Alexandria of Africa - Eric Walters

Picture the scene... I'm into my very lofty reading goals for the summer.  I'm racing through some great books.  I'm half way through Eric Walters' book, 'Alexandria of Africa' and I LEFT the book at the neighbourhood pool!!! Argh! So frustrating.  And it's a library book.  Oops!  Good thing I'm the librarian.  I need to practice what I preach.

So I will start a post about this book and have to finish it when I locate the missing copy.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while.  It is popular in the library.  I try to read the unpopular books in order to broaden horizons of my students; but decided to see if this one was as good as the preteen readers proclaim.

I have to say Walters seems to have a definite theme wherein teens that are off the rails get payback through some very extreme punishments.  It can be quite satisfying.  Alexandria is another tough teen who is spoiled and has never had to account for her behaviour.  She is given an opportunity to serve 'time' in Africa, working for a charity.  Another Walters theme is novels which center around African communities struggling with lack of resources needed to provide the basic necessities.  Teens learning lessons in a different, eye opening environment is not only satisfying but educational for Walters audience.  We should be very thankful for these life lessons!

'Alexandria of Africa' teaches some great lessons.  Where I am currently, she has just visited the school which lacks many western touches, but makes up for this in the spirit of its students.  Literally, the middle of the book and our protagonist is starting to show signs of humanity!

Stay tuned for an update of the status of my lost library book and Alexandria's adventures.

5 hours later: Update!!! Book found! phew!

Finished this evening and it was a predictable ending.  It was satisfying to know that Alexandria learned that the excess that she enjoys at home is not even close to the norm in other parts of the world.  All people, young and old should have a similar experience.  It is so hard to teach gratitude on a daily basis when we do have so much and we are so lucky in many ways.

Sink or Swim - Valerie Coulman

This is a book that pops up on many lists for teaching character.  Simply put this is a book about life.  Life in a short picture book.  If that's possible.

Put these questions to your students:

Are you going to approach life with optimism?
Are you a pessimist at times?
Perhaps discuss the meaning of both of these words, regardless of age!
You can address so many character traits with this book.  Other than optimism, you can also discuss perseverance, caring, being confident...
For those of you who have a theme that you revisit throughout the year, I can see the phrase 'Not yet they don't' being a great mantra for your students who grow and develop through the school year.

For a class that is just learning how to do reading responses, this is a great first month read.  You can do shared responses on anchor charts and leave them up all year.  Revisit them to discuss how to do a proper reading response but also revisit the message of the book.  Not only will it be a good example of how to write a reading response but this story will underline what your students should say to themselves when they feel they can't do something

Not Yet They Can't!