Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Friday, August 14, 2015

Friend Friday #103 (Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan)...


Hi!  I am Vic and I read the book called Echo written by Pam Munoz Ryan.


I thought this book was unbelievably well written because it tells the tale of three young children, all with a gift for music, that come together at the end, all because of a single harmonica and a mystical tale.  


My favorite part in the story was the end which was amazing in itself 
because I'm not a person that likes the ending of too many books.  This ending was well crafted.  After the three characters overcome the hardships they were faced with, you find yourself clapping for them as they take the stage of one of the world's most famous orchestras.  A perfect way to end a perfect story.  

The character that I liked best was Friedrich because the lives of the characters in the story are well told and well developed.  Friedrich was a young boy who grew up in Germany during the beginning of WWII.  He was born with a large birth mark that covered much of the side of his face.  This mark and the fact that Friedrich was a fragile child led to many days of getting picked on and harassed at school.  It was so bad, that his father pulled him from school and got him a job working in the same factory he did.  After Friedrich's father is taken to a concentration camp for helping the local Jews of his community, Friedrich is forced to make many decisions.  In the end, the reader gets to see his strong will and his true bravery.  


I think the author wrote this book because she wanted to created a strong historical fiction story that young readers (and adults) would enjoy and learn from.  


I would recommend this book to my friends because 
the author has a way of pulling the reader into the lives of these three young characters.  She makes you see and feel how WWII impacted and changed all three of them differently, and then let's you feel rejoice as our characters accomplish their ultimate dreams.  


Reading to me is a favorite past time because it is a time I can be alone, enjoy a great story and start my day off right because I usually read in the early morning when the rest of my family is asleep.  It also connects me to the people I work with.  


*Vic and I have taught together for many years and have become great friends.  He is also a team member on my fourth grade team.

*We talk books daily and I'm always recommending novels for him to read.  I love giving him titles of middle-grade novels for him to share with his class.  






No comments:

Post a Comment