The Green Book

Rating:
Summary: A rare book that both children and adults can love
Review: I first read The Green Book in fourth grade and finally managed to buy a copy about eight years later. It is a simple but beautiful story that manages to convey the power of family and hope alongside of scientific technology and discovery that anyone can understand. Kids and adults will identify with the excitement and heartbreak of having to leave one's homeland with only a few possessions. The theme of having to leave one's homeland in the first place is full of eagerness, but also sorrow.

The descriptions of the planet Shine are perfectly drawn, enough for us to picture it but not overkill. The discovery of the rock people is excellent, reminding the reader of all the strange and wonderful beings that could be out there. And the twist - the gimmick of "the green book" - is perfectly executed, much the way Roald Dahl ends his beloved book The BFG.

Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Alexander's Class
Review: Jill Patton Walsh has successfully written a book about a book! In this story she traces the journey of a small band of people as they journey to a new planet from a dying planet Earth. However, the most noteworthy piece of this story is how children who read this book learn the importance of journal writing and recording history. The subtlety Walsh uses to weave the almost thoughtless way the travelers selected the books that would be taken on the journey to the surprise revelation of the existence of Pattie's journal as a recorded history of the beginning of their new life on the planet is nothing short of masterful.

Rating:
Summary: GRT Kids: Cotton's Class
Review: This is an excellent book! You'll love to read it! It is such an original book. It is a book about a book! It never tells you what is happening to Earth. You never know what is going to happen next. Everytime the adults think that the people are going to die, the kids save the day! The kids are the heroes of the story. The author should write a sequel.