Marshall’s Comments (group member since May 21, 2014)

Marshall’s comments from the Reading Rams Summer I, 2014 group.

Jennifer wrote: "When I first picked up the book, I wonder what peculiar children could possibly mean. I had a hard time reading the first part. It moved so slowly. When Jacob's grandfather was killed, I figured..."

I too am I excited to see what the next book holds. I think that the author is very creative and probably has a lot of story left to tell.

Tricia wrote: "I admit, I was getting the tiniest bit tired of realistic fiction, and I found this book a welcome change. It was just what I needed. Nothing wrong with our other books, but this one might have bee..."

I looked up the reading level and it said 6th grade. However, there were a lot of more difficult words, and there was definitely some content that was for more mature audiences than sixth grade.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It begins with hints that this book could become a fantasy, but as Jacob goes back in forth between belief and disbelief I was left hanging in the balance not know what direction the book would take. This kind of introduction is fantastic at pulling readers into the book.

As the plot developed it was a thrilling and exciting ride. The character development was complex and rich. The setting and concept of the loop they live in was understandable and believable in the sense that it made story sense. It obviously was a fictional story, but the characters and their actions were believable, despite being bizarre.

Many students could relate to Jacob who is disconnected with his parents, who lost someone that he loved, and who struggles with psychological issues. I would recommend the book to many students, because it is an exciting escape from the difficulties and tragedies of normal life.

This book reminds me of life of pi because life of pi was a fantasy that represented a reality. The main character says something about which story would you rather hear, the fantastical version or the grim reality. They both represent the same truth.
For some reason it seems like the fantasy aspect of this story could be Jaccob's way of dealing with loss and lack of meaning in his life.

Tricia wrote: "I didn’t enjoy this one as much as others, but I can still say that I liked it. It definitely had plenty going on in terms of Toby’s parental situation, war in the background and Wayne, friends, gi..."

I agree with you about Zachary. I thought he would have been more important. It was kind of disappointing. However I think there might be something to that. There were a lot disappointments in the book and boring things as well.

His mom lost the contest and left them, wayne died, hid dad grows worms, his girl of interest doesn't like them, and they live in middle of nowhere Texas.

Cynthia wrote: "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is not one of my favorites of the books that we have read so far. There is nothing wrong with the story except that it felt harried. At times, it was as if I was ..."

Following up on that last line, it makes me wonder if the author is writing this story as a juxtaposition to all the bad stuff. He says:

“I wonder if Zachary will tell this adventure to anyone…or talk about his time in Antler and the summer he met Cal and me.”

I mean that is probably the most random and inconsequential thing that happened that summer, compared to his mom leaving him and his friend dying, and the Vietnam war.

Or maybe that is a coping mechanism?

Very interesting ending.

This book was a good read that I believe would appeal to a wide range of ages. It is fairly appropriate and easy to read, but interesting enough for middle schoolers and maybe early high school as well.

This book dealt with themes that many kids face at some point: friendship, impressing members of the opposite sex, parents who are splitting up, kids who are different, popularity, and even death. Toby navigated these situations pretty well for a young guy, yet still showed some real emotions that are common for someone in his position to face.

For example, he really burried his emotions about his mom, and it effected the way he treated his friend and Zachary. But towards the end he showed a lot of maturity by helping out the hispanic kid with the girl Toby loved. This to be honest, was unbelievable. I didn't think Toby, or anyone, would really do something like that. Zachary showed some more realistic emotions when dealing with Zachary. He was disgusted by him, he didn't really like him for most of the book, but by the end, he figured he should help him out. That showed a lot of character.

What I thought was weird was how the book is named after Zachary Beaver, who was this strange side character. He wasn't really that important, and he was a very odd character. I wonder where the author got the idea to leave a drastically overweight in a trailer in a small town in Texas. That was weird centerpiece to create a story around.


Overall, this was not may favorite of the books we read. Small town texas is maybe just too boring for me. Worms and strange side shows and unrealistic love life. Also when you peal back the ridiculous parts it is really sad with his mom leaving and Wayne dying.

Sarah wrote: "A very good story! The 1930's was such an hard time in history. The family was very protective of Natalie and I feel Moose really did want to protect her from others. It's sad that they had to send..."

