Sharing the Story: Memorable Memoirs

This winter, Lafayette School is taking a snow-covered stroll down memoir lane.  A memoir—from the French word meaning memory—is a collection of life stories written in first person voice. The memoirs are piled high on LMC shelves, so let’s grab our Reading Road Trip shovels and dig into the genre!

Our Top Story:  Where did the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and other Lafayette favorites find creative inspiration?  In Boy: Tales of Childhood, Roald Dahl shares childhood memories, including tales of summer vacations in Norway and anecdotes about life at English boarding school.

A Multi-Story House: In 26 Fairmount Avenue, a favorite author-illustrator shares heart-warming stories and humorous adventures from a childhood year in Connecticut.  The illustrated Newbery Honor-winning memoir covers a lot of ground: hurricanes and home life, Snow White and school life... and memorable moments with Nana Upstairs.

26 Fairmount Avenue Illustration by Natalie B.

That’s Our Newbery Medal-Winning Story, and We’re Sticking to It: In Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos remembers the summer of 1962—when he was twelve years old, grounded, and assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a strange task. The autobiographical novel is packed with plot twists, history lessons, and Girl Scout cookies!

A Moving Story:  In Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, Lafayette favorite author Peg Kehret describes her childhood bout with polio and her courageous efforts to overcome the ongoing effects of the disease.  Take a look at a RRT author interview, produced by Shannon and Georgia:

Lafayette's Mrs. Ferrone feels a personal connection to Small Steps: her aunt had polio.  The BSI coordinator and Reading Specialist shares, "We watched Aunt Gerry bravely deal with this disease... Her disability never dimmed her spirit, just as Peg Kehret bravely faced life and met polio head on."

Randi, Summer, Molly, Annie, and Amy 

produced another Small Steps author interview: 

Small Steps Sketch-a-Scene by Jane B.

Small Steps Plot Project by Kaitlyn F. and Molly R.

Small Steps Project by Sara R.

A Likely Story:  In Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about Growing Up Scieszka, Jon Scieszka describes what it was like growing up in a house with six brothers during the 1950s. From comic books to Catholic school, from summers at the lake to babysitting on the homefront, Knucklehead is full of Scieszka chuckles!

We’re gazing out the big LMC window, and it looks like it might snow... again!  If there is wintry weather tomorrow, we’re going to make cocoa, grab notebooks and sharpened pencils, find comfortable chairs, and begin to write our memoirs.  But that’s another story!

Abracadabra: Fantastic Reading Magic!

What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.

~ Harry Houdini

Lafayette Reading Road Trippers are using their eyes and their ears and their imaginative minds this winter, reading books with magical themes and creating hocus-pocus projects!

Who Was Harry Houdini? by Tui Sutherland. 

A Magical Biography: From his breakthrough act in 1899 to his death on Halloween in 1926, Harry Houdini thrilled audiences with amazing feats and sensational stunts, freeing himself from ropes, handcuffs, milk cans, prison cells, and strait jackets.  This title from Lafayette School’s favorite biography series provides an illustrated introduction to the life and legend of the world-famous Hungarian-American magician and escape artist.

Here's The Great Escape, featuring Ella, Olivia, Jane, and Samantha:

Meanwhile, Liam, Matt, and Mike produced a puppet show about 

The Great Houdini:

Dorko the Magnificent by Andrea Beaty.

Waving the Magic Wand: Robbie Darko loves magic, but something always goes wrong with his tricks. Then cranky Grandma Melvyn moves in and takes over his bedroom. The two become unlikely friends, showing the world that Robbie is a true magician. Shortly after a successful talent show, Grandma Melvyn performs a final disappearing act, and Robbie learns something about the true meaning of magic.  Take a look at a magnificent video, produced by Andrea, Cornelia, and Jamie:

Dorko the Magnificent by Sarah F.

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling. The Magic Touch: Reading Road Trippers are devouring this story—inspired by the Greek Myth of King Midas—about a chocolate-loving boy who acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate!    Take a look at a delicious book trailer, created and performed by Ali, C.J., and Stella:

While we're sampling The Chocolate Touch, let's watch a Reading Road Trip interview with protagonist (main character) John Midas, written and performed by Annie, Michaela, and Kiera:

The Chocolate Touch Acrostic Poem by Rachel and Amy.

The Chocolate Touch by Tamer F.

Savvy by Ingrid Law.

Say the Magic Word: Generations of the Beaumont family have harbored a magical secret:  supernatural powers unique to each family member.  They move mountains, create hurricanes, and spark electricity! This popular Reading Road Trip title recounts the unforgettable adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday promises to reveal her “savvy”—just as her father is injured in a horrible accident.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver.

More Magic: Locked away by her stepmother in a dismal attic room after her father’s death, Liesl befriends a lonely ghost named Po.  Magic happens when Liesl and Po meet Will, an alchemist’s apprentice who has bungled an important delivery and needs the friends' help to make things right.

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu.

Works Like Magic: Oscar works as a shop boy for the most powerful magician in an island village, grinding herbs in a cellar room and dreaming of wizards from generations past.  Oscar is shy and a bit of a misfit—but things change when he realizes he may be the only person who can save his village from a sinister threat.  Will magic be enough to keep the island safe?

An Abracadabra Reading Road Trip wouldn't be complete without a visit with Harry Potter. Lafayette students are reading and re-reading the seven books in the popular series-- and creating projects inspired by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Here's a Harry Potter Puppet Play, performed by Julia B, Carol B, Kyle B, and Jasmine L:

I am a great admirer of mystery and magic. Look at this life - all mystery and magic. 

