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Read It!

Family Book Club 
with Tess

"The Turnaway Girls" by Hayley Chewins
Chapters 32 - 41

The Turnaway Girls

- Were you surprised by what Mother Nine said to Delphernia? Were you surprised by Delphernia's reaction to her?
- How did you feel when Delphernia founds out her mother is still alive and that the Childer-Queen and Bly are her family?
- How do they save Linna and change Blightsend?
- Did you like this novel? What were your favorite things?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Activity: Follow these instructions to make clay birds. When you come to the painting part, paint them gold 🙂
Posted by [email protected]  On Jun 29, 2020 at 1:42 PM 1 Comment
  
Read It!

Family Book Club 
with Tess

"The Turnaway Girls" by Hayley Chewins
Chapters 23 - 31

The Turnaway Girls

- Linna wants everyone to be able to choose what they want to do (make shimmer, music, etc.). How do you feel about Blightsend being so controlling with everyone having one role assigned to them and no freedom to change it?

- The birds represent freedom. When Delphernia sings, she creates golden birds. What does Bly say they really are?

- What has Bly made and how can Delphernia's birds help him?

- Mother Nine has found Delphernia. Why do you think she has come out of the cloister?

- We are nearing the end of the book! What do you think will happen? 

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Posted by [email protected]  On Jun 22, 2020 at 2:51 PM 2 Comments
  
Read It!

Family Book Club 
with Tess

"The Turnaway Girls" by Haley Chewins
Chapters 11-21

The Turnaway Girls


- What do you think of Blightsend? I imagine an island full of strange fruit and mystical birds. 
- Why do you think everyone has their role and cannot change it? The masters make music, the turnaway girls turn the music into shimmer. No one thinks to do anything different... except Delphernia, Bly, and Linna. What would you do if you lived there?
- What do you think the birds represent? Delphernia can turn her own singing into golden birds but Bly captures one. She also has a special connection with cloisterwings. 
- Delphernia wants to be free but has a secret she is afraid will mean her death. Do you think she'll ever tell?
- Do you think the Childer-Queen is a good character or a bad one? Does she have a secret she is afraid to share?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below! Next week we'll discuss chapters 22-31.
Posted by [email protected]  On Jun 15, 2020 at 1:17 PM 1 Comment
  
Read It!

Family Book Club
with Tess

"The Turnaway Girls" by Haley Chewins
Chapters 1-10

The Turnaway Girls
 
Wow! I am already really enjoying this book. I hope you are, too. I can't wait to see what will happen next!
 
- The writing style is a little different than our other Family Book Club picks. The descriptions are very interesting. I like it because it helps me imagine what's happening better. For example, "I struggle against a wall of wind." That sounds way better than "the wind was strong", doesn't it? What do you think?
- Why does Mother Nine take all the babies' voices away? Why does she hurt Delphernia?
- Can you imagine living inside for your entire life? What would it be like to come outside for the first time in 12 years? 
- What do you think Bly, Delphernia, and Linna Lundd have in common?
- What do you think of this story so far? What do you think will happen next?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below! Next week we'll discuss chapters 11 - 21.
Posted by [email protected]  On Jun 08, 2020 at 10:28 AM 1 Comment
  
Read It!

Family Book Club
with Tess
Our next book is "The Turnaway Girls" by Hayley Chewins.
To pick up a copy, please call Tallyn’s Reach Library at 303.627.3050. Limit one per family, while supplies last. 

The Turnaway Girls

Reading Schedule:
June 1-7: Chapters 1-10
June 8-14: Chapters 11-21
June 15-21: Chapters 22-31
June 22-29: Chapters 32-41 + Activity
Join us next week here on our blog as we begin our discussion with chapters 1-10!
Posted by [email protected]  On Jun 01, 2020 at 3:10 PM
  
Read It!

Family Book Club
with Tess

Happy Memorial Day!! I really enjoyed Pax - I hope you did too!

Pax by Sara Pennypacker 

Chapters 23-34
1. How did Peter finally get to Pax? 
2. How has Peter helped Vola to change?
3. How did Pax help Bristle and Runt?
4. Did you expect that ending? Were you disappointed or happy?

Here is a fun activity to do at home!

Our next book is "The Turnaway Girls" by Hayley Chewins.
Please call Tallyn's Reach Library at 303.627.3050 to pick up your copy!

The Turnaway Girls
Posted by [email protected]  On May 25, 2020 at 9:57 AM 2 Comments
  
Read It!

Pax Discussion Questions - Chapters 12-22

In this club we read middle grade fiction appropriate for ages 6-12, but anyone is welcome if you enjoy children's literature! I will be posting discussion questions weekly based on the book we are reading and I will also provide activities that relate. Please comment on the discussion questions so we can stay connected through reading!

May's book is "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker! Available instantly through hoopla digital as an eBook and an eAudiobook.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Discussion Questions - Chapters 12 - 22
- Why did Vola move into her grandfather's house? Why has she stayed so long?
- What does Vola do for Peter, other than help his leg? How is Peter helping Vola?
- How is the war affecting each character? Pax, Bristle, Runt, Peter & Vola?
- Why does Peter believe Pax is still alive?
- How do you think the story will end? 

Share your answers to the questions below in the comments and tell us what you think of the book so far! 
This week, read the rest of the book for our final questions and activity next Monday, May 25!
Posted by [email protected]  On May 18, 2020 at 12:49 PM 1 Comment
  
Read It!

