The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires February 3, 2009
Posted by jcarlson in : Animal Fiction, Podcasts, Poetry Fiction , 4comments
The narrator of this book is a mouse named Emmaline. Emmaline feels that she is “nothing more than a crumb gatherer, a cheese nibbler, a mouse-of-little purpose.” She moves into the Dickinson family’s house, into Emily’s bedroom to be exact. Emmaline discovers that Emily is a poet. She also discovers her own talent for writing poems. The two poets exchange their lovely poems which are inspired by their daily experiences. Eventually Emmaline has to leave. Read this book to find out why!
Emily Dickinson, one of the main characters in The Mouse of Amherst, is a real American poet who lived in Amherst, Massachusetts in the 1800’s. Emily was very quiet and stayed at home most of her life. She hid in her bedroom like a mouse hides in the wall. After her death, her sister discovered that Emily had written almost 2,000 poems. Although this book is fiction, it does contain some true information about Emily Dickinson as well as some of her poems.
~Mrs. Carlson~
To hear one of Emily Dickinson’s poems, listen to the podcast by Mrs. Carlson.
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech October 29, 2008
Posted by jcarlson in : Poetry Fiction , 10comments
If you loved reading Love That Dog, you must read Hate That Cat. In the continuing story of Jack, we learn that his teacher, Miss Stretchberry moved a grade with him. Jack still misses his dog Sky and continues to write poetry. In Hate That Cat, poetry writing is fun because Miss Stretchberry makes everything in school fun.
Throughout the book, Sharon Creech leaves you clues about silence and sound. You will not figure out what the clues mean until the end of the story. Read carefully to find out more about Jack’s family, his letters to Walter Dean Myers (a real life author) and how he feels about cats.
This book hooked me from the first page. The reading goes quickly because every page looks like a poem. At the end of the book, there is a list of poems from the story that are fun to read. As a huge fan of Sharon Creech, I was not disappointed; in fact I have given the book to two other teachers to read. They loved the story. So if you read Hate That Cat and love it, pass it on to someone else who will enjoy reading the book.
Let me know what you think and if you were surprised by the silence and sound clues.
Happy Reading,
Mrs. Shultz