DOUBLE Review: Arnie Doughnut and Boy on the Porch

I looooove Sharon Creech.  If you haven't read Walk Two Moons yet, you HAVE to.  It is so good.  But since I've already read that, I just finished The Boy on the Porch by the same author.  This is the kind of country story I like (sorry, Hank the Cowdog).  The story is from the point of view of a couple who lives on a farm and one day find a boy asleep on their porch.  The story is very subtle and an excellent example of brevity.  I didn't love this book as much as Walk Two Moons, probably because there wasn't a romance element, but it was still very good.  2 for content, FIVE for brevity.  Seven Poppies out of ten.

Loved Arnie the Doughnut.  There are kid jokes and grownup jokes and a mystery, too! The one I read was Arnie the Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller.  Quick read, super fun - 3 for content, 3 for brevity.  Six Poppies for Arnie!
This is a time when my love for the book really showed in the organizer:

Graphic Organizer FAIL

Wow.  The View from Saturday is amazing. 

I never picked it up because the cover was sorta boring and after reading the blurb, I didn't think that a book about an Academic Bowl team would be that interesting.  Nerd alert!

But I was wrong.  It starts out a little slow, and then gets amazing.  E. L. Konigsburg shows that four kids can start a revolution!

4 points for content, 5 Poppies for brevity.  9 out of 10 Poppies!!!


Here's the story with this organizer, though: I made a rookie mistake and didn't put anything on the paper until I was totally done with the book.  Bad idea!  I remembered some of the good stuff, but not enough.  I don't know why I didn't write it down sooner...probably just too lazy.  Anyway, graphic organizer - FAIL, but book - EPIC.

Graphic Organizer Overview

Here I am, saying that brevity is everything, and I haven't been following my own advice.  Here's everything I've learned about graphic organizers so far.  In brief!
 
Making a Graphic Organizer
1) Pick a book
2) Read! 
3) Write down the book title and the author in a prominent place.
4) Think about how you want to organize your information: lists or pictures or grouping ideas.
5)  Add things that jump out at you to the organizer.  Quotes, themes, ideas, jokes. 
6) Make it YOURS - add color, doodles, drawings, flair! 


Graphic Organizer Hacks:
DON'T erase.
DON'T write something for every page.
DON'T stop reading during the good parts to write stuff down. 
DON'T write every character.
DO write down words that you don't understand so you can look them up later.
DO add pictures or color your graphic organizer.
DO write down page numbers.
DO make it fun! 

NO SPOILERS:
1) Write down keywords for events (e.g. write down "poison" but not "Poppy drinks poison.")
2) Write down characters in order of appearance
3) Draw a picture of the climax, NOT the resolution
4) If you must include a spoiler, tape a piece of paper over it
5) Review your organizer once you're done to make sure you don't spoil the book

If you love the book, it'll show in the organizer!
My organizer for graphic organizers:

No SPOILERS! Hiding Secrets in Your Graphic Organizer

We can all agree: SPOILERS are the WORST.  If you want to show a friend your graphic organizer but they haven't read the book, don't give away the ending! 

Here's a few ideas:
1) Write down keywords for events, rather than the whole thing.  You'll remember what happened with the poison, but you won't ruin it by saying, "Poppy drinks poison."
2) In mysteries, don't write down the suspects as the detective considers them, write down characters in order of appearance.  Be sure to check when you're done with the organizer that you didn't write the criminals as the last suspect! 
3) Draw a picture of the climax, NOT the resolution.
4)  If you feel like you REALLY, REALLY must include a spoiler because you won't remember the book otherwise, tape a piece of paper over it that says, SPOILER in huge letters!  That way, the reader can decide for herself.  (See picture)

Since I have been striking out with my book picks, I decided to go with Old Faithful, Miss Nancy Drew.  This is my first Nancy Drew Diaries, and I liked it!  Carolyn Keene (the author's pseudonym for all Nancy Drew books) has mysteries that are not too gory and always put Nancy and her friends George and Bess in a lavish location with lots of fashion opportunities.  That's right up my alley.

