Summer Book Report

I read many children's books this summer looking for good books to read aloud to my fourth grade students, but I didn't like any of them except Doll People. I wouldn't read this book to my fourth graders because it would be more appropriate for 2nd-3rd grade and it is definitely a "girl" book and I need books that appeal to both boys and girls. I decided to mention this book in my summer book report because Rachel LOVES it. When she and Erin Joy play together, I often hear the names of the characters from this book in their pretend play. I often see them acting out scenes from this book.

Imagine being a doll and never growing old. Imagine being played with by three generations of girls for a 100 year time period. What a great plot for a book! Annabelle Doll decides to leave the security of the doll house and search for Auntie Sarah who has been missing for 45 years. She has all sorts of adventures on her quest to find her aunt. I highly recommend this book for 8-10 year old girls who have great imaginations. Rachel gives this book 10 stars.
I read several adult books this summer and I highly recommend all of them. There was a theme to my summer reading (unintentional) and I didn't realize I had read so many depressing books. I'm need to read a light-mindless-happy-predictable book like an Agatha Christie mystery or something before summer is over so I don't dwell on these "heavy" books too much.

I highly recommend all four of these books. All the books are very memorable and have a powerful message. All of them are based on the author's life with the exception of the Gerald Lund book which is historical fiction. The message of forgiveness comes out strongly in these books. All of these people overcame tremendous obstacles or horrible experiences and made something of their lives. All the book contain the message of "God's light is more powerful than any darkness" (quote from Corrie ten Boom....can't remember it exactly, but many of the following books reminded me of her experience that she recorded in her book, The Hiding Place, in which she shares her experience of hiding Jews in Holland during WWII and her time in concentration camps.) Anyway, all of the following books are amazing.

Life and Death in Shanghai is about a woman in China during the cultural revolution. Her husband worked for a foreign oil company and after his death, she took his place in the company. She was very wealthy. Wealth and foreign connections were a bad combination during the cultural revolution and she was in prison for six years. During her six year long imprisonment full of torture, she NEVER confessed to anything she didn't do. That was unbelievable to me because in all of the literature I have read about the cultural revolution and the forced confessions, she was the first person I have known about who was able to withstand the torture and never write a false confession. She never gave in to her tormentors and remained strong in her conviction that she was innocent of the crimes she was being accused of. I was also amazed that she tried to make her prison cell a beautiful place by decorating it with pieces of toilet paper and the few other things she had access to. She really tried to make the best of her horrible situation. This is truly an inspiring book.
Shattered Silence is another inspiring book. The author, Melissa Moore, shares her experiences of growing up with a father who is a serial killer. She didn't know about his "dark side" until he was arrested when she was a teenager. She talks about the journey she has taken in building her self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence. She eventually turns to God to help her in her path of forgiveness and understanding. This was an excellent book too.
I couldn't put Left to Tell down. It isn't a long book, and I read it in one night, but I didn't get much sleep. Sometimes it was hard to read the words through my tears. While over one million Tutsis were being slaughtered brutally and their bodies covering Rwanda, Immaculee was hiding in a tiny bathroom with 7 other women. A nice Hutu reverend was hiding them in his house putting his own life in danger. Even his children didn't know about the women hiding in the tiny bathroom. His house was searched several times and the women were never discovered. He moved a wardrobe in front of the bathroom door and the wardrobe saved their lives. Actually, the wardrobe didn't save their lives, God saved their lives. There were so many times in this book that Immaculee should have been killed but was miraculously saved that there is no doubt in my mind that she was spared so she could tell about the horrible genocide that took place in Rwanda during the 1990s. I was impressed that she studied English and read whatever books the reverend brought to her while trapped in the bathroom. She prayed constantly and knew that God was protecting her. Her example of forgiveness is amazing. At the end of her story she was introduced to one of the people who brutally killed her mother and brother. She looked at the killer and said, "I forgive you." Wow!

Everybody needs to read this book....
I really enjoyed reading Gerald Lund's series The Work and the Glory. This book, Fire of the Covenant, is also about Mormon pioneers, but this book talks about the Willie and Martin handcart companies. The companies left too late in the season and were caught in early October snowstorms in Wyoming. Many, many people died. Even though the book is fiction, most of the characters were real people and the stories told in the book are true. The courage and faith of the people on the handcart companies are truly an inspiration. This was another book that I often had to read through tears.
That is my summer reading book report. I hope somebody who reads my little report will actually pick up one of these books and read it. They were all EXCELLENT. I definitely will read a light novel next because all four of these books were intense. Excellent, but intense....