Archive for the ‘Boomerang’ Category

2017-18 Arrow and Boomerang Titles!

Arrow and Boomerang Titles for 2017-18

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Presenting the 2017-2018 book lists for our literature program!

Full Year Bundle On Sale JUNE 1st

Ever wish you could teach the mechanics of writing in a natural, literature-bathed context? Well you can! Here at Brave Writer, we dedicate careful attention to providing you with language-rich materials that make learning the mechanics of writing as natural as learning to speak!

The Arrow (3rd-6th) and The Boomerang (7th-10th) are our language arts tools (digital magazines) that teach grammar, spelling, punctuation, and literary elements using living literature (a la Charlotte Mason). We pick books for you to read that represent a diversity of perspectives and writing genres to expand the horizons of your young charges. From those books, we select four passages for copywork and dictation, paired with easy to understand notes written in a conversational and engaging style.

Each issue publishes on the 1st of the month and will be available for download from a private folder on our Brave Writer Website.

Try it this year, and see the difference!

One caveat: We are offering Arrow and Boomerang book clubs for ALL 20 titles (registration opens in July). If you decide you want your kids to be in our 2017-18 book discussion clubs, know that the issues of the Arrow and Boomerang are included for the price of the club.

The Arrow Books

2017-18 Arrow Titles

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning by Daniel Handler
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata

The Boomerang Books

2017-18 Boomerang Titles

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Walking by Henry David Thoreau
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Georges by Alexandre Dumas
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Watch this introduction to all the books!

During June, you also have the chance to WIN either the Arrow or Boomerang Book Collection! We’ll post all the details on June 1. To enter, you’ll fill out a form. For additional entries, you’ll have the opportunity to share the contest with friends. We’re giving away 5 sets of books! International Brave Writer fans can play too (if you win, we’ll send you a $100 Amazon gift card). No purchase necessary. Stay tuned for more details.

We’re excited to read with your family during the coming year!

UPDATED: Enter the Giveaway HERE

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Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë!

Jane Eyre Boomerang Sale

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

In celebration of Charlotte Brontë’s birthday (born April 21, 1816), we’re making a special offer! The Boomerang for her novel, Jane Eyre, is:

HALF PRICE until Saturday at midnight EST! ($5.95)
OFFER HAS EXPIRED

Charlotte Brontë was born on April 21, 1816 in Yorkshire, England and was the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived childhood. All three sisters were authors and had their works published under masculine pseudonyms to conceal the fact that they were women in order to maintain some anonymity and to escape the prejudices against female authors.

Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, more commonly known today as simply Jane Eyre, was first published in 1847 under Charlotte’s pseudonym of Currer Bell and is considered a Gothic romance. The novel follows its titular protagonist, Jane, as she grows from abused orphan to a governess in the household of Mr. Rochester, with whom she falls in love. But all is not as it seems at Thornfield Hall; mysteries lurk within its walls with the power to tear the two apart.

Filled with yearning and palpable emotion, Jane Eyre is considered a literary classic.

So, celebrate Charlotte Brontë’s birthday and take advantage of this special offer!

If you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: Jane Eyre.

The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is geared toward 7th to 10th graders (ages 12—advanced, 13-15) and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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Poetry, Sports, and The Crossover with Kwame Alexander

Brave Writer Podcast: Kwame Alexander

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

We have a BONUS podcast for you! We had the opportunity to chat with Kwame Alexander, the Newbery winning poet whose books are turning a whole generation of Internet gamers and readers into true-blue lovers of poetry!

We featured Kwame’s book, The Crossover, in February’s Boomerang Book Club. It’s is a coming-of-age story told through a mix of free verse and hip-hop poetry that uses basketball as its subject. Publishers turned down Kwame’s book proposal dozens of times. I asked Kwame about it in the interview. His answer is hilarious! You’ll want to hear it.

You can download show notes for the episode.

Brave Writer Podcast Show Notes: Kwame Alexander

Tune in to the Brave Writer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher (or your app of choice), and also here on the Brave Writer blog. Please post a review on Apple Podcasts!