~ Harry Houdini

Read on, Reading Road Trippers... Explore the mystery and magic!

Extreme Reading: Adventure and Survival Stories

From the New Hampshire woods to the Oregon coast; from Mt. Everest's summit to Atlantic Ocean depths; from ancient Pompeii to modern-day Japan, Reading Road Trippers are exploring a collection of adventure and survival stories guaranteed to keep readers on the edges of their seats!

First Impressions, Loyalty, and Courage:  In A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements, Hardy Elementary School’s annual week-long camping trip in the New Hampshire woods tests fifth-grader Mark's survival skills—and his ability to relate to Mr. Maxwell, a teacher who seems to think that Mark is a rich, know-it-all slacker. 

Adventure on the Oregon Coast: Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret.  When an earthquake creates a tsunami while thirteen-year-old Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at a Pacific Coast resort, he tries to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years.  Let's read an acrostic poem inspired by the book:

Escaping the Giant Wave by Michaela F.

Entertaining

Scary

Crazy

Adventures

Popular

Interesting

Nature

Great

Tsunami

Happy

Everyone likes it

Gigantic wave

Important

Awesome book

Never boring

Terrifying

Wave

Awesome

Very good

Exciting

Escaping the Giant Wave by nick V.

Explore Four Page-Turning Series from Gordon Korman:

In Dive Book One: The Discovery, four young research divers find themselves seeking centuries-old treasure and fending off killer sharks during a summer internship.

In Everest: In Book One: The Contest, Four climbers, winners of an American Junior Alpine Association contest, vie to become the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Everest Word Search by Peter and Will.

In Island Book One: Shipwreck, six children struggle to survive on a Pacific island after a storm destroys their boat.

In Titanic Book One: Unsinkable, the lives of four young passengers—Paddy, Sophie, Juliana, and Alphie—become fatefully linked aboard the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

Backwoods Adventure: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with the aid of a hatchet given to him by his mother.  With no time for self-pity or despair, Brian's survival experience also begins to teach him how to deal with his parents' divorce. 

Take a look at an author interview created by Gio and Peter:

Traveling the Timeline of History with the I Survived… series by Lauren Tarshis: Each one of these wildly popular Reading Road Trip titles tells an adventure and survival story from history through the eyes of a young person who lived to tell the tale. 

Inspired by the I Survived... series, 

Amy, Anna, Annie, and Cami created an author interview:

I Survived… The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79: When Mt. Vesuvius explodes into a cloud of fiery ash and rocks rain from the sky, will Marcus and his father have time to escape the epic destruction of Pompeii?  

Check out this Reading Road Trip author interview, produced by Peter and Will:

 Peyton and Justin created an I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii 

author interview project:

I Survived… The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863: Child slave Thomas and his sister Birdie journey north and meet Union soldiers who have orders to fight at Gettysburg.

Ryan and Michael offered up an I Survived author interview:

I Survived… The San Francisco Earthquake, 1906: Ten-year-old Leo, a newsboy in 1906 San Francisco, finds himself stranded in the aftermath of disaster as the city crumbles and burns to the ground. 

Reading Road Trip Diorama by Ava.

I Survived… The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912: Ten-year-old George Calder's life changes forever as he, little sister Phoebe, and Aunt Daisy set out across the ocean on the Titanic in 1912.

Abby, Maddie, and Clare created an I Survived RRT project:

I Survived… The Shark Attacks of 1916: Chet Roscow, thrilled by stories of a great white shark lurking along the Atlantic coast, wonders if he sees the beast in the waters of Springfield, New Jersey.

Here's a RRT author interview, featuring Annie, Victoria, and friends:

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916 by Casey O.

I Survived… The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941: Eleven-year-old Danny Crane witnesses the bombing of Pearl Harbor and must find his way home amidst the terror and chaos of the attack.

I Survived… The Nazi Invasion, 1944:  Max and Zena Rosen escape from their Polish ghetto, joining with the Jewish resistance in the fight against the Nazis.

I Survived… The Attacks of September, 11, 2001: Lucas takes a train to New York City to talk to his dad's friend, a firefighter and former football player, on the day the Twin Towers are attacked.

Abigail, Clare, and Maddy created an author interview:

I Survived… Hurricane Katrina, 2005: Barry’s family prepares to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina hits, but when a little sister gets very sick, they are forced to stay home and face the storm.  Here's another acrostic poem, one that makes a real-life connection to our adventure and survival books:

I Survived Hurricane Sandy by Eesha N.

I cried
Scared and sad, freaky and mad
Ugly sights all around
Ruined homes
Violence abounds
Intense force
Violent and ghoulish winds
Endless falling trees
Dark and eerie nights
Happy days were not in sight
Until we got our lights
Running around to a charging station
Running around to find gas
Ice was scarce, none in our freezer
Connections lost, flaring tempers
A generator in sight brought some smiles
Nice and warm showers
Ended cold nights
Stars were shining
All through the night
None seem bothered by our plight
Dancing and shimmering
Yellow and bright

I Survived… The Japanese Tsunami, 2011: While visiting his deceased father's hometown in Japan, Ben and his family are swept away by a devastating tsunami, leaving him stranded and alone in a far-from-home country.  Check out a Reading Road Trip diorama depicting the oncoming tsunami:

Diorama created by Colleen and Olivia.