WAR GAMES: preparing for the Battle of the Books

From Spring Hill to St. Pete, students all over the Tampa Bay area are gearing up for the 2008 Battle of the Books competition. Right now, students are reading and rereading the Sunshine State Young Readers and Florida Teens Read nominated books and talking about them at the Times Book Battle Blog. In a couple of months, participating schools will give a qualifying test to determine which students are the most familiar with all the stories from the books on the list. Next, participating schools have their own battle and winning school teams will move on to participate in area battles then district battles. It is exciting as any game show you will find on television and the competition is fierce!

Starting today, Times Book Battle Blog has a new discussion category that is focused on preparing for the battles ahead. We are looking for your ideas and tips on how to get ready for the big event. If you have book battled before, send a study skill or game strategy that helped you get in fighting shape to jwilson@sptimes.com. We will be awarding string backpacks and Subway coupons for the best ideas, so be sure to include your name, grade and school along with your submission.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Have you ever had a special possession (like a stuffed animal or action figure) that you thought of as real? Maybe even a friend? If so, you will like this story about a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. Instead of being a friend to his loving owner, 10-year-old Abilene, Edward is selfish and cold-hearted. When Edward falls overboard during the family’s ocean voyage, he begins to learn about fear, love, and humility.

Family keepsakes like a china rabbit, coin collection or teapot sometimes get lost like Edward, are given away or sold at a garage sale or in the classified ads. Look through the Times' classified ads and find an object that you would like to have as a special friend. If that object could talk, what would it say to convince you to bring it home? Describe the object and tell us its story by clicking on the comment button below.

Cabin on Trouble Creek

Can you imagine the movie Home Alone set in the harsh winter wilderness of the early 1800s? More dramatic than funny, Cabin on Trouble Creek is a gripping frontier tale based on an actual incident that occurred in 1803. This realistic tale of survival in the wilderness tells the story of Daniel, 11, and Will, 9, left alone after Pa leaves Ohio to go back to Pennsylvania to bring Ma and the rest of the children back to the wilderness. Pa had quickly built a cabin before leaving and the boys must finish it while waiting for Pa and Ma to return in a few weeks. Unfortunately, sickness keeps the parents from returning and the boys must survive the harsh winter on their own. Luckily, a Native American trapper teaches them some basic survival skills such as how to set snares to catch food. As the boys struggle through the winter, Daniel and Will mature as they learn to rely on themselves, their wits, and one another.

Cabin on Trouble Creek author Jean Van Leeuwen will speak at the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading on Oct. 27 at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. What question would you like to ask her about this book or her writing career in general? Post it on our blog and we will find out the answer at her session.

Have lots of questions or just want to meet this author? Join us at the Festival of Reading this Saturday. Be sure to bring your book for an autograph! For more information, go to www.festivalofreading.com.

Seven Wonders of Tampa Bay

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney is a book with an old-fashioned, folk-tale feel. Eben is fascinated by the seven wonders of the world, and his father challenges him to find seven wonders right in his small, rural home town of Sassafras Springs. Eben doubts that it is possible, but his father says that he can travel to Colorado if he manages to find all seven wonders in seven days.

The Tampa Bay area is home to some amazing wonders as well. Look through this week’s editions of the Times for pictures and stories about special people, places and things in your neighborhood or the entire Tampa Bay area. Share your list with us here by clicking on the comments link below.

A Bear Named Trouble: A story from the headlines

In Marion Dane Bauer’s book, A Bear Named Trouble, ten-year-old Jonathan and his father move to Anchorage, where his father is the new zookeeper. Jonathan loves animals and befriends a young, injured bear named Trouble who had broken into the zoo. After killing Mother Goose, the zoo’s favorite attraction for children, Jonathan struggles with his grief for the goose and his anger with Trouble. Eventually, Jonathan understands Trouble’s actions and plans a way to save the bear’s life.

A Bear Named Trouble is based on a true story. Look through the St. Petersburg Times for a story about an animal in trouble (or a photograph). Write your own story idea with a similar theme to Bear Named Trouble and enter it in our Headlines Book Battle Contest. Click here for more information.

Whittington: Life-Changing Decisions

In the book Whittington, the character Dick Whittington must make many decisions on his journey. Which do you think was the most difficult? Which of his decisons might be considered life-changing? Does Ben need to make a big decision about his reading ability?  How could his decision change his future? Look through the St. Petersburg Times for a story or picture that shows someone making a decision or dealing with the result of an earlier decision. Click on the comment button below and share a personal connection that links your example from the Times with a decision made by either Dick or Ben in the story Whittington.