Are you ready to start our new read????

It's Love, Ruby Lavender, by Deborah Wiles!

I can't wait to talk to you about it!  So many of you have come up to me and practically been jumping up and down about it, saying you can't stop reading it!  All right, then!  We've got a winner here!!!!  I'll never forget the look on most of your faces when you saw the assignment: read the first 10 chapters by next Friday.  Your faces said, Are you serious?  And I said, Don't worry, it's really funny, it will go by so fast!  Sooooo. . .  when can I say I told you so?  =-)  

I got on Deborah Wiles' blog last night.  Actually, she has two of them: one to outline her book tour of 2007 with her newest book, The Aurora County All-Stars, and another one that tells what it's like to be a writer.  Very interesting stuff!  Here are her blog addresses:   http://deborahwiles.blogspot.com and  http://deborahwiles1.blogspot.com

As readers of Love, Ruby Lavender, you will really enjoy the first blog.  You will travel with Deborah to the real home of Ruby, meet the real Miss Eula (or at least witness the things she lived with), and see the real town represented in the book.  In the second blog, if you've ever wondered about the writing process (as I have) and what authentic writers are all about, you'll get an up close look at a great author!

Happy Reading!  See you Friday morning at 7:15 sharp! =-)

Have you finished????

I have!  Just tonight, I sat and read until I finished the rest of the book!  I look forward to discussing it with ya'll Friday morning.  Some of you -- no names mentioned here! -- have said you'll be glad to finish the book.  Others have said it's a favorite.  I feel a little of both!  We'll talk more about it Friday morning.  

One thing I want you to ponder:  have you ever wondered why it was against the law for slaves to learn to read?  It seems quite ridiculous to keep reading from anyone now, but ask yourself:  what did the masters think was the harm in letting the slaves know how to read?  Be prepared to talk about this in your blogs and in our group, as well as your overall impressions of the present-day characters versus the historical characters.

See you Friday morning, 7:15 in the library!

So . . . how was blogging today, book clubbers?

It was so much fun watching all of you figure out how to log on to your blog, and then wondering exactly what you were going to write. I can tell some of you have done this before, and some of you haven't. That's okay -- we'll all learn together! You can coach each other, too! Computer lab times are great for this, or at home on the internet (with your parents' permission). And remember, I offered any time you have free time during the day, you may come to the library and blog on one of the laptops (provided they aren't checked out by a class!). Just make sure that you've finished your classwork and checked with your teacher first. That might be great incentive!!!

So . . . the book. What do ya'll think about the chapters we've read so far? I think this book gives us a whole new perspective on the Underground Railroad. It shows us the fear experienced by the people who sheltered travellers. Also, I think it's interesting that Kansas, a free-soil state, also experienced its share of troubles where slavery was concerned. Chapter 16 was heartbreaking, when Solomon, the free black man, had to leave with the cruel slave catcher. I felt a lot of frustration toward the Quakers for not physically intervening at that point at such an outright injustice. It made me wonder if the slave catcher knew he could get away with the kidnapping because he knew about Quakers' nonviolent approach to life. It makes me wonder if Quakers were often taken advantage of in this same way. . .

Welcome, Thompson Book Club Bloggers!

How cool!  We are blogging about our latest book, Steal Away Home, by Lois Ruby.  It's a story about a curious 12 year old girl, Dana Shannon, who just moved into a home that has a very interesting past.  The home is 135 years old, and when her mother and Dana are renovating it, they happen upon a skeleton!  This story is sure to be exciting, as one chapter is in the here and now, and the next is in the past (1860s) and involves the Underground Railroad.  We are pumped about reading this book!  But we are really excited about being able to blog our thoughts on this new book in our series of readings this year!  

Let the blogging begin!