Redwall: Ch 17-20, Book 1

Please answer these questions:

1. Why is it difficult for Ragear to think for himself whn he becomes separated from Cluny?

2. What conditions does Matthias find whenhe enters the church? What does Cluny's treatment of the church tell us about him?

2b - Have you have seen anyone treat something poorly, and that action affected how you viewed that person?

Redwall: Chapters 17-20 (book 1)

Each of the sentences below is spoken by Basil Stag Hare. To help clarify what Basil means, try paraphrasing the dialect given below in your own words.

1. "Capitol camouflage. You just try lying down anywhere in the shadows. Believe you me, you'd have trouble finding yourself."

2. "Top hole-cover, absolutely!"

3. "Never let it be said in the mess that Basil Stag Hare was backward in coming forward."

4. "... munching at the old nosebag."

Redwall - Ch 17-20

Assignment: Read Redwall Chapters 1-20

Vocabulary: Look up and Write the Definition for each of these words.

1. poleaxing
2. outmoded
3. curtilage
4. repast
5. ruminate
6. curmudgeon
7. fletching
8. haversack
9. flaccid
10 sibilant

Redwall - Ch 9-16

Read Redwall Chapters 9 through 16.

As you are reading, think about the use of fear. How does Cluny hope to use fear to his advantage? How do the residents of the Abby (both the permanent and the relocated residents)react to fear?

Please give this a lot of thought and be specific in your examples. I want a couple of good paragraphs on "fear".

Redwall - Chap 6 to 8

Assignment: Read chapters 6 - 8.

Questions:
Ch 6
What is Cluny's reaction to the death of somee of his followers in the cart crash? What value does he put on life?

Ch 7
What is "large happenings for a small mouse"?

what do you think it means when the Abbot thinks "young Matthias has hidden depths"

Ch 8
Do you think Cluny's dream was an omen?

Redwall - Chapters 2 - 5

Assignment:

Read Redwall chapters 2 through chapter 5

Questions:

What type of guy is Cluny as described in Chap 2 & 4 ?

Contrast the tone of the story in Chapters 2 & 4 versus Chapters 3 & 5.

What do you feel when reading ch 2 & 4 ?

What do you feel when reading ch 3 & 5 ?

By the end of Chapter 5 - what is Matthias and Constance & the rest feeling that they weren't before?

Redwall - Chapter 1

Assignment: Read Chapter 1 of Redwall.

Questions:
1. What does the first paragraph make you think about Matthias? What type of mouse is he? What specific phrase(s) lead you to believe that?

2. How does Father Abbot think of Matthias? Is he mad at Matthias for being who he is? Why or Why Not?

3. What's your opinion of Father Abbot's view that "the day of the warrior is gone". Do you think he's right? Why?

Redwall Preface - Pre-Picture

Seth's drawn picture from the Preface.

Redwall - Preface

A "preface" is at the beginning of the book, before chapter 1 begins. This section generally gives backround to the story, and introduces the reader to a character or a setting that is central to the story.

Assignment: Read the poem at the beginning of the book. "I - am that is." What do you think this means? Try to look at the poem all by itself. If you've read the story before, confine your thoughts to ONLY the poem without bringing what you know of the story into your analysis.

Assignment: Read the paragraphs on the page opposite the poem. "It was the start of the Summer of the Late Rose. ..." Draw a picture using marker, crayon, pencil, or paint. Use the words in these paragraphs to guide your drawing. Try to put on paper exactly what you see in your mind when you read these paragraphs.

Assignment: Redwall by Brian Jacques

For the next few ..posts... we will be discussing Redwall by Brian Jacques.

Please read it and then answer the questions as they are posted.

Question ?

What is your favorite book of all time?

Give us title and author, a synopsis of the plot, and details WHY you like it.

Robert Frost - part 2

I opened my book of Robert Frost at random, and here's another one to consider.

"Beech"
Where my imaginary line
Bends square in woods, an iron spine
And pile of real rocks have been founded.
And off this corner in the wild,
Where these are driving in and piled
One tree, by being deeply wounded,
Has been impressed as Witness Tree
And made commit to memory
My proof of being not unbounded.
Thus truth's established and borne out,
Though circumstanced with dark and doubt -
Though by a world of doubt surrounded
- The Moodie Forester

which is kind of hard to understand at first read. Read it again, and see what you can see :)

And, how about this one, a bit more fun.. and a lot shorter!

"Sycamore"
Zaccheus he
Did climb the tree
Our Lord to see
- The New England Primer

Tell me which of these two poems you like best and why.

Also - Write one of your own poems in the same style as "Sycamore".

Robert Frost

How about we move on to another poem.

Here is my favorite poem.

"The Armful" by Robert Frost

For every parcel I stoop down to seize
I lose some other off my arms and knees,
and the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns ...
Extremes too hard to comprehend at once.
Yet nothing I should care to leave behind.

With all I have to hold with hand and mind
And heart, if need be, I will do my best
To keep their building balanced at my breast.
I crouch down to prevent them as they fall;
Then sit down in the middle of them all
I had to drop the armful in the road
And try to stack them in a better load.

What does reading this poem make you feel?

What do you think it means?

Search and look for a poem by Robert Frost that you like and share it with us.

Book: DragonFlight by Anne McCaffrey

The first book we will discuss is going to be Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight. Book 1 in the Dragonriders of Pern series.



I have read this first book and have greatly enjoyed it. Let's start our discussion with the verses from the book.

Drummer, beat, and piper,blow,
Harper,strike, and soldier, go.
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Till the dawning Red Star passes.

What do you think this means? What is it foretelling?

From the Weyr and from the Bowl
Bronze and brown and blue and green
Rise the dragonmen of Pern
Aloft, on wing, seen, then unseen.

what does "seen and then unseen mean"?

I especially like this one below. It holds a wealth of wisdom.

Honor those the dragons heed,
In thought and favor, word and deed.
Worlds are lost or worlds are saved,
From the dangers dragon-braved.

Dragonman, avoid excess;
Greed will bring the Weyr distress;
To the ancient Laws adjere,
Prospers thus the Dragonweyr

Tell me what YOU think this means. Who is it warning? What does it warn of?

First Post

This blog will be for the sole purpose of discussing books. I want to encourage reading books, and then talkign about them. What we liked and what we didnt' like.

This will be a supplement to my son's homeschool curriculum and we welcome anyone to comment and join the discussion.

I will be posting the name of the book to be read along with reading assignments and questions. It may not be very structured, but we'll see about that as we go along.

Please join us!