Posts Tagged ‘Gifted’
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
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| Author: | Jane Lindskold |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
My daughter will read nearly any book that is put in front of her, and she knows just about intuitively when one is "good" or not. In other words, we are entirely in sympathy with, for example, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker, in which he explains that there are really only a few stories to be told and the important thing is to tell the tale creatively and well.
On the other hand, my daughter and I have noticed that in many young adult book series, nearly every book in the series uses, not only the same basic plot, but also the exact same plot elements in the exact same order. This is truly frustrating, because, once we've caught on to this failing, basically, not only do we know exactly how each book will end, but we also know pretty much what the twists and turns will be before the end. This is even more frustrating when the characters are as interesting and unique as they are in Jane Lindskold's Wolf Series. And, even worse, Lindskold's plot twists seem to always include a planned rape, described, not too graphically, but at length, and then a protracted and bloody battle.
So, what can we now say about Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, the sequel to Through Wolf's Eyes, which we raced through just a while ago?
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Well, this book is pretty much the same as the first one. The wolf-girl's early sufferings have gifted her with nearly superhuman hearing, smell, strategic sense, and strength. But she still lacks social skills. Each of those who ends up on this Quest (and yes, the Booker plot of this one is probably not the same as the Booker plot of the first book in the series), has certain special gifts and limitations, very nicely described by the author.
Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart certainly keeps you turning the pages. And the many loose ends left at the end of the book ensure that, assuming that the really nasty rape planning session didn't turn you off too badly, you will want to read the next book in the series.
I am hopeful, but not optimistic, that perhaps by the third book, the author might have found alternative plot elements to put in service of her story.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart (Wolf, Book 2) |
Tags:book review, falcons, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, wolf, wolves
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual level, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
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| Author: | Lynne Ewing |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
This is the second in a series. This "goddess" can read people's minds. She is chosen by the evil shadow king to become evil, but fights it off.
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Classic good vs. evil and a bit cheesy.
--Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Into the Dark Fire, (Daughters of the Moon, Book 2)
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Tags:book review, Gifted
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, July 6th, 2009
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| Author: | Lynne Ewing |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
Very quick.
Unrealistic and puts the "high-school-girls-should-just-go-around-trying-to-get-a-boyfriend" spin on life. It's about this girl named Jennifer who discovers that she can turn invisible because she is a goddess.
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Not deep, but kinda fun and cute... maybe took me two or three hours to read.
--Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Goddess of The Night (Daughters of the Moon, Book 1) |
Tags:book review, Gifted, high school
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
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| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
As usual with Pratchett, this book is witty, often downright, funny, but it also has to do with real life problems.
The plot follows a girl who wants (and is destined) to be a wizard, but is not allowed to be because she is a girl. Wizarding is OBVIOUSLY only for boys. But as little kids do, she doesn't really understand the situation and so proves that she CAN be whatever she wants. |
Loved it.
-- Fizzy, age 14
Note: This novel is in Pratchett's Discworld series, which is not calibrated for young adult readers. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Equal Rites (Discworld #3) |
Tags:academia, book review, feminism, feminist literature, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, women in academia
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Monday, May 25th, 2009
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| Author: | Daniel Tammet |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | Non-fiction: Science |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
Daniel Tammet is autistic, intellectually gifted, and synesthesic. This book, a follow-on to his autobiography, is billed as a "...book about the mind -- its nature and abilities. It combines ... the latest neuroscientific research with [Tammet's] personal reflections and detailed descriptions of [his] abilities and experiences. [Tammet's] ... intention is to show that differently functioning brains ... are not so strange ... and that anyone can learn from them ... [and to] clear up many misconceptions about the nature of savant abilities and what it means to be intelligent or gifted."
Great intentions; I agree they are worthwhile. But, I fear, a disappointing execution. Or, perhaps, I am not gifted enough to understand the arguments. But, really, to use the outcome of the US Presidential Election of 2000 to "prove" that the Electoral College works? Without mentioning that this election was decided by the Supreme Court and not really by the Electoral College? Seems to me that using the ideas of one person, even one admittedly highly gifted person, as a model for the prototypical smart person from whom we can all learn to think is -- misguided? |
Well, anyway, I certainly admire and even envy many of Mr. Tammet's abilities and accomplishments. And, again, I sympathize deeply with his goal of helping others less gifted than he is learn to observe the world around them more intently and reason out their opinions rather than blindly accept "common wisdom", which is often not correct.
On the other hand, and this is something that both of my gifted daughters had figured out by the time they were 11, if not before, Just because someone is gifted, that doesn't mean they know all the answers.
Judging from the stated premise of this book and its execution, I am not sure that Tammet is actually as smart as my high school student. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind |
Tags:autism, book review, Gifted, synesthesia
Posted in Biography, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | Comments Closed
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
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| Author: | Nikita Lalwani |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | Fiction, parenting |
Unless you have been through it yourself, it is probably impossible to understand how challenging it is to parent a gifted child.
