LEXILE 670/650
Given my recent owl obsession, it's a bummer that the great horned owl Mr. Ocax is the villain in Poppy by Avi. But alas, our heroine Poppy is a deer mouse who avenges the death of her fiance while defending her family from the dangers lurking in Dimwood Forest. During her journey, she meets some interesting characters and learns a lot about herself along the way.
Our last read aloud of fifth grade ties in with our science theme of biodiversity and the food chain. It also incorporates letter writing practice, further exploration of character traits, vocabulary development, and a review of figurative language such as the alliteration found in the speech patterns of Ereth the porcupine.
There are six books in the Poppy series, and it lends itself well
to a variety of elementary lessons. A teaching guide is located on the prolific author's website.
In the book Poppy's Return, I enjoyed the themes dealing with family dynamics: Poppy's reluctance to return to her childhood home, her strained relationships with her teenage son and her sister, the skunk Mephitis's feelings about his lack of family. But the story became clunky for me when the animals take control of an old bulldozer and destroy the derelict New House.
No comments:
Post a Comment