Howler’s Book Blog

This time of the year along with vacations and relaxing we are always looking for good book suggestions.  The place to go to find your answer to “What should I read?” can be found at www.westgladesmiddle.com.  Take a look and you will find many many suggestions.  If you are still stuck on what to read send me an email at diana.haneski@browardschools.com.  Be sure to let me know what you read that you really enjoyed and what genre you like, I will do my best to make suggestions just for you.  Happy Reading, Mrs. H

This is the last HOWL meeting for this school year. It’s time to write about one of these books. If you have read one of the books below click on comment to tell our readers what you think. Did you like it or not? do you want to read more books like it? Should we try to get one of these authors to come to our school? Write on!

~Eragon, by Christopher Paolini
~Maximum Ride: Schools Out Forever, by James Paterson
~Truesight, by David Stahler, Jr.
~Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
~Zach’s Lie, Roland Smith

Scholastic Book Fair
Book Discussions
Refreshments
Prizes
HOPE TO SEE YOU

Thursday March 22, 2007 @ 7:00pm

~Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, by Ben Carson
~Gossamer, by Lois Lowry
~ Lily’s Ghost, by Laura Ruby
~May Bird and the Ever After, by Jodi Lynn Anderson

These are the titles we are reading this time around for the book club. Give us your opinion.

• Did Gifted Hands inspire you?
• Was Gossamer as good as promised?
• Was Lily’s Ghost scary?
• Did reading May Bird and the Ever After get you interested in reading the sequel?

Think about the questions, click to comment and tell our blog visitors what you think. You might help someone choose a book. Blog on! Mrs. H

The Westglades community has done it again with another successful HOWL meeting! Thanks to everyone to joined us at the Northwest Regional Library (and all our friends at the library) to chat about Cryptid Hunters, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Hero Perseus and Maximum Ride.

Which book did you enjoy the most? Which book are you most excited about reading for the next meeting? Post your comment below and let us know what you enjoy about reading!

I’s the 3rd year of the H.O.W.L. Book Club let’s try to continue our discussions throughout the winter break.  It’s easy!  Once you have read a book you are ready to type in a response right here.  You can comment on any of the posts on this page.  Where you see:  Posted in || Edit|| No Comments  that means no one has made a comment yet, you can be the first, just click on the words No Comments  and type in what you think about the book(s).  If you see: Posted in Let’s blog || Edit|| 6 Comments  at the bottom of the post then just click on  6 Comments (the number in front of comments represents the amount of responses to the post) and you will add to the comments that have already been posted.

Now to keep it organized let’s follow just a few procedures.

~Comment on the books that we are featuring before introducing any other titles.

~use your first name or initials only

~no inappropriate language or personal attacks

~BE NICE

The following books are from the last session, feel free to start a discussion about any book you have READ.

~did you like the book or not?

~would  you recommend it to a friend?

~do you want to read more books by that author?

~are you surprised that you like the genre?

I’m thrilled to be back as a guest author at Westglades, and hope that all of you are enjoying The Hero Perseus, the first novel in Brainstorm’s Mad Myth Mystery series.

When Tony and I were first writing Hero, we tried to put ourselves in the mindset of a young adult reader.  We’re often asked why we alternate chapters between the mythological world and the modern world, and our answer is that the “flip-flop” engages the reader in two stories at once.  Hopefully, that keeps things interesting!

I’m looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts.  Until then, enjoy a wonderful and peaceful holiday season.
~Robin DiTocco

Reading is definitely in the air here at Westglades with our second meeting of the H.O.W.L. Book Club and the Scholastic Book Fair in our Media Center. How about “diving into blogging” about your most recent H.O.W.L. choice!

What did you think about the book you just finished? What other books or personal experiences can you relate the story to? We love to read what everyone else though about their book, and a blog is a great way to share your thoughts with the community around you. (Please remember first names or initials only; private information should never be given out on the Internet.) Click below to comment on your book, and feel free to suggest ideas for future H.O.W.L. meetings!
I know you’ll be excited about our new choices for you to dive into at the next meeting, scheduled for January 17. Be sure to mark your calendars NOW so you won’t miss another one of our fantastic events!

After reading the first two chapters of “The Boy Who Spoke Dog” I was hooked. The author’s fresh approach to alternating each chapter from Moxie’s point of view to Jack’s perspective was an excellent way to tell the story. I personally enjoyed Moxie’s description of Jack walking on his hind legs with his front legs “dangling” beside him as if he were a dog himself.

I found myself thinking about my dog CoCo and how she must view me after spending nearly eleven years together, which leads to this question: How do we as humans appear to our canine companions?

What did you think about how the author changed voices nearly every chapter? How did you feel about the ending? I’m eager to read the opinions of fellow readers.

~Ms. Lambard

It’s not very often you find such a compelling young adult book that incorporates modern teen life. And as a teacher, I know that the Internet and technology are typically an enormous part of a teenager’s world.

So it was exciting for me to see technology play a central role in this book. I’ve read many other YA novels that have dealt with bullying (both of boys AND girls) but this book took a different approach. I found myself wondering how the outcome might have (if at all) been different if the school intranet did not exist in this book. I also enjoyed how the Revealers, although not friends in the beginning, came together in a peaceful manner to “fight back,” so to speak.

What do you think? Do you think the Revealers would have been as successful in their mission to expose the bullies if they had no access to technology? Why was the role of Richie (the big guy who beat up Russell) important in this book? Were there parts of the book you identified with?

~Ms. Lambard

One of the great things about reading a book in a series is that the reader has the opportunity to reallly know the characters, and this series is no different.

As I read through the book, I kept wondering how Luke would feel if he had been the FIRST child, not the forbidden child. What if Luke and Jen never met? Would he continue to live in the attic, or would something else have inspired him to “do” more?

I’d love to read your thoughts on this book, but remember: don’t give away too much of the ending!

~Ms. Lambard