Module 8 – Time Warp Trio: Marco Polo
Summary
Time Warp Trio is a series that takes the reader through important events in history. The main characters in the story are transported through time by a magical book. This series choice is called Marco Polo. It is about three friends who travel back to ancient China and have to disguise themselves as astologers to help them find the magical book that got them there in the first place. The book is the porthole that will lead them back to present day. They also find Marco Polo and learn about Marco’s travels with his uncle and father during that time.
My Impression
Time Warp Trio is a fun series to read because it teaches the reader a little bit about each time period in the different stories. The main characters in the story are funny and witty. I liked how the pages 29-30 were empty on purpose. It went right along with the story and really made me feel like I was right there with them. Every few pages has an illustration and they help the reader visualize what is happening and are often quite funny and entertaining.
Library Setting
This is a great book to start with when teaching about series writing. The length is not overwhelming for the beginner writers. The students can write a time warp story of their own about something they have learned in their Social Studies or History classes this school year.
Reviews
The Time Warp Trio hits the Silk Road in this new installment. While playing a game of Marco? Polo! at the pool, Joe suddenly finds himself alone in the desert "somewhere between Italy and China,"clad only in his swim trunks. Luckily, Marco Polo himself hears Joe's cries for help. One joke--an Asian character named Ding Dong--falls flat into stereotype. That puzzling choice aside, Scieszka continues his formula of absurdity, slapstick puns, and nonstop action that has won the series plenty of fans.
(2006, December 15). Booklist [Review of the book Marco Polo]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
A game of Marco Polo lands the Time Warp Trio in thirteenth-century China, where the lads befriend the famous Italian explorer, feast with Kublai Khan, and outwit Khan's jealous astrologer. Through it all, the boys keep up their lively patter: "I really, really do not like cats." "Allergies?" "Yeah, I'm allergic to their sharp teeth." Another must-read for series fans.
(2007, Spring). Horn Book [Review of the book Marco Polo]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
Gr 3-6-This installment in the series takes Joe, Sam, and Fred over the Silk Road into China. As it opens, the infamous blue Book transports Joe from the pool of his local YMCA to the desert where he meets Marco Polo, who is on his way to meet Kublai Khan. The boy is reunited with his friends only after rescuing himself and Marco Polo from bandits and a sandstorm. He also teaches the explorer how to play the game named after him, which provides for some very funny moments. The book concludes with a description of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. This title is as rich in historical detail as it is in humor and will have special appeal to reluctant readers.-Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
(2006, December 1). School Library Journal [Review of the book Marco Polo]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
Module 8 – Room One A Mystery Or Two
Summary
The main character in this mystery is a sixth grader named Ted Hammond. He lives in a small town in Nebraska. His town is so small that he is the only sixth grader in his one-room schoolhouse. He has a paper route delivering the newspaper each day throughout the town. One day, he sees a girl’s face in the window of an abandoned house. As he investigates the situation more, he finds out that it is a mom and her two children. He helps gather food for the girl and her family. He doesn’t want to tell anyone because the girl said that they had run away from an abusive home life and were on their way to her aunt’s house when her mom’s car broke down. He eventually tells his teacher whom he trusts and together they figure out how to best help this family safely reunite with their aunt.
My Impression
I enjoyed reading a story about a boy in a small town where nothing much ever happens, but he likes to solve the mysteries when things do happen. It was easy to follow, yet the storyline and the clues were enough to keep me reading and wanting for more.
Library Setting
The students could read this story while they are learning about different reading genres with the main focus being about mysteries. After discussing the story and about what makes a good mystery, they could write about their own mystery to solve. They could peer edit their partner’s story and use a rubric to determine if the storyline had all of the elements that would make for a good mystery story.
Reviews
Gr. 3-5. In a one-room school in a small Nebraska town, Ted is the lone sixth-grader sandwiched between four fourth-graders and four eighth-graders. Besides doing his chores on the family farm, he delivers newspapers, attends 4-H Club meetings, and enjoys reading mystery books. Riding his paper route one morning, Ted spies a girl's face in the window of an abandoned farmhouse. He puts his detective skills to the test as he tries to discover who she is, why she is there, and how he can help her. Though the mystery element in the plot is relatively mild, the story is strong enough that readers will want to find out what will become of Ted's vulnerable new friend. When she entrusts him with a secret, he must decide how best to honor that trust while helping solve her family's dilemma. The convincing, contemporary rural setting is an inextricable element of the novel, which is illustrated with small black-and-white sketches that enhance the refreshingly innocent tone of the story.
(2006, May 1). Booklist [Review of the book Room One]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
In small-town Plattsford, Nebraska, sixth-grade paperboy/Boy Scout/4-H-er/mystery buff Ted Hammond secretly befriends a girl who is hiding with her mother and brother in an abandoned farmhouse. When they disappear, Ted must figure out what happened. The subplot describing the townspeople's struggles, including a fight to keep their tiny school open, further helps set the scene, and ties in with a hopeful ending.
(2007, Spring). Horn Book [Review of the book Room One]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
Sixth-grader Ted Hammond, who loves a good mystery, finds one in real life when he sees a face in the window of an abandoned farmhouse while on his paper route. Befriending the homeless family of a fallen Iraq War soldier he discovers hiding there has surprising consequences, including helping his one-room school stay open. This engaging middle-grade mystery is nicely up-to-date but set in a kinder, gentler and rapidly disappearing world. Not only is Ted responsible about delivering papers on his bicycle every morning and doing his farm chores in the afternoon, he was a Boy Scout until the scoutmaster moved away, and he takes his Scout Law seriously. Like the boy, his Plattsburg, Neb., community is genuinely generous, willing to open their arms and pocketbooks to welcome the family. Once again, Clements offers readers an intelligent protagonist, trustworthy adults, an interesting school situation and a real-life problem in a story that moves swiftly enough even for reluctant readers. (Fiction. 8-12)
(2006, June 1). Kirkus Review [Review of the book Room One]. Retrieved by http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=348a7a1411b2abcdf931eb6dbc56bee8
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