Friday, October 22, 2010

Concise, Precise Summaries

Readers,

As a voracious reader, I love discussing books with other lovers of literature. I have joined book clubs, emailed with friends, and sat down over many meals where the conversation turned to what everyone was reading. Books are a part of my life.

However, I have noticed I have certain friends who never fail to disappoint me with their EXCELLENT recommendations. I finally figured out why they are so great at this life skill ...

When recommending a book to me, they give a concise, precise summary of the book. Their summary consist of the main characters, the setting, and the problem and solution, otherwise known as, the plot. They use LITERARY ELEMENTS to explain what the book is about!

I would like for you to write a short summary about the fiction book you are reading, including characters, setting, and the plot (problem/solution). Assume I have not read the book and be sure to edit your work.

Here is an example from Ida B.

Ida B
is about a young girl, who lives with her mom and dad on a farm and is home schooled after an unpleasant experience at school. She lives a happy life, using her imagination to play on the farm and with her pets. Sadly, her mother gets cancer and Ida B's life is turned upside down and she is heart-broken. She must return to school and she makes a decision to change into a person with a cold, hard heart.


I cannot wait to see your understanding of what you are reading!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...
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cs said...

Clementine is in trouble again. Not only for not paying attention or for not sitting still but for cutting off Margaret's hair. Now Clementine is afraid that her parents will give her away. Her parents are throwing a party and she thinks it's a going away party. After all the party was for her great idea to get the pigeons to leave the front of the apartment building, and everybody lives happily ever after (for now)!

Anonymous said...

The book, Rules is about a girl named Catherine who has a brother with Autisum. His name is David. She's going to have a new neighbor her age.She does NOT want her brouther to ruin her frindship by acting crazy so she makes rules to try and teach him. Her brother has to go to a program every week for special people. She loves to draw so she always brings her pad,and colored pencils There is a boy named jason who can not talk. Since he can not talk he has a book with words.To talk he points at one word than anouther and finally makes what he wants to say. She asks him if he wants her to make cards for him and he says yes.He really likes the words she makes because they are fun and colorful words.

CB said...

My book is rules. the main characters are Catherine and David. they live in a neighberhood just like you and me. david has autism and his sister tries to help by making rules.

JL said...

My fiction book is about a little girl named Clementine and she hasn't had a very good week. But at the end they all decide that clementine is a good little girl.




from,
Jackson

Olivia said...

Rules is about a young girl named Catherine who lives with her mom, dad, and her little brother named David, who has autism. Catherine makes rules for David to follow. Along the way, Catherine meets a boy named Jason at therapy for David. Jason cannot walk and he cannot speak either. They become friends and Catherine learns to respect her brother and her friends no matter what they look like.

SD said...

Rules
12 year old Catherine is growing up at her house with an autisic brother named David. She has to overcome his behavior as she makes rules to help him behave. Meanwhile, a new neighbor moves in next door. It seems Catherine's life is getting better every day. But now, school is just around the corner.

BT said...

Each Little Bird That Sings is an amazing book about a girl named Comfort Snowberger. Her family lives in a funeral home,in a quiet, small, peaceful town called Snapfinger, Mississippi. Everything is almost perfect for the Snowberger's until two sudden death's happen which just happened to be their own Great Uncle Edisto and Great-Great Aunt Florentine. Comfort's friend, Declaration, was a funny, happy person until now, and things just might not be what they seem to be. If you are reading this book like I am, you know how great this book is.
BT

JS said...

Matilda has just begun school and already should be in fifth grade but Miss. Trunchbull won’t have it. She says, “ No matter how smart a youngling is she should always stay in her grade.” Her parents think that she is stupid, can’t do anything, and is a nobody but she knows how to deal with them by pranking them.

Pb said...

Clementine is a girl in third grade. Clementine cut off Margerets hair because, Margeret got glue in her hair at school. Clementine drew hair on Margerets bald spots. Clementine cut off her own hair to make Margeret fell better.

BW said...

