Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Someone told me that their daughter thought this book was "a LITTLE sad." Umm, try uncontrollable crying. Maybe it was just me feeling sentimental, but I thought this book was so sad. But sad like you feel for the characters, not like a tragedy happens during the story. You already know the tragedy before the story starts. It is the healing process that made me so weepy. Definitely a book I will recommend to my students. Don't think I could get through reading it aloud. I know the cover will totally turn off any boy fifth grade readers, but I would still try.

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Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes

I know Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes is not a very new book or anything, but I just got to it. I am so glad I did! I really liked this book. I absolutely loved the way Henkes dealt with the subject of life and death and how fragile life is. I thought the young girl was so believable and so genuine. The book also taps in on a topic that I myself would have related to at Martha, the main character's, age. (Puppy love and the disappointment of an immature teenage boy's idea of fun) I thought the family of the book was realistic even though the father was a stay-at-home father, which is not the norm. I thought the dynamic of a father who was torn between following a dream or providing for a family, and the mother who was a little over-worked would ring true for many families today. The writing in this book is some of the best I have read this summer. Kevin Henkes has a wonderful way with verbs and drawing the reader into each and every sequence of the story.
That being said, I have to admit I felt the ending was a little abrupt and I would have liked to have seen more of the plot line resolved. I also felt the cussing in the book and some of the more risque topics might be a little too much for a fifth grade student. Although I would not hesitate to recommend it to some of my more mature readers.