Nancy Drew Diaries: Curse of the Arctic Star
Content: 3  Brevity: 2  5 Poppies Total
Not bad!  If you want a mystery that's not too scary paired with a fancy location, it's worth a read.  I must warn you, though:  the Alaskan adventure continues in Strangers on a Train.  It's a conclusion, but it's not that satisfying.

SPOILER ALERT: Graphic Organizers

In this post, there will be a very important SPOILER.  Don't skip to the red letters and read it.  Don't do it.  Really, don't.  Did you do it?

For those of you who have self-control, keep reading.  Those wimps of you who skipped ahead to the spoiler - shame on you...just kidding. 
Okay, graphic organizers are a brilliant idea, I know.  (if I do say so myself)  They are awesome to help visual learners remember stuff, and they can also be a really cool idea for book reports.  Just make the organizer poster sized!  But there is something that can be really bad about graphically organizing a book: giving away the ending.  DON'T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING!!! 

SPOILER following

SPOILER just ahead...



Okay, it's the real deal.  SPOILER:  People who ruin the ends of books for other people are just THE WORST. 

There, I said it.  It is really bad if you meant to tell it, but it's still bad if you didn't mean to.  The book is still ruined.  Unless someone specifically asks you to reveal a book's ending, don't do it!  Take the necessary steps to make sure you're not a book spoiler by leaving it off your graphic organizer. 

Check out some ways to include things in your graphic organizer that help YOU remember the ending without spoiling the ending for anybody who looks at your organizer and hasn't read the book yet in my next post.

Poppy's Rating Guide

The Brevity Test

I've learned a lot from reading.  I get to visit magical places and vicariously live as an underdog, a villain, a princess, a boy...experiencing so much that I never could have otherwise.  Like most people, I think that the content in fiction is very important.  If I can't believe in the subject matter or learn from it, and most of all, if I'm not intrigued by a book's story, it's not worth reading. 

But lately I have come to a new realization: brevity is king!  A book can be brilliant, but if it's not concise, it's just not that good.  Especially in kids' books!  If I can't finish one of my books in a week, and if I can't read one of my baby brother's books to him in 15 minute installments, it's just not that good.  That doesn't mean that a long book (Harry Potter, anyone?!?) can't be brilliant.  In some books, the content makes the length absolutely necessary.  If the author is good enough, they can make long parts seem short because the story is so good.  Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet "brevity is the soul of wit."  And nobody's said it better (or shorter!) than that.

Rating Guide

So here's my rating system for kids' books:  1 to 5 for content, 1 to 5 for brevity.  For a total of 10 Poppies  A 1 for content means it's boooooring.  A 1 for brevity means it's way too long to keep the interest of a kid like me. 

So far, I've tried to make graphic organizers for The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog and Melonhead and the We-Fix-It Company.  I didn't like either. 

Hank the Cowdog: 2 for content.  3 for brevity.  5 out of 10 Poppies ;)
Melonhead and the We-Fix-It Company: 3 for content.  3 for brevity.  6 out of 10 Poppies



Melonhead review:  I was intrigued by the Washington, D. C.  setting.  There are interesting characters like Pops and Madame and the kids.  But mostly, nothing happened in the first 7 chapters.  The We-Fix-It Company had barely started, and Melonhead had only gotten into a couple of scrapes.  This was my first Melonhead book, so maybe I really missed out on the first ones.  But I stand by my 6 out of 10 Poppies.

Give Books a Chance! - Twenty Page Test

Here's my newest graphic organizer hack:  give a book a chance and if you don't like it, let it go!  My usual book test is to read the first 20 pages.  After that, you'll know if you love a book. I gave The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog way more than that...and it wasn't worth it.  Don't waste your time reading books you don't love!  There are a gajillion books out there - always give a book a chance, but if you're not in love, move on!

