuss them!
On tap for the older group (9-13) was Redwall; while the younger group (7-10) tackled Poppy. Both of my older boys really enjoyed taking part in these groups. The last time we attended Book Group was last March; this was the first month since then our schedule has allowed us to attend. After so many months away, I was happily surprised to see how much Book Group had grown! Crackerjack's group had 10 children, while Bookworm's group had about a dozen! This is one of those things I love about homeschooling ~ if you have a wish - in this case, your child loves to read and loves to talk about books - all you have to do is reach out and there are many, many other homeschoolers waiting to jump right in with you!
The 7-10 yos sat around a large table and talked about Poppy (which if you remember we finished just in the nick of time). Led by my friend Lisa, the kids really enjoyed talking about the different aspects of this popular book by Avi. After their discussion they colored owl pictures and made bookmarks. Crackerjack's owl was, naturally, red.
CJ also brought with him his stuffed porcupine (from here onward known only as Ereth) and his Rescue Heroes Eagle who was just mean enough looking to be Mr. Ocax (our stuffed owl finger puppet was deemed too friendly to play the part). We have a small mouse finger puppet somewhere around here too, but our "Poppy" seems to be MIA. We also brought maps of Dimwood Forest that the boys had made earlier in the day. The group thought they were neat and a few of the kids - including our own dear little friend, Abby, shown below - made maps of their own right there on the spot!
Here are the boys' maps ...
Bookworm's map is above, and Crackerjack's is below. (Click on images to see better.)
Per Crackerjack's request, I stayed with his group for most of the discussion - but I managed to sneak away for a few minutes to check in on the older group (and snap a few pictures while I was at it). Before I even entered the room, I could hear their discussion was quite lively! The delicious aroma of a few dozen chocolate chip cookies (by then mostly crumbs) hung in the air. Nothing like a little chocolate to really bring out that tween chattiness! ;) The nice thing about this group is these kids all know each other well and they're all voracious readers. They simply love to "talk books." Their tastes are fairly similar too, so books that are mentioned (other than the one being discussed at the meeting) are generally ones they all have some experience with.
Just as I snapped my last picture, I was not too surprised to see Bookworm stand up, and excitedly ask the group the following question about Redwall:
"Does anyone think that hares are worth the extra food for their skill in battle?"
I had no idea what he meant, but the resounding answer from these loyal Redwall fans was - Yes!
Now, Redwall I have not actually read, so I cannot tell you too much about it. Bookworm has read up to book 12 in the series so I'd wager he'd give it a glowing review. I'll have to ask him to write something up about that!
In the meantime, I can tell you a bit about Poppy. We read it (as previously mentioned once, twice, a thousand times now!) all in one day. And let me tell you it was no hardship. It was a very charming and exciting story.
Poppy is the second in a series of books by Avi, collectively titled Tales of Dimwood Forest. Other books in this series include Ragweed, Poppy and Rye and Ereth's Birthday and Poppy's return. The books follow the adventures of a collection of animals, mostly mice, in and around a farming and woodland area.
As for age range - well, Amazon says 9-12. Seven yo Crackerjack loved it as did my 11 yo Bookworm. I will say there are a couple of parts that are seriously gripping and even a bit violent. They are necessary to the story, however, and not done in a tasteless manner. Both my boys handled those scenes without a problem. Though after the first scene, (the sudden death of a character), Bookworm turned to me, eyebrows raised and said, "This is a children's book?" (LOL!)
A quick synopsis - a food shortage makes it necessary for a large family of mice to relocate from their abandoned farmhouse across a creek, field and forest to a newly inhabited corn farm. One thing stands in their way - approval from Mr. Ocax, a great horned owl. These mice live under his dubious "protection" and, with his "permission" he generally allows them to move about Dimwood Forest. This new request to move to New House, he vehemently denies, however. The mice are devastated and left to a certain bleak future. Poppy mouse is suspicious though - and takes it upon herself to prove Mr. Ocax has something to hide. Her ultimate aim is to find her family a new home.
It is her journey we follow through the dangerous forest as she finds her strength and bravery and along the way a rather prickly (in more ways than one) friend.
I won't give away any more than that, but I will say that my boys (reading over my shoulder just now) are in complete agreement with my review and say they would definitely recommend it to a friend.
Three thumbs up, then!
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