Fourth Grade Journey

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

Friday, August 7, 2015

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman...

How I Heard About It:   There has been a lot of buzz about this book so of course I wanted to check it out to see if it would be something I would use with my fourth graders.  I actually bought it for my Kindle since I was heading out of town, but now that I have read it; I will be buying a hard copy of it.  

What It Is About:  Emily is twelve years old and has just moved to San Francisco with her brother and their parents.  Normally, this move wouldn't be such a big deal, but her family has moved multiple times making it their goal to live in all 50 states.  Her parents are trying to publish a book about their experience living in all the states.  This move is actually a great thing for Emily because she is an avid reader and her idol Garrison Griswold lives in San Francisco.  He created her favorite online "literacy" game called Book Scavenger.  Upon arriving in San Francisco, Emily meets a new friend James and learns that Mr. Griswold has been attack and is in the hospital.  She and James find a rare copy of a novel and begin to learn that Griswold was planning on launching a new online game, but can't proceed with it because he is in the hospital.  Emily and James begin to solve the clues so they can figure out what Griswold had planned for the game.  They learn that there are several people who are interested in getting their hands on the rare book that Emily has in her possession.  Emily and James make it their mission to solve the game and hopefully meet Mr. Griswold along the way.    

What I Thought Of It:  This was a fun and enjoyable read.  The story moved along quickly and the mystery was engaging and pulled me in as a reader.  Any novel that revolves around books, authors, and the literary world, is a winner with me.  The character of Emily was the hit of this book and I so enjoyed getting to know her and the relationships she had with James, her brothers, and others in the story.  There were a few "bad" guy characters and those are always a winner with me.  This will definitely be a novel I share with my fourth graders in the coming school year.  

Who Should Read It:   I'm thinking of using this novel as our first read aloud for the 2015/2016 school year.  I know my fourth graders would enjoy it as much as I did.  I think it could be used as a read aloud in grades four, five, and six.  If a reader were to tackle this book on their own, they should be a strong reader in fourth grade or a fifth/sixth grade student.  This book also would be enjoy by adult readers who enjoy strong middle-school novels.

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars



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