It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8-4-14

Thanks to our dynamic hosts: Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kelle at Unleashing Readers.

Head to either blog to find reviews as well as dozens of links to other blogs filled with reviews!

 What I Read this Week:

Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin

Amulet Books, 2014

Historical Fantasy

288 pages (ARC)

Recommended for grades 4-6

Well, this book certainly caught me off guard!  Of course the cover and title suggest a fantasy-a girl and a bug as friends... But the story starts with such a realistic feel to it that when the fantasy begins you're almost not expecting it.

Franny is a young girl recovering from polio in the 1950s.  When the story opens she is in an iron lung-not a light and fluffy opening.  I was immediately drawn in to this historical story, and enjoyed the way the author explained what Franny was going through in a way that would build background knowledge for young readers.

Now, once Fleabrain the...flea, enters the story, things start to get a little crazy.  This flea has super powers, which are in his saliva.  The things Fleabrain and Franny do together are a bit out there, and in one way I was confused by the odd direction of the story, and in another sense I understood Rocklin's choices in how the relationship between bug and girl played out.

The author's note provides a nice historical background to the story, and following that is a series of discussion questions.

This is a book geared toward girls that enjoy high fantasy.

On Deck:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great reading week!