GT After-school Literature for T3 (3/5 - 6/9)

We only provoide the study materials. Parents need to purchase the following books on their own.

Award-winning Literature Books

  • We pace the reading in 12 weeks.
  • We create activities in brainstorming the events in each chapter.
  • We hold weekly quizzes for more fun.

Early-Bird:   Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Flora is a self-described cynic, trying to navigate the challenges of having divorced parents. When her neighbor inadvertently vacuums up a squirrel in her yard, Flora performs CPR on him. Flora soon comes to realize that Ulysses is not an ordinary animal. She views him as a superhero because he is strong, can fly, type, understands English, and write poetry. Flora's mom is a romance writer who seems to pay more attention to her romance novels and a shepherdess lamp than she does her daughter. Since the divorce, Flora's dad, George, seems sadder and quieter. Flora turns to her favorite comic, The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto, to escape the heartache in her life. Flora (10) becomes friends with another boy William Spiver (11), similar to Flora as a divergent thinker, dealing with his own family problems.

Author Kate DiCamillo weaves a touching story about these two offbeat children and a squirrel that Flora's mom thinks is rabid and diseased. While there is plenty of silliness and laugh-out-loud moments, there are many valuable lessons for kids to learn from this book. As a retired elementary teacher, I believe most children at the upper elementary level will enjoy this book.

 

Elelementary:
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!

About the Author
Ellen Raskin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up during the Great Depression. She was the author of several novels, including the Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game, the Newbery Honor-winning Figgs & Phantoms, The Tattooed Potato and other clues, and The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel). She also wrote and illustrated many picture books and was an accomplished graphic artist. She designed dust jackets for dozens of books, including the first edition of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time. Ms. Raskin died at the age of fifty-six on August 8, 1984, in New York City.
 
Middle Level:
Call of the Wild by Jack London

This triumphant tale of survival follows the adventures of Buck, half-St. Bernard and half-Scottish sheepdog, who is forced into the brutal life of a sled-dog during the heady days of the Alaska gold rush.

The Call of the Wild, considered by many to be Jack London's greatest novel, is a gripping survival story of a heroic dog that, thrust into the brutal life of the Alaska Gold Rush, ultimately faces a choice between living in man's world and returning to nature. Adventure and animal-story enthusiasts as well as students and devotees of American literature will find this classic work a thrilling, memorable reading experience.