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 Old Willis Place

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

Diana and her younger brother, Georgie, have been living on the grounds of the old Willis place for years. The children have seen caretakers of the Willis place come and go, but Diana, who has no friends, is tempted by the sight of Lissa, the caretakers’ daughter who is her age. Both girls are lonely and would like to be friends but Georgie reminds Diana that it's "against the rules" to have friends; that they must remain out of sight. The suspense continues to build as Diana narrates the story and Lissa writes in her diary.

Author Hahn uses two different storytelling devices in The Old Willis Place: Diana’s first person narrative and Lissa’s diary entries. The St. Petersburg Times provides news stories in many different writing styles, but a common tool that many reporters use is called “5 Ws an a H” (who, what, when, where, why, and how). These are the major questions that good reporters answer in the “lead” (beginning) of a newspaper article. Look through the Times for articles reporting on a mysterious situation (like a missing person, an unsolved criminal act or an anonymous act of kindness). Use one of these stories as a model and write the first paragraph or two of an article about the Old Willis Place as if you were a newspaper reporter covering the story. Share your story with other students across Tampa Bay by posting it below in the comments section. (Hint: you can write the story in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

Listening for Lions

Gloria Whelan’s novel, Listening for Lions, takes place in British East Africa in the year 1919 when 13-year-old Rachel loses her missionary parents during an influenza epidemic. Instead of her neighbors, the Pritchards, helping her, they involve her in a scheme to pass her off as their daughter and send her to visit their father who has disinherited them. Upon arriving in England, Rachel and the seriously ill grandfather develop a surprisingly strong, affectionate friendship. Rachel continues the scheme, believing that one more shock will kill the old gentleman. Rachel continues to grapple with her dishonesty, grief for her parents and homesickness for Africa.
Listening for Lions author Gloria Whelan 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.

Under the Same Sky

Cynthia DeFelice’s Under the Same Sky is about fourteen-year-old Joe Pedersen, a spoiled rich kid who begrudgingly joins the migrant workers on his father's upstate New York farm to earn the $1000 he needs to buy a Thunderbird motorbike. Determined to show his father he can keep pace with Manuel, the 16-year-old Mexican crew boss, Joe painfully acclimates to the grueling farm routine. Joe soon learns to respect the “illegal aliens” and to understand their hardships and courage.

This story highlights the plight of the immigrant Mexican farm laborers. Many migrant workers live, work and raise their children here in the Tampa Bay area. Look through the Times for articles about migrant families and the challenges immigrants (both legal and illegal) face. Imagine yourself in Joe Pedersen's situation -- only you are picking strawberries in Plant City instead of working New York state. Using details from articles you found in the Times about migrant and immigrant families, compare and contrast your life today with how it would be if you were a migrant worker.

Code Orange: As current as today's headlines

As current as today’s headlines, Code Orange will keep you turning pages to see if Mitty can save New York City from small pox. Mitty has discovered a smallpox scab in an old book and now he needs to know if he has been infected. Look through today’s St. Petersburg Times for articles about health, medical research or disease control. Write your own story idea with a similar theme to Code Orange and enter it in our Headlines Book Battle Contest. Click here for more information.

The Anybodies: facing family challenges

Fern and Howard Bone were switched at birth. As a result Fern is growing up with a family that does not understand her. Harry Potter was not switched at birth but he is growing up in a family that fears what he is able to do. In the St. Petersburg Times, there are often stories about family misunderstandings and challenges. Find a story in today’s Times about a family clashing over differences. Click on the comments section below, give the article name and page number, briefly describe the family’s problem and explain what magical power you would use to change their lives.