Reading

This year we will be reading four novels. The first one is "The Bronze Bow". The author won the 1962 Newbery Medal for this magnificent novel. The Bronze Bow takes place in Galilee, Israel, during the time of Jesus. Eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin has endured a life of unbelievable hardships. He becomes a member of a rebel group led by the zealot Rosh. Rosh despises the Romans who occupy Israel. It is his mission to drive them all from the land.

Our second novel is "The Hobbit". Bilbo Baggins lives a simple life with his fellow hobbits in the shire, until the wizard Gandalf arrives and convinces him to join a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. The journey takes Bilbo on a path through treacherous lands swarming with orcs, goblins and other dangers, not the least of which is an encounter with Gollum and a simple gold ring that is tied to the fate of Middle Earth in ways Bilbo cannot even fathom.

The third book is "Wonder". It's a well written, engaging story that is so much fun to read that the pages almost turn themselves. August "Auggie" Pullman is a 10-year-old living in the fictional neighborhood of North River Heights in upper Manhattan.

Last but not least we will be reading "The Giver". Jonas lives in a seemingly idyllic world of conformity and contentment. When he begins to spend time with The Giver, an old man who is the sole keeper of the community's memories, Jonas discovers the dangerous truths of his community's secret past. Armed with the power of knowledge, Jonas realizes that he must escape from their world to protect himself and those he loves -- a challenge no one has ever completed successfully.