Also, check out Kwame’s books: The Playbook, The Crossover, and any of his 20 other books!

A Boomerang for The Crossover

One more thing! Brave Writer offers a Boomerang (the language arts tool that uses living literature to teach writing mechanics and literary devices through copywork and dictation) specifically for The Crossover. You can purchase it now as a single issue. Geared toward 7th to 10th graders, this Boomerang pops and sizzles with a wild variety of punctuation choices, font sizes and styles, and rhythmic language.

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Early English Boomerang Collection

Early English Boomerang Collection

Early English Collection of Boomerangs!

From the Mead-Hall to the Drawing-Room

6 Issue Set for $59.00
(Also sold individually)

With this special collection of Boomerangs, we offer you a guided tour of history-making classics from early English literature. The Boomerang is our literature guide that uses living literature to teach both the mechanics of writing as well as the wonderful content of the literature itself!

This particular collection is meant for high school and can satisfy half a credit toward a year’s course in literature. Most high school English programs require one year of British literature, a year of American, and a year of world literature. We’re happy to offer you this set of Boomerangs to help you fulfill that requirement.

You will receive all six issues at once. Or the Boomerangs can be purchased as single issues by clicking on the individual titles themselves.

Book List (books not included)

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

  • Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
  • Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Sir Gawain translated by Simon Armitage
  • Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
  • Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Purchase the books here.

Early English Boomerang Collection

What is the Boomerang?

The Boomerang is a digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context, using copywork and dictation. It is a language arts resource that equips you, the homeschooling parent, to fulfill your best intentions related to:

  • Spelling
  • Punctuation
  • Grammar
  • Literary elements
  • Quality living literature
  • Literary analysis

The practices of copywork and dictation teach your children the fundamentals of written communication. These practices naturally facilitate the development of accurate mechanics in the context of quality literature (the best words, in the best style, accurately edited).

Early English Boomerang Collection

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Movie Wednesday: The Princess Bride

Movie Wednesday

The Princess Bride is a fairy tale. The heroes are brave, the heroines are beautiful, and the villains are dastardly. The action flies from hillsides to clifftops, forests to castles, and there are too many sword fights, monsters, and one-­liners for the viewer to be bored for a moment.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Buttercup and Westley are madly in love, and she is devastated when he is lost at sea. By the time Westley returns, alive and well, Buttercup is engaged to the arrogant Prince Humperdinck. The only things between Westley and Buttercup’s certain happiness are the Shrieking Eels, the Cliffs of Insanity, a poisoned goblet of wine, a man with six fingers, the Fire Swamp, Prince Humperdinck’s Brute Squad, a machine for shortening life expectancy, and the Rodents of Unusual Size. Oh dear.

If you want a marvelous evening of entertainment and if you can cope with wanting to shout “Inconceivable!” every few minutes for the rest of your life, then this is the film for you!

Discussion Questions

  • If you’ve read the book, how do you think the adaptation compares with it?
  • The soundtrack was created by Mark Knopfler from the rock band Dire Straits. Would you have guessed if you hadn’t known? Why do you think the soundtrack works (or not)?
  • A famous line in the film is, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” If you were in Inigo’s place, how would you determine whether to forgive or seek revenge?
  • What are your thoughts about Westley’s resurrection at the hands of Miracle Max? Was it implausible? Did it show the miraculous power of true love? Explain.
  • The film was made in 1987 and so is almost 30 years old. ­­ Do you think it looks its age? How might certain scenes be changed with 21st century film technology?

Additional Resources

The Princess Bride Revisited – Tons of recipes, craft ideas, and more!

Princess Bride Backyard Movie Night – Love the name tags and tree signs they made.

Murdered by Pirates is Good: A Princess Bride Birthday Party – The cake is a must-see!

Eli’s Princess Bride Party – Complete with foam swords.

Miracle Max Revival Pills! – Chocolate Lace Biscuits.

The Princess Bride BoomerangLearn language arts naturally with The Princess Bride Boomerang!

The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is geared toward 8th to 10th graders (ages 12—advanced, 13-15) and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

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