Rules is about Cathrine and her obnoxios, autistic brother,David. Cathrine has a great amagination and loves to draw, but has to keep reminding David his rules. His rules range from keep your pants on in public to when you want to get out of answring something, ask another question. Then a friend next door moves in. C'mon ... Cathrine thinks.

H.C.F. said...

Clementine has the talent of going to the principal’s office.
1.Because she has cut a little of Margaret’s hair off, ok fine, a lot.
2.Now Clementine cuts off her hair.
While this craziness is going on with Margaret she is trying to fight the pigeon war, and of course she beats it. After her good bye pigeon party, which she didn’t know about, ok fine, Margaret told her, she went to the hair salon with Margaret and her mother to fix their hair. Best of all she got a new kitten.

OO said...

Matilda has two parents that are very cruel to her and think that she`s stupid… but she`s far from it. Matilda can multiply 316×8615in .5 seconds in her head! Matilda goes to school Crunchem Hall Primary School where there is a wicked head mistress who hammer throws children over 200 yards over the school gate! Matilda’s teacher, Miss Honey, is a sweet, loving teacher who sees Matilda’s strengths and helps her recognize it too. Soon Matilda finds out that she can do much more than just multiply big numbers. How will Matilda over come Miss Trunchbull ? Find out in Matilda

HC said...

Fudge Hatcher is an extremely funny five year old boy, who wants to get married to Shelia Tubman, a girl who is older then him. Peter, Fudge's older brother, is grossed out by that idea. Finally, Fudge realizes he's going to Maine for three weeks, with Shelia Tubman's family! He is so excited. Peter, on the other hand, does not want to go to Maine. This fun filled adventure has just begun.
Will he live....
Let's see! :)

GS said...

I am reading the book RULES. It is about a little boy named David that has autism. He has a big sister named Catherine who is sometimes sad,mad, embarrassed, and annoyed because of David. She is teaching David a lot of rules. So David has to go to a clinic. Which leads into Catherine meeting Jason who can’t walk or speak. Meanwhile Kristie (a girl who moved in next door) just asked Catherine if she wanted to go to the dance with Jason. But Kristie doesn’t know that he can’t walk. So when Kristie gets there she is VERY surprised. They have a good time anyways. I really recommend this book.

KP said...

Peter is going into seventh grade and needs a break! He thought his summer vacation was going to be fun,but he was WRONG! Now not only does he have to go on vacation with Fudge his little brother,but he has to go on vacation with queen cootie Sheila Tudman for three weeks!! Will Peter make it home alive?

W.P. said...

My book, each little book that sings, is a book about a girl named Comfert who lies in a funeral home, with her Mother, Father, great-great aunt, great uncle, and her brother, also a private in the army. Her great uncle dies in the beginning of the book, but that is only the beginning. A few months later, her great-great aunt is found dead in the garden. At the same time, her friend Declaration gets mad at her. At her aunts burial after the funeral, while Declaration, Comfort, Comfort's dog, Dismay and her annoying cousin Peach are walking there, Declaration starts teasing Peach. Peach runs toward an overflowing river. Comfert saves Peaches life, but loses Dismay. It turns out in the end that Dismay drowns.

HS said...

My book is Amber Brown is felling blue. Amber Brown is a young girl who has a hard life. Her parents both want her to go to thanksgiving with her. Her mom and dad are devorced. Her mom wnts her to go to Walla Walla, Washington. Her dad wants her to go to New York. She has to make mak the dicision herself. You will have to read the book to find out were she go’s.

KS said...

Rules
Rules is about Catherine, a twelve year old girl and her eight-year-old brother David. They live in a neighborhood with no one Catherine’s age, but Catherine is very excited to have a new next-door neighbor with a girl her age! But there is one thing… David has autism. She has to tell David rules on how to act to keep from being badly embarrassed, but sometimes David doesn’t listen and does some humiliating things that WILL embarrass her. Meanwhile Catherine goes to David’s clinic and meets Jason, a fourteen year old boy that is not able to speak and must sit in a wheelchair. She makes cards for his book that has other cards that say words and phrases on them so people may understand him. But Jason likes her cards better, because they are fun words and are very colorful. But what will Catherine do about David?