The gifted child in this story, the daughter of two immigrants from India, is identified in kindergarten by a teacher who seems not to understand that being a gifted child might not be an unmitigated blessing and that raising a gifted child may not be as easy as it would seem.
Rumika Vasi's father determines to honor her giftedness by yanking her out of the public school and forcing her to concentrate almost entirely on mathematics. Her mother is overwhelmed and threatened by British culture and defers to her husband.
By the time Rumika lives up to her father's dream -- being accepted to Oxford at 14 -- Rumika feels isolated, deeply resentful of her intellectual gifts, almost -- determined to throw them away.
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The book comes off, a bit, as an indictment of raising a gifted child as an immigrant parent. But I think that parenting a child who is smarter than you are is difficult in any culture. Being culturally displaced may make that even more difficult, perhaps. But being the parent of any child who is vastly different from his or her peers is always going to be hugely challenging.
My review of another incisive novel about parenting a gifted child can be found here: excerpt. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Gifted |
Tags:Gifted, immigration, mathematics
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, School | Comments Closed
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
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| Author: | Chaim Potok |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1967 |
WAS:Orthodox Jewish boy trying to decide what to be when he grows up.
Flippant. Flippant. And, entirely unfair to this book.
It is the middle of World War II and most citizens of the US are still unaware of what is happening to the Jews of Europe. Reuven Malther, an Orthodox Jew, is severely injured in a baseball game by a ball pitched by Danny Saunders, a Hasidic (much more fundamentalist) Jew. They become friends and as a result they, and we, learn a great deal about the different styles of parenting, religious observation, and reactions to the formation of the state of Israel, among believers in different branches of Judaism. |
More generally, this is a story about parents struggling to figure out how to raise their gifted sons to honor their religious heritage and to reach their potential.
And it is about gifted boys realizing that they may not be called to follow in their fathers' footsteps.
"A very sad book," my 12 yr. old says. "But well worth reading." My other daughter called me from college to recommend the "sequel" (It's not about the same characters, but the themes are similar): My Name is Ascher Lev. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Chosen, The |
Tags:Baseball, Gifted, Hasidic, Holocaust, Jew, Jewish, Parenting gifted children, World War II homefront
Posted in Baseball, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, School, Sports | Comments Closed
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
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The Story Space radio program played BD Wong’s rendition of the Daniel Kehlmann short story, The Mathematician, last night. Listening, riveted, I was severely slowed in my dinner preparations.
Anyone who asked Professor Gauss about his early memories was told that such things didn’t exist. Memories, unlike engravings or letters, were undated. One came upon things in one’s memory that one sometimes was able, on reflection, to arrange in the right order.
He remembered that he had started to count before he could talk. Once his father had made an error when he was counting out his monthly pay, and this had made Gauss start to cry. As soon as his father caught the mistake, he immediately fell quiet again.
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Most of his later memories were of slowness. For a long time he had believed that people were acting or following some ritual that always obliged them to pause before they spoke or did anything. Sometimes he managed to accommodate himself to them, but then it became unendurable again. Only gradually did he come to understand that they needed these pauses. Why did they think so slowly, so laboriously and hard? As if their thoughts were issuing from some machine that first had to be cranked and then put into gear, instead of being living things that moved of their own accord. He noticed that people got angry when he didn’t stop himself. He did his best, but often it didn’t work.
The story goes on to describe how, at 8 years old, Gauss was discovered by his elementary school teacher to be — a genius — and transferred to high school, where Gauss discovered that students don’t think notably faster than in elementary.
The story reminded me of a recent conversation between two of my friends. One is a college student. The other has become \”certifiably crazy\” (CC), a ward of the state. The college student moaned, \”There are so many stupid people at school. SO many.\” \”Remember,\” responded CC. \”Fifty-percent of all people are of below average intelligence.\” \”And that’s why,\” CC added, \”I had to go crazy. I really can’t cope with all those very slow people.\”
I’m going to present both M and CC with a copy of Daniel Kehlmann’s book, Measuring the World.
Tags:Gauss, Gifted, mathematicians, mathematics, Parenting gifted children
Posted in Biography, Fiction, Gifted, History, Math, Parenting gifted children, Science | Comments Closed
Monday, March 13th, 2006
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| Author: | Richard Dawkins |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | Non-fiction: Science |
| Year of publication: | 1990 |
Richard Dawkins' take-no-prisoners-style riff on how evolution has made all of us. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Selfish Gene, The |
Tags:book review, evolution, Gifted, history of science, non-fiction, religion, Science
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Gifted, History, Reading level, Reading level: age 12 and up, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, Science | Comments Closed
