I love teaching literature groups. I just finished an intense and compelling one with 9 & 10 year olds on Monica Furlong's Juniper, now sadly out of print. I sold it to the students who chose it by comparing it to Harry Potter, and by the end the acclaim for it nearly surpassed HP. A story of magic, much of which is attained simply by mindful awareness, Juniper follows the life of a medieval princess who becomes a doran, a magical healer, through hard work and specially acquired knowledge. I asked the students to write a short essay and also provide five words that described their opinion of the book. Herewith some of their comments (spelling intact):"Slow start, fast middle, majic, addicting."
"Alsom, additting, simi-hard, exciting, magical."
"Thrilling. Can't put it down."
"Page-turner. Thrilling."
"Tense. Weird."
"It has good action but it is hard at first. It has the best description of any book I've ever seen."
My favorite line from a final essay: "When I found out they had to do a ritual naked I almost puked." (I did explain the scene by talking about purity and vulnerability, but I respect his reaction.)
And to bolster my belief that librarians are strong and mighty:
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