This is the week where I make the decisions about novels for next year’s Boomerang language arts program. Which ones will go from public to personal library? Which ones will accompany me to lounge chairs at the YMCA pool?
Because my reading for the last four years has been dominated by academic tomes of theology, I’m not nearly as current on fiction for junior and senior high. As I headed out the door to the library, I asked my college-bound daughter to add a few titles to the ones I’d already jotted down. She did more than throw out suggestions. She grabbed her keys, hopped in her car, and followed me there! We stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the young adult section while she pulled out titles and exclaimed, “Oh Mom, remember this one?” and “You should definitely pick this one. It’s one of my favorites.”
My stack grew. Titles like The Education of Little Tree and The House on Mango Street sat stacked on one shelf. I balanced three books, The Scarlet Pimpernel, And Then There Were None, and The Diary of Anne Frank, in my arms while tipping my head sideways to read the titles of the sequels to The Shakespeare Stealer (a favorite with Boomerangers this year). I added these to my already bulging list of books at home: The Shadow Spinner, Little Women, Jane Eyre, The Giver, Julie of the Wolves, Tom Sawyer and Call of the Wild/White Fang (the Jack London book that holds two great stories).
I’ll have the list narrowed to the selections for the fall by Friday. If you want to weigh in before I finalize the Boomerang list, feel free to add your thoughts to the comments.
The Boomerang is designed for kids between 7th and 9th grade (give or take a year depending on your child’s interests and abilities). It is a monthly subscription that offers you a digital download which features dictation passages, grammar and stylistic discussion of the passages and a group of “think piece” questions that help your child delve deeply into the content of the novel using freewriting. In addition to the Boomerang, we offer a Companion discussion group that meets three of four weeks every month to discuss the current novel selection. Last year’s Boomerang crew blew me away with their enthusiasm, attention to detail and critical insights. Makes me look forward to a whole new crop of books and deep discussions with the 2007-2008 Boomerangers. 🙂
The unruly gaggle of books lies on the floor next to me with their spines pointing upward. Eenie, meenie, miney, mo… Which book stays, which book goes…?