I wanted to love Hank the Cowdog.  I really did. 

After reading the first five chapters and skimming the rest, I have to admit: Hank the Cowdog is not for me.  First of all, I was OFFENDED that he called his deputy "worthless" to his face.  Not cool!  I don't care if you're a dog or a chicken or a kid, you can't say that.  As I read the first few chapters, I thought this might be a good book for my mom to read aloud to my little brother, but after the "worthless" part, I changed my mind. 

Sure, Hank has amusing parts.  Hank thinks he's very misunderstood and he says and does some things that make a dog feel good about himself and make humans laugh.  But mostly it takes a long time to get to the funny parts, and there's a lot of country humor.  I'm a city girl, so it just wasn't for me.  Blah blah blah coyotes blah chickens blah blah truck.  Blah blah NO THANKS.

Here's my graphic organizer for Hank...but I'm not proud of it.  If you love the book, it'll show in your graphic organizer.  And if you don't love the book, you'll get something like this:

 

Picking a Book

Picking a Book

Choosing a book is hard.  My mom always says you can't judge a book by its cover, but I totally do.  Pink with bows and sparkles?  No thanks.  Title with red, drippy letters and a side of creepy?  Heck no.

Usually I choose a book because my friends tell me it's good.  Sometimes I ask my teacher or a librarian.  Sometimes I go to whatshouldireadnext.com which is a really cool website that tells you books similar to one you've already read.  Sometimes I just go down the aisles of the library and pick a book with a good cover (that's right, I admitted it).

This time nothing was looking good in the library aisles.  I wanted something totally awesome for my first graphic organizer of the summer.  So I asked the librarian for a funny book.  She told me about the Amelia Bedelia books - too babyish - and the Wimpy Kid books - read 'em, but I'll probably reread at least one this summer.  Finally, she led me to the Hank the Cowdog books.  There were like TWENTY-FIVE of them on the shelf!  So I decided to take a chance on Hank.  I've already started my graphic organizer - I put the title and author in the middle of the page.  Now I've just got to buckle down and saddle up!  (do I sound cowboyish yet?)

Graphic Organizer Tutorial and Hacks

Here are Poppy's tips for making a graphic organizer to help you process and remember books.  Make sure to check out the picture at the bottom - it's a graphic organizer about how to make your own graphic organizer!  Tricky!

Graphic Organizer Tutorial
Step 1) Pick a book
Step 2) Read! 
Step 3) Write down the book title and the author in a prominent place.
Step 4) Think about how you want to organize your information.  You could make lists or draw pictures, and you can put them on the paper any way you want: top to bottom, left to right, bottom to top, out from the middle like rays of sunshine, or something else.  If you're really stuck, just start grouping ideas together (for example: characters, important quotes, setting) or get ideas from the book cover.  See examples below!
Step 5)  Write down things that jump out at you.  Important quotes, themes, ideas, funny jokes.  Anything that will help you remember the book.  Pictures work, too!
Step 6) Make it YOURS - add color, doodles, drawings, flair!  You can also write down the definitions to vocab words to help you remember the meanings and be able to make the word yours.


Graphic Organizer Hacks:
DON'T erase unless you absolutely have to.  Mistakes help you remember stuff (for example, when my baby brother bumps my pencil while I'm writing a quote down, sometimes it helps me recall the quote since some words look weird or have a line through them).
DON'T write something for every page.
DON'T stop reading in the middle of the good parts to write stuff down.  If it really jumped out and was going to help you remember the book, you'll remember to write it down later.
DON'T write every character.  BORING!  Just write the important ones.
DO write down words that you don't understand so you can look them up later.
DO add pictures or color your graphic organizer.
DO write down page numbers if you want to find something again.
DO make it fun!  If you're going to do this (or if your teacher is forcing you to do it), you might as well make it funny or pretty or cool.

My organizer for graphic organizers!!