11 Birthdays

I've read two books this week and loved them both.  I had gotten stuck on a book for about two months which is never a good sign for me so it feels good to be back on a roll.  Do I dare blog about the one that stopped me dead in my tracks?  I would except it wasn't horrible; it just didn't motivate me to keep going but 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass was fun and moved at a fast enough pace that kept my attention and left me wondering.... what would it be like to turn 11 over and over and over again?

The book follows the familiar format of what would it be like to repeat a day;  in the footsteps of films such as Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  It gives you the chance to try new moves, say something differently and basically be a different person.  The moral of the story is of course that our lives are pretty special as they are and really, we need to live them as such because there aren't "do-overs" very often.

So why was I taken with this formulaic book?  Because it made me think!  Is there a day in my life that I would have liked to have a do-over and what would I have done differently.  Would those differences have had consequences that I can't see?  Do-overs are a dream come true for many kids and the opportunity to see that some of those do-overs have dire results is a valid lesson.  Additionally, I think the basic repeat of one day with some differences thrown in allows readers the chance to really understand and predict what is happening and more importantly what is coming.   I also love the characters and felt like they were well developed.  A strong and caring boy and a girl who learns to trust herself,  create a friendship that is very powerful and real.  Not an easy thing to do at this age when the opposite sex is either the enemy or something of interest and they don't know what to do about it.

Grade Recommendation:  A great book for 3rd through 5th.  It would be appropriate lower if the student is a strong reader and would be entertaining up to 6th grade if they could move beyond the age of the main characters.

Read Aloud Discussion:  A great read aloud as it has both male and female leads with plenty to talk about as far as social situations and the value of friendship. 

Mentor Text:  A great text to use when working with prediction because of the repeptive nature of the story.  It would also be a good text to demonstrate narrowing the focus to a particular moment in time.