Always the last to the table. I just finished Wednesday Wars last night, and let me just say, I loved it. I didn't think I did until I was halfway done. I didn't want to surrender my critical observations of how unrealistic I felt this 7th grade boy was, but in the end, I gave in. Holling may have been a bit more introspective than what I assume the 7th grade species to be, but in a time like his, perhaps that was required for kids of all ages. Can you imagine trying to make sense of assassinations, a senseless war, and the atomic bomb issue looming over you every day? And where better to look than Shakespeare? (which, by the way, was my absolute favorite part...I want to be Mrs. Baker. I love how Holling says that perhaps he really believed that all Mrs. Baker had ever done was sit behind her desk...So funny.)
I thought the way he described his parents' marriage falling apart was interesting. About how it doesn't all end at once, and it is the little things that start to go. A very observant 7th grader, I would say.
I loved the running part: a perfect segue into our next book.
And here's my favorite...a definitive description of the complete non-definition of the world:
That’s the way it is in the real world.
It’s not always smiles. Sometimes the real world is like Hamlet. A little scared. Unsure. A little angry. Wishing that you could fix something that you can’t fix. Hoping that maybe something would fix itself, but thinking that hoping that way is stupid.
And sometimes the real world is more like Bobby Kennedy, who was a sure bet for the Democratic nomination and probably would have been president of the United States and stopped the war, but who got shot at point-blank range.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Changing our perspective-Anna's Wednesday thoughts
I loved the scene from Wednesday Wars when Mrs. Baker took Holling on a drive to see all of the buildings in his town. She explained to him the significance behind them, and then Holling thinks the following,
"On a bright blue day when there wasn't an atomic bomb on any horizon, when the high clouds were painted onto blue canvas, when tulips were standing at attention and azaleas were blooming (except for the ones in front of the Perfect House) and dogs were barking at all the new smells, I saw my town as if I had just arrived. It was as if I was waking up. You see houses and buildings every day, and you walk by them on your way to something else, and you hardly see. You hardly notice they're even there, mostly because there's something else going on right in front of your face. But when the town itself becomes the thing that is going on right in front of your face, it all changes, and you're not just looking at a house but at what's happened in that house before you were born. That afternoon, driving with Mrs. Baker, the American Revolution was here. The escaped slaves were here. The abolitionists were here.
And I was here." ( p.222-223)
How do you think we can look at our individual circumstances "as if we had just arrived"? How can we look at the people around us in that light? Could they be the "houses" that Holling was talking about? I think so.
I heard a lady from my ward speak in Stake Conference tonight. I have always thought she was just an awesome example of someone who quietly serves. She's not the Relief Society president, she doesn't really talk that much. She sits quietly, but loves openly. She is always the first one to sign up when we need a volunteer to help clean the building, or when someone needs a meal. I found out tonight as she shared her testimony that she had a son die of leukemia a few years back. I had no idea. I already thought highly of her, but somehow knowing that little tidbit of information, my heart opened to her even more. My love and admiration for her faith and quiet service increased.
One of the ways Mrs. Baker helps Holling open his eyes in this scene is that she goes against the grain. Mrs. Baker, who always seems to be following the rules, breaks them. She keeps Holling working every Wednesday, when all of the other classmates are gone. There seems to be no relief. But here they were, supposed to be having another bomb drill, and she busts him out of school! This must have caught Holling off-guard and he realized there might be something important about their little jaunt.
I think if we are to see people and situations "as if [we] had just arrived" we have to step out of our own lives and sometimes even break the rules. Do things we wouldn't normally do. Be brave, and bold! Who knows what we might find.
What do you think?
"On a bright blue day when there wasn't an atomic bomb on any horizon, when the high clouds were painted onto blue canvas, when tulips were standing at attention and azaleas were blooming (except for the ones in front of the Perfect House) and dogs were barking at all the new smells, I saw my town as if I had just arrived. It was as if I was waking up. You see houses and buildings every day, and you walk by them on your way to something else, and you hardly see. You hardly notice they're even there, mostly because there's something else going on right in front of your face. But when the town itself becomes the thing that is going on right in front of your face, it all changes, and you're not just looking at a house but at what's happened in that house before you were born. That afternoon, driving with Mrs. Baker, the American Revolution was here. The escaped slaves were here. The abolitionists were here.
And I was here." ( p.222-223)
How do you think we can look at our individual circumstances "as if we had just arrived"? How can we look at the people around us in that light? Could they be the "houses" that Holling was talking about? I think so.
I heard a lady from my ward speak in Stake Conference tonight. I have always thought she was just an awesome example of someone who quietly serves. She's not the Relief Society president, she doesn't really talk that much. She sits quietly, but loves openly. She is always the first one to sign up when we need a volunteer to help clean the building, or when someone needs a meal. I found out tonight as she shared her testimony that she had a son die of leukemia a few years back. I had no idea. I already thought highly of her, but somehow knowing that little tidbit of information, my heart opened to her even more. My love and admiration for her faith and quiet service increased.
One of the ways Mrs. Baker helps Holling open his eyes in this scene is that she goes against the grain. Mrs. Baker, who always seems to be following the rules, breaks them. She keeps Holling working every Wednesday, when all of the other classmates are gone. There seems to be no relief. But here they were, supposed to be having another bomb drill, and she busts him out of school! This must have caught Holling off-guard and he realized there might be something important about their little jaunt.
I think if we are to see people and situations "as if [we] had just arrived" we have to step out of our own lives and sometimes even break the rules. Do things we wouldn't normally do. Be brave, and bold! Who knows what we might find.
What do you think?
Jaclyn's "Wednesday Wars" Review
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. SchmidtMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have been exceptionally tired, and so I have put off reviewing "The Wednesday Wars" though I could not stop talking about it while I was reading it and the days after I finished it. This book, despite its detailed depiction of rats running around in the classroom ceiling, was wonderful. I love that it took place in 1967-1968. I love the political and social references, and the wording used to characterize the main character Holling Hoodhood's (yes, Hoodhood really is his last name) teacher Mrs. Baker. I love the Shakespeare references and how well Schmidt captured the simple desires a seventh grader has for validation and acceptance.
This is simply a story of a seventh grader named Holling who doesn't quite fit in (in all honesty, what seventh grader ever feels like he/she fits in?) and his path to figuring out his worth over the course of a school year. Throw in Mickey Mantle, Vietnam, an unrelenting father, Catholics, Jews, and cream puffs, and you have "The Wednesday Wars."
I'm not sure a middle schooler (the intended audience) would love this book as much as adult, but I think they would enjoy it - perhaps for different reasons than an adult would. Teachers, especially, would enjoy this book - we can't help but love well-written characterizations of ourselves.
As for being a Newberry Honor Book, I am glad to report, that Schmidt's "Wednesday Wars" is very deserving. Happy reading!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
March Book: Born to Run
As soon as I hear the words "Born to Run" I start humming Bruce Springsteen. This month though we're taking on a different "Born to Run" - we're reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.
This book is a total departure from anything we have read previously, but it should be an entertaining and eye-opening read. I promise that this is not a book only runners or athletes would enjoy because as anyone who knows we well knows, I am definitely not a runner. I don't understand running when there is no ball to chase.
--Jaclyn
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