ES said...

Rules, is about a young girl named Catherine who has a younger brother named David. David has Autism, so it makes his brain think differently than ours. Every time she goes out in public she gets embarrassed. In order to correct his behavior Catherine tries to teach him the rules, so he doesn’t embarrass her anymore, but when a new family moves next door Catherine starts to wonder… is she is even normal.

M.H. said...

My fiction book, Rules, is about a seventh-grade girl who's name is Catherine. She has an eight-year-old brother who has autism. For Catherine, it's hard to make friends because it seems like David ruins everything! Finally, a girl about Catherine's age moves in next door, and Catherine really wants to make friends with her, but they haven't really got a chance to know each other. (Haven't they?)

LA said...

Fudge-a-mania is a amazing book. Fudge is a five year old and outgoing boy. To start you off with the book,Fudge says that he is getting married to his baby-sitter Sheila. His younger sister, Tootsie, tries to say the same things as Fudge. When Fudge has friends over, he becomes mischievous. His older brother, Peter, is not a fan of how crazy Fudge is. Their parents are always on Fudge’s on any day.
If you like outgoing, fun, and spontaneous stories, read this book.

alb said...

The book Rules is about a young twelve year old girl named Catherine and her brother, David. Eight year old David has a disability where he doesn’t learn as fast as others. At home and at the clinic Catherine helps him learn his rules that she made up for him. Catherine is a fun loving girl with lots of courage and happiness. David learns how to follow the rules in this book.

MS said...

Matilda is a young girl who loves to read. Her parents think she is really stupid, although she can multiply REALLY big numbers. Also, her parents ignore her and leave her home alone although she is only four. She likes to play pranks on her parents when they need it. Who put a parrot up the chimney to make mom and dad think it's a ghost? Matilda did. When Matilda goes to kindergarten, her teacher sees her brilliance and strengths and tries to tell the headmistress who doesn’t believe her. Miss Trunchbull on the other hand is the biggest headmistress ever. I mean she likes to pick on children and do stuff to them that would really hurt us.

AC said...

The Baby Sitters Club is about a girl named kristy that lives in Stoney Brook amd she had a great idea about making a babysitters club and she invited her friends marryanne, cludia,and stacey.In their club is where kristys mom put up flyers and baby sit for children and not animals.Krist's mom is getting married to her new boy watson and kristy is not happy about it.

PF said...

Matilda is about a five year old genius girl with idiot parents. She sits up in her room, absorbed in a book, while her parents and brother are downstairs watching television. Matilda goes to the perfect place for her. School. There's only one thing thats not fun about school. The Trunchbull, their headmistress. Now, Matilda must use her brilliance to stop the Trunchbull from torturing them for the rest of the year.

wcc said...

Catherine is a girl whose life is never normal, and might never be again. Her brother has a disability, and the entire house revolves around his disability. Then when her new neighbor moves in, she has a spark of hope that she might have someone to actually play with. Then one day she has to go to something for her brother and meets someone who changes her thinking about disabilities forever.

EGT said...

Is claudia being nice or bossy. Is stacey acting like she is to cool for the baby sitters club. Do you wonder if the baby sitters club is going to break up or if them might make claudia and stacey leave. the reason why I am saying this is because as I got deeper in the book claudia and stacey have gotten more bossy. So will the baby sitters club brake up or will they stay together....

HJF said...

Catherine is a young girl who is about elenen yesrs old with a brother who is eight and has autisimand his name is David. Catherine is supposed to have anew neighbor who is almost her age but for the meentime Catherine alresdy knows a friend named Jason. Jason does speech lessons so Catherine makes cards for him that say like AWESOME and they are all colorful and most of them have a pictures on them. Sometimes David and Catherine don't get along that well so Catherine makes rules forDavid heres a example No TOYS IN THE FISH TANK!!!! I hope you enjoy this awesome book!