I agree, the book maintained a strong sense of place. I have not been to alcatrez, but I have spent some time in San Fransisco and I could really feel the Bay area presence in the descriptions. A good book is always providing you will descriptive details about the setting.

Sdg22 wrote: "I enjoyed reading this heartfelt story. As the book began, I thought I would be annoyed by the sarcasm of Moose, but his character surprised me as he matured into a thoughtful older brother. The a..."

There was a lot of transformation in this book. Your right about Piper. She came across as spoiled and mean spirited. However, she was able to redeem herself by the end through her efforts to help natalie.

I thought that this book provided some pretty mature themes and content while still catering to a younger audience. Moose is like many younger adolescents who want to fit in at school, have fun, and get as far from their family as possible. However, his attempts to do these things become problematic because of his sister's condition.

What I really liked about this book is that it is told from the perspective of a fairly egocentric young teenager, who is pretty typical for boys his age. Because it is told from his perspective, you really feel his point of view at first. For example, he was forced to move from his home and friends, he feels neglected because his Dad works to much, his mom is a little crazy and is always on his case, and he has to put up with his sister who gets more attention than he does. At first I really felt sorry for him and thought his parents were neglecting him. However, I kept reading, my perspective changed. I realized over time that this was a family who was going through a lot. Since it was the great depression and they were dealing with a highly autistic child, the Dad had to work whatever job he could find to make enough money. At this time in history, finding any job was hard, so you can't fault his dad for taking the job or for working so hard. Also, the Mom was not the best parent to Moose, but her craziness was explained by the desperation she felt for her daughter.
The author really writes the book in such a way were the reader comes up with these realizations at the same time that Moose does. Until finally, Moose realizes that his sister really should get help, and takes action. The ending is a nice entertaining and fanciful way of concluding a pretty tough situation.

Tricia wrote: "What an awesome book! Again, never read it before, but I know it's a 4th or 5th grade classic. How did I never read it? I remember in other literature classes, people have read and reviewed and eve..."

Or maybe students could make a real map of the different places he goes that includes the eventful things that he does. It could be a creative project that would an option for students to show that they read the book.

Cynthia wrote: "Maniac Magee is a very special book. I read it for the first time a couple of years ago and fell in love with the character of Jeffrey Magee. His innocence in accepting people for who they are ra..."

I agree that Maniac set a great example. I think he really shows himself to be an authentically nice person. While he does do a lot of "cool" stuff, he tends to see others without prejudice, and puts everyone else before himself.

I had never heard of this book before I read it for this class. Overall it was a fascinating plot and dealt with a lot of weighty issues such as abandonment, family, fitting in, standing up for your friends, dealing with bullies, and race. Students would not have much trouble making connections to themes in the story and engaging in discussions and writing topics based off any number of these issues.

This is exactly the kind of book that you want 4th or 5th graders reading because it evokes an emotional response in many different ways. This response will pull young reader in and get them engaged in the book. In addition they will likely connect to stories in their own lives that address similar issues. There is no better way to teach reading. If a person feels for the character and can relate he or she will actually want to read the book, instead of being required to. And if you can get a young reader to enjoy a few good books then you have a reader for life!

I personally thought the book generalized and oversimplified a lot of the topics it addressed such as race. However, it is an elementary level book. I wanted to see more realistic emotions and a more realistic portrayal of race struggles. But I guess that would have made it a different book. Other than that, it was fascinating read.

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Jennifer, I didn't think about how it would feel to remain 17 years old. I would enjoy it the first two years, then the novelty would certainly wear away. Another question that springs from that discussion is the pros/cons of remaining old or remaining young.
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That is a good question. They seem to think 17 is the best age to preserve oneself. This is another great question for students to discuss. I personally would pick an older age. I would rather be considered an adult for forever instead of being viewed as an ignorant kid even when I am 100!

Jennifer wrote: "I was not sure how I was going to feel about this book. When I started reading, it took a while to get into it. The man in the yellow suit entering the story helped. I thought he might have dran..."

Yes, book provides many opportunities for students to discuss as a class, or respond in a writing opportunity.

