Molly’s Comments (group member since Jul 10, 2017)

Molly’s comments from the The Bee's Bookshelf group.

Grace Maxson wrote: "I haven't read it yet, but from what you've said I can't wait until I get it from the library!"

I'm excited to discuss it with you! It's been one of my favorites we've read so far!

Grace Maxson wrote: "Hmmm... I really don't know what I would do! That's a very difficult situation to be in. I think I would get really scared when the watch turned me invisible, but I wouldn't tell my mom. I would tr..."

I'm inclined to agree with you, Grace. I really think that the turning invisible part would scare me too, and I wouldn't want to mess with the watch more than necessary until I was completely sure what I was dealing with. It would also scare me when the watch zaps your energy. I would be afraid of using it and then being too weak and tired to do anything, especially if I was using it in a risky situation.

Michele wrote: "Hello Molly and all Bee's Readers,
I am so pleased to see that The Magician's Elephant is the newest bookshelf pick. I was just saying at Thanksgiving dinner that this was a wonderful story and I h..."

Hi, Michele! We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed The Magician's Elephant. I think it's my favorite Kate DiCamillo book I've read so far. Next on my reading list is her newest novel Raymie Nightingale.

I love hearing from those who listen to audiobooks. I think it's fun to compare reader experiences between print and audio. How interesting that the elephant has an Indian accent!

One of my favorite quotes that I've been repeating to myself since reading The Magician's Elephant is "What if? What if you merely tried?" I'm curious to hear what everyone else's favorite lines are!

We'll use this space to discuss our favorite moments and words from The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. Happy reading!

One of the questions I thought about why I was reading The Secret Keepers is what I would do if I had the watch. Would I keep it to myself? Would I tell my mom? Would I use the secret powers of the watch for personal gain? Would I try to return the watch to its owner?

What would you guys do with the watch? And, if you're not done with the book yet, what do you think Reuben is going to try to do with the watch?

I think that one of the coolest words in The Secret Keepers is "umbra." Reuben and his mom live in a city called New Umbra, and it's described as "a metropolis that was nonetheless as gloomy and rundown as a city could be."

Webster's Unabridged Online dictionary defines "umbra" as, "a shaded area : darkness."

I love when authors put thought into their place and character names, and I think it's really cool that Trenton Lee Stewart took the time to think of a perfectly fitting name for Reuben's city.

Zoe wrote: "Fish In A Tree and One For The Murphys by Linda Murray Hunt! Best books ever!!"

I haven't heard of either of those, but I'll definitely have to go check them out. Thanks so much for the recommendations, Zoe!

Neika wrote: "My kids and I just finished Save Me A Seat, by Sarah Weeks. It is more on a 4th to 5th grade reading level, but SO good!"

Hi, Neika! Thanks so much for the fabulous suggestion! Save Me a Seat is actually one of the Bee's 2018 Great Words, Great Works selected titles for the 5th grade. That means that we chose some of our 5th grade School Spelling Bee Study List words from it! We're big fans of the book here at the Bee!

What were some of your favorite words from The Secret Keepers? Use this thread to share them!

Let's use this space to discuss our thoughts, feelings, opinions, and reactions to The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart.

Michele wrote: "One thing that I found really interesting about List was the fact that the people concerned about the environment and global warming (who in today's reality would be considered "liberals") are also..."

Wow, Michele, you make such a good point. I hadn't thought about the irony that those who fought to save the planet were also those who wanted to suppress creative pursuits. Although it also didn't seem like the characters who were living on the fringes of society were necessarily opposed to protecting the environment.

I thought the explanation behind why John Noa wanted to limit language in order to protect the planet was interesting, and I wish that it would've been explored more in the book. For example, I would've enjoyed hearing Letta's thoughts concerning global warming and how she felt about language's role in protecting the earth.

Tyler wrote: "Here are a few of my favorite words from The List:
scavenger
guttural
turbulent
incessant
glowered
jittering
wordless
hewn

One thing that I found really interesting about List in the book was the ..."

I hadn't even realized the lack of "please" and "thank you" until you pointed it out. I would definitely need to add those to my List, too.

I also really like your list of favorite words from the book. I just looked up "wordless" in the dictionary to see how it's used regularly. I'm personally more familiar with the word "speechless." According to the dictionary, "wordless" seems to be used in the same way, as something that can't be expressed with words. I like that Patricia Forde created her own meaning for it, though.

Use this thread to share some of your favorite words from The List by Patricia Forde. Since language is of such importance in this month's selection, we'd also love to hear which words would make your List, and which words from the List in the story you wouldn't keep around.

Hello, everyone! Welcome to October. We'll use this space to discuss our thoughts, reactions, and feelings about The List by Patricia Forde. I'm particularly excited to hear what you think about a world in which language is limited. Which words would make your List?

Grace Maxson wrote: "Hmmmmmmmmmmm........... it would be really great if some random thing like a cow just popped up for a second and then vanished, and Professor Steg just said something along the lines of "Oh, that was just some dimensional interference. It happens all the time." I just really like when things like that happen. Not that it's not already random enough!"

That would be pretty funny! I'd like to see the father's reaction to something else pretty wacky/unbelievable popping up, like a mermaid, for example. Especially if it was something that wasn't in the kitchen, but that the father had to imagine on his own.

Michele wrote: "I would have loved a penguin in the story. I always feel that a penguin character adds a great deal to the general "feel-good atmosphere" of a story. Not to mention they more adorable than magical ..."

I completely agree—penguins would have made the story so much more fun! You can't help but be enchanted when a penguin pops up in a story.

Grace Maxson wrote: "Not really. I sort of just think of a meaning or a language I have in mind for that specific character/thing and look it up on a website. I need a bit of backstory before I decide."

That makes a lot of sense. I need to start trying that in my own writing.

I can't believe we're more than halfway through September already! I hope you all are enjoying Fortunately, the Milk and that it's inspired you to create your own wacky adventure stories. Here's something I've been thinking about lately...

The sister in the story wished that ponies could be a part of the dad's tale. What thing/place/detail do you wish could have been added to the story? Is there anything that you would add that would have made it even more exciting for you?

I can't wait to read what you guys come up with!

Grace Maxson wrote: "My mom sometimes mixes up my brothers' names but I don't know if that counts :)"

Haha! I think it counts, for sure. I do that with my dogs' names all the time.

Grace Maxson wrote: "That's so interesting! I just thought he made up a word that just sounded funny! But hey, learn something new every day."

I thought the exact same thing, Grace! It goes to show just how much thought authors put into their characters and stories.