Closed for the Season

Some 7th graders stayed after school today for a book discussion on Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn. This was a really creepy mystery about an unsolved murder, missing (embezzled) money, and also themes like friendship and loyalty. One of the things we talked about was staying true to yourself and standing up for what you believe in. I'm always proud of my kids when we have a discussion and I find that they've grasped these important points on their own.

Because an important location in the book was a closed, rundown theme park where a lot of the action takes place, one thing we talked about was local legends about haunted buildings and unsolved mysteries. We managed to creep ourselves out, and while I had one story that they'd never heard - the house that turned around - they also had plenty that they all knew, independently of each other. It was a lot of fun.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

We recently completed a book discussion at school for this DCF nominated book. 7th and 8th graders attended and we had a great conversation. Besides discussing the plot, we also talked about how Modo's appearance affects his life and makes him sympathetic to the plight of the orphans, whether Mr. Socrates acts ethically in purchasing Modo and training him to meet his own ends, and some of the gender roles during the Victorian era. 

The Hunchback Assignments is an exciting steampunk adventure, full of villains and heroes, as well as romance and intrigue. The hideously ugly orphan Modo, purchased from gypsies at age 5 by his benefactor Mr. Socrates, spends his life in isolation, rigorously training for he knows not what. After being forced to survive on his own in London for six months as a test, Modo finds himself using all of his intelligence and fighting ability to try to save missing street children from the nefarious clutches of The Clockwork Guild.