I really liked this book. For one, I really enjoy books that deal with deeper messages and themes. This book really played with the concepts of life in death. It considered the perception of death as an integral part in the cycle of life. Babbitt created this conundrum of immortal humans and she makes the reader wonder if they can be truly free to live. Is life as we know it impossible without the ever changing always in motion cycle that brings with it age, and ultimately death?

These questions really make this book rich with meaning. It goes to show that adolescent fiction can still breach hard topics that many would get consider adult. In fact Babbitt juxtaposes the age of Winnie the main character and the age of the targeted reader with the more adult themes for a reason. Young people generally do not consider questions of life and death. They are too busy caught up in the excitement and rush of being young and invincible. Young readers might wonder why Winnie did not drink from the spring.

However, over the course of the book Winnie learned a wise lesson. She learned to embrace the seasonality of life and subsequently she embraced her inevitable death. Young readers may not reach the same conclusion. But at the very least, it creates a great conversation start in which they can learn to create arguments and support them with the text.

Jennifer...


I agree about reading from the point of view of a captive animal. Do people really think about how it affects an animal to be snatched from their ecosystem and transplanted into a man-made structure. I would like to use this with my classes to discuss animals in captivity.
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This is an interesting thought. Unfortunately for Ivan, because of his upbringing he lives in a world where he is not fully human, nor does he know how to be Gorilla.

This may be a strange comparison, but many of my language learning students are caught in a tension similar to this. Because of the desire to fit into the dominate culture here, but because they started late learning English they find themselves having difficulty with both languages. Sadly I see some students who have difficulty with English in my class, then at Parent student teacher conferences they have difficulty understanding their parents who speak in spanish. Not all of my language learners are like this. But many seem to be stuck in between their culture and fitting in with their friends.

Jennifer wrote: "I really enjoyed reading this book! I generally like reading books with animals as characters. There were several times I had a tear in my eye. I liked that Ivan told the story from his point of..."


I generally don't like books with animals as the main characters, however, this book was an exception. Ivan was a very rich character who seemed very much like a gorilla raised as a human, instead of just being human character stuck in a gorilla body. His language was short and simple. For an animal book really well done!

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked how the different characters' personalities somewhat resembled the correct species. In many books with Animals in them the author just gives them a human personality that doesn't necessarily resemble the animal in any way. Each of the animal character in this book actually had personalities fitting with their species.

Also, I really appreciate the message about standing up for injustice. As a kid Julia sets an example by recognizing the injustice at the Mall and standing up against. Her Dad George also set a strong example. While he didn't really want to cause any commotion or loose his job, he eventually gave in to what was right even though it cost him his job. Unfortunately standing up for what is right doesn't always get you a reward. It often means accepting consequences no matter what they are.

For Ivan doing the right thing meant giving up everything he ever knew as normal. While his life wasn't good, he pretended that he was okay by pretending that his owner was good and that he lived in a "domain" instead of a cage. In order to fulfill his promise to Stella and get Ruby out he had to open his eyes to just how bad his conditions were. He had to admit how bad Mack was, even though Mack had raised him and taken care of him.

Ivan's journey was about being true to himself and about doing what was right for his friends. This message is powerful to anyone, but especially school aged kids. The pressure at school is to fit in and adapt in order to be cool. The message of this book is the opposite. We have to stand together instead of abandoning our friends, even if that means sacrificing fitting in.

V. wrote: "The entrance of Winn-Dixie into Opal’s life seems to have opened so many doors for her. She met lots of people who became good friends. As we learn more about each of them, they are real people w..."

I too saw many similarities to To Kill A Mockingbird. Without the richness of character development or plot. But a very similar family situation and small town and many of the same lessons about not judging other people.

Because of Winn Dixie was not my favorite book so far. It reminded me too much of To Kill a Mockingbird. While it is not my favorite I do think it would make a good book for a younger audience. It contains elements that they may deal with on a regular basis. There is the loss Opal feels for her mother. Unfortunately too many kids her age have experienced a loss of a parent for one reason or the other. Also Opal feels like an outsider. All too often kids don’t feel accepted by their peers. However, the small town atmosphere where everyone knows everyone would probably be hard for a lot of students to connect to. This book really did not give me a lot to write about