Review of "The Winter People" by Jennifer McMahon
by Nicole S.

After moving to Colorado earlier this year my friends back in Wisconsin still wanted to keep in touch and what better way than a book club! Thanks to technology I have been able to virtually attend the meetings and we catch up and of course talk about what we thought of the books we picked for the meeting. I decided to also share my thoughts of these books to the awesome readers like you!  

The first book we kicked off for our 2020 book club was “The Winter People” by Jennifer McMahon. I am a big fan of thriller/suspense novels so I was very pleased to find a thriller/ghost story novel on our list of books. 
Jennifer McMahon is a New York Time’s bestselling author of works like “Promise Not To Tell”  and “Island of Lost Girls”. The majority of her books could be categorized under thriller/suspenseful fiction with some elements of paranormal activity.  

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

“The Winter People” takes place in West Hall, Vermont, which seems to be a place where strange happenings occur. It all seems to start with a woman named Sara Harrison Shea. In 1908, she is found dead behind her house not long after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Then, in present day with 19-year-old Ruthie who happens to live in Sara’s old farmhouse with her mother Alice and younger sister Fawn. One day Alice vanishes without a trace. While Ruthie and Fawn try to gather clues about their mother’s whereabouts, they happen upon a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary. The story jumps back and forth between the diary entries in 1908 and present day where similarities may come to pass and history may be doomed to repeat itself.  

I greatly enjoy narratives like this that jump back and forth. At first it may be a little hard to keep track of all the characters in play in the story but once you get going you find it easier to sort out the events in 1908 with Sara, her husband Marty and their daughter Gertie, and present day which includes Ruthie and Fawn. McMahon does a great job of weaving the separate stories but ultimately entwining them. Add in the chilling ghost stories and the missing people and you get hooked. I found myself wanting to keep reading Sara’s diary entries more than Ruthie’s accounts in present day because that seemed to be where the real story is. 

You feel for these characters, especially Sara, due to the loss of her child, Gertie. You sympathize with her actions and justify her means of coping with the sudden loss. The story twists and turns because you wonder whether ghosts really exist in this town and if it’s “cursed.” However, the one flaw I found was that the ending seemed to be underwhelmed. The story wraps up rather quickly and the decisions made by some of the characters didn’t seem to be realistic. All in all, if you enjoy multiple narratives from different points in time with a thriller and suspense feel to it – this is your book! If you have read "The Winter People," tell us what you thought of it in the comments!

Also, if you enjoy the Vermont setting like McMahon seems to, check out her other novels, “The Invited” and “The Night Sister”.
Click here to view McMahon's works and place a hold with your library card.

Check back for my next review of our second book club pick, “Into the Water” by Paula Hawkins.  
 
Posted by [email protected]  On May 15, 2020 at 10:53 AM
  
Read It!

May Family Book Club
with Tess

In this club we read middle grade fiction appropriate for ages 6-12, but anyone is welcome if you enjoy children's literature! I will be posting discussion questions weekly based on the book we are reading and I will also provide activities that relate. Please comment on the discussion questions so we can stay connected through reading!

May's book is "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker! Available instantly through hoopla digital as an eBook and an eAudiobook.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Discussion Questions - Chapters 1 - 11
1. Pax and Peter have a close relationship. Do you have a pet that you feel close to? Would you travel to find them if they were lost?
2. Do you like that the chapters take turns between Peter and Pax's point of view? 
3. What do you think of the other foxes that Pax meets? Can he trust them?
4. Do you understand why the vixen does not trust Pax?  
5. There is a war starting between the humans, which is why Peter has to go live with his grandfather. Do you think this will be a major theme in the book? Do you think it will keep Peter and Pax apart?

Share your answers to the questions below in the comments and tell us what you think of the book so far! 
Posted by [email protected]  On May 11, 2020 at 2:11 PM 2 Comments
  
 Want to read along and join the discussion? Check out "A Snicker of Magic" by Natalie Lloyd on Hoopla Digital!

A Snicker of Magic

Share your answers to the questions below in the comments and tell us what you thought of the book! 

Chapters 20-27 + epiloge
- When Felicity and her mama eat the Blackberry Surprise ice cream, they talk about factofabulous memories. Will you share one of your factofabulous memories?
- Aunt Cleo says that only fools run away from what they fear. Do you agree?
- What did Felicity forget at the Duel? What did she do instead?
- What happened at the Duel to break the curse?
- Did you enjoy this book? Why or why not? Give your opinion of the novel!


Vote for the May book!
Vote for the book you would like to read in May by leaving a comment below with the title you want to read! All titles are available instantly from hoopla digital!

"Because of Winn Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo
The summer Opal and her father move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket—and comes out with a dog… named Winn-Dixie. The dog is big and ugly but with a sterling sense of humor. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known and she spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship—and forgiveness—can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

"The Willoughbys" by Lois Lowry
Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their roles as good old-fashioned children. However, it is an unquestionably ruthless act that sets in motion the transformations that lead to their salvation and to happy endings for not only the four children, but their nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy magnate, and his long-lost son too. 

"Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. They leave Pax behind but Peter can’t stand the guilt; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds.


Posted by [email protected]  On Apr 27, 2020 at 12:45 PM 2 Comments
  
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