Showing posts with label Autobiography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autobiography. Show all posts

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Student Saturday: My Cousin's Keeper by Simon French

 


Sttudent Reviewer: Humberto G.

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

The characters in "My cousin's Keeper" are Benn,Kieran, Renee, and Gina The setting takes place at his home and school.

Kieran, and Ben are related. At the start of the school year a boy shows up, which is Kieran ' cousin he doesn't know. Ben is in a really bad conditiona at home and at school. There are people at school who bully him. Kieran wants to be in a popular group with teh popular kids. When seh found out that they were relatedhe feels embarassed because of the way Ben looks. At home Ben has a mom who doesn't take good care of him. Ben has long braids, a babyish hat, and has a funny voice. Ben has an only friend which is Julia who likes Kieran.

Things I would do in this situation would be stand up for family. As we know Kieran and Ben are relatives and Kieran feels embarrassed to be Ben's cousin. Kieran lets people bully his cousin. I I was in this situation I would stand up and not be embarrassed over family and the way they look. This story has a big meaning to it and would recommend it to people who dealt with this tough time. I would also recommend this book to people who love drama.


Monday, May 25, 2020

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder



Genre:  Adult, autobiography
Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

For those of us who grew up reading the “Little House on the Prairie” series, this book is a must read. When I first started student teaching almost thirty years ago I created a whole unit around Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books.  I had just about anything that had been written about her. One flood took all of that away. When I saw this book I knew it was a must read. After reading this book you will discover how much of her series was true to life. Like any author, things were changed in her children’s books to fit the age, theme or character she had created. This is not a book for the younger child. However, the older teen who like me fell in love with who this author was would really enjoy this book . For me I grew up in the country. I lived in a house that got an  indoor  bathroom not too many years before we moved in, so I was very familiar with and hated, outhouses.  A lot of the things Laura grew up with, I did too. We lived in a modern house, yet so much from my great-grandmother was there and we were expected to use it. I think having that connection is what made the books so real and special to me. Knowing the extra’s I’ve learn through this book and others helped me reconnect.

This book is full of pictures and references. That is one thing I really enjoy because it adds another layer to my learning about this most beloved author. I knew from years back that Laura’s daughter Rose helped her turn her story into the fictionalized stories I read as a child. For me that made it even more special.  There was just something  special about Laura  taking her own life events and putting them into a story that children in future generations would be able to connect.  For anyone who has every read “The Little House Series” and want to know more about the author and their creation, then this is a must read.  This book is special enough to me that I have directions that it will go to my granddaughter Haylee when I am gone. When she first started reading chapter books I introduced her to Laura’s series. I wanted my granddaughter to grow up know what a wonderful story looked like. We discuss her books all the time.  So I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who has loved Laura Ingalls Wilder.