A December Book

I'm sorry I slacked off for November and never put a book up here!!! Maybe you were all too busy to read one anyway. I'm not sure if anyone besides Becky and me read The Westing Game, but if you did, we'd still love to hear from you!

Our book for the month of December is another Newberry winner, back in 1962. Doesn't that sound like forever ago?!?! The book is The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. She is the author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Sign of the Beaver. I think this book is timeless though, and that you won't find it old or stuffy. Let me share with you a review I read on Amazon of the book:

"I am an adult godfather always looking for good books for my young friends. This is one of my three best finds in years. (The others were The Witch of Blackbird Pond, also by Elizabeth Speare, and A Line In The Sand, the Alamo diary in the Dear America series.)
The story is told in the time of Jesus in a village near where Jesus teaches those who come to hear him. Daniel, a young outcast, is sworn to fight the Romans with the goal of throwing them out of the land altogether. There are many other young men who want to do the same thing, but they need a leader. What they do, how they prepare, their speculation whether the new teacher Jesus may be that leader, and most of all, Daniel's struggles between his oath and what Jesus has said to him, are the story.
This is not a religious book, though its end point is the second great commandment Jesus gave (Matthew 22:39). It is a book about life in the time, the unrest and resistance of many Jews to Roman rule, the confusion of many Jews looking for a military messiah trying to decide if Jesus could be that man. But more than that, it is like any other moral tale of any other time, a story of a man trying to decide what is the right thing for him to do.
It is not simplistic, I'm 57 and I read it entirely, but neither is it difficult reading. I strongly recommend it for anyone from 9 years on. "

After reading the review, you can understand a little more why I might have chosen it for December. I thought it was so interesting to understand a little more the Jewish people at the time of Christ. As the reviewer states, it isn't a huge emotional or spiritual book, yet I found myself crying as I finished the book, for it is a touching story of how one boy decides what type of person he will become. Of course, I read this book a couple of months ago, while pregnant, so the crying thing doesn't really hold much ground as I find I tear up at anything remotely touching these days.

As it is an older book, there should be copies at your library, but you can also order it online through Amazon for just a penny, plus shipping. The picture of the book cover will take you to the Amazon page. Leave me some comments if you plan on reading with us!

Spoiler Alert - The Westing Game!

"I try to say one thing with my work: A book is a wonderful place to be. A book is a package, a gift package, a surprise package -- and within the wrappings is a whole new world and beyond." --Ellen Raskin

Here it is, the 8th of November already, and I haven't yet posted our discussion questions for The Westing Game!!! I hope some of you were able to read it. I know it is quite different from last month's book, but I also felt it had some similar overall themes. What did you think? Post some of your comments on this book so we can get talking about it! Below are some questions to get you thinking, like before, but just write your thoughts, what you want to write about.

1. Did you like the book overall? Why or why not? What did you like? What didn't you like?

2. Did you feel like you connected with any of the characters?

3. Were there any specific passages that stood out to you?

4. How do the themes of this story compare to The Goose Girl? Do you find any similarities?

5. In Chapter 23, each pair of heirs is given the opportunity to reveal its solutions. Although it's announced that all answers are wrong, Chris's response is profound. He says, "I think Mr. Westing is a g-good man. I think his last wish was to do g-good deeds. He gave me a p-partner who helped me. He g-gave everybody the p-perfect p-partner to m-make friends." Do you agree? What are some of the positive things that come from the partnerships?

6. Did you find any parts of the book funny? What were some of your favorite humorous details?

7. Why do you think Turtle never shares her secret of Windy Windkloppel's fourth identity?

8. Although Turtle is the only heir who won the inheritance, all the participants benefited from playing the game. Choose one of your favorite characters and describe how he or she benefited from the game.

9. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not? To a teenager?

Ellen Raskin won the Newberry Award for this book. She has also written other young adult novels, including The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I mean Noel) and Figgs and Phantoms. She has written several children's books too!