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Love, Ruby Lavender / by Deborah Wiles
(discussion: 7/7 - 8/3/2003)
Monday, July 07, 2003
Hello,
Today we will start the discussion of Love, Ruby Lavender written
by Deborah Wiles. This is story of a young girl's summer activities and her
relationship with her grandmother. Enjoy the other characters enhabiting
Halleluia, Mississippi - How would you like to live and be friends with
Ruby Lavender?
posted by shadowkitty 9:05 AM
Love, Ruby Lavender is a great book!! I think it is a funny,
interesting, and sad book. I was so sad when the little chick died.
I found out that my cousin is an anthropologist, like dove! That was really
neat.
:)
posted by K9 2:35 PM
I think the mailbox in the tree is very cool!
posted by poolchick 4:24 PM
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
In the book Love, Ruby Lavender Miss Eula and her granddaughter
Ruby make a raid on a chicken ranch to "save" the hens from being
slaughtered when Lucius Peterson's chicken farm is sold. Together Miss Eula
and Ruby save three chickens. The pair work well together and enjoy a close
relationship. Even though they live in the same town they write to each
other regularly. How important is this type of communication to thier
relationship? How about the letters between them when Miss Eula visits the
new grandchild in Hawaii? How important is thier shared sense of humor?
posted by shadowkitty 9:30 AM
Hey, I have a question for poolchick. If you had a tree like Ruby and
her grandmother's, would you use it as a mailbox or something else?
posted by K9 7:54 PM
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
I like the mailbox in the tree, too, poolchick. It kind of shows how Ruby
and Miss Eula were more than just grandma-grandchild, they were like best
friends. Best friends do crazy things together (save the chickens!) and
have special secrets just between them like the mailbox. (OK, dumb comment
coming up...did you guys realize that Ruby's name is all colors? Ruby
Garnet Lavender).
posted by shadowpuppy 12:16 AM
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Good garden of peas, I just loved, Love, Ruby Lavender! My
favorite character is her grandmother, I always love the kooky characters
in books. And yeah, I noticed that Ruby's full name had all color words in
her name. But, I didn't notice it right away, I think after I seen it in
writing several times, I finally noticed.
posted by Scottiegirl 7:07 PM
Friday, July 11, 2003
Hello
posted by bookfan 5:50 PM
Hey, bookfan, welcome to the group! Have you had a chance to read the
story yet? Let us know what you think.
posted by shadowpuppy 6:21 PM
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Hi
posted by bookfan 12:59 AM
Hello
posted by bookfan 1:00 AM
I read hte back of the book . It sounds like a good book!
posted by bookfan 1:01 AM
I am going to read it right now
posted by bookfan 1:02 AM
is their anyone from Waterbury that is on BLOGGER
posted by bookfan 1:03 AM
I don't think there is anyone else from Waterbury yet, but tell your
friends to join if they want to read some good books and then talk about
what they thought about them.
posted by shadowpuppy 12:47 PM
Do any of your teachers (not just Waterbury, but any school) write to
you in the summer, like Ruby's teacher did?
Do you think that Roselle, or Glendale Heights, or the other towns around
us are like Halleluia? Sometimes I feel like Roselle is a "small
town"...I mean, you might see the mayor in the grocery store!, but in
other ways we just seem part of the big metropolitan "Chicagoland"
area. What do you think?
posted by shadowpuppy 12:51 PM
Hello everybody
posted by bookfan 1:02 PM
My teacher writes to me
posted by bookfan 1:03 PM
When are we getting a different book. Does anybody know?
posted by bookfan 1:19 PM
In second grade my teacher said if we write to her, she would write back
to us and she wrote back to me. But my teacher didn't ask the kind of
questions like Ruby's teacher.
No I don't go to Waterbury.
:)
posted by K9 3:34 PM
I don't think most teachers write to kids in the summer. Why do you
think Ruby's teacher wrote to them? What was he trying to find out? How did
you feel, K9, when you actually got a letter from your teacher?
posted by shadowpuppy 4:22 PM
When I got the letter from my teacher i thought it was so neat! Like
shadowpuppy said, teachers don't normally write to you so it was real cool!
:)
posted by K9 4:50 PM
What do you think Mr. Ishee was trying
to find out? Can you tell from Ruby's answers to Mr. Ishee's questions,
whether she thought it was cool to get a letter from her teacher?
posted by shadowpuppy 8:52 PM
Sunday, July 13, 2003
I think Mr.Ishee was trying to find out more about his class; to try to get
to know them better.
posted by K9 11:33 AM
You're probably right, K9. Being new in town, this is a good way to not
only get to know his students, but also get to know more about the town and
the people. He also invited Ruby over to meet his wife and Dove. He (and
Dove) found out more than they wanted to know when Ruby and Melba Jane
showed up at the same time! Ruby was so upset, she just wanted to run away!
I have felt like that, haven't you? If you were Ruby, what would you have
done?
posted by shadowpuppy 1:56 PM
Monday, July 14, 2003
Ruby and Melba Jane have each experienced the loss of a loved one in the
same accident. They were once friends, but are no longer being kind to each
other, in fact each is being down right mean to the other. Are they
handling their feelings very well? If you were friends with one or both of
them how would you try to help them? Dove, Mr. Ishee's niece who is
visiting, is in the middle of the conflict. What if you were in her place?
posted by shadowkitty 11:51 AM
If I was in Dove's place, I would try and tell Melba Jane and Ruby that
they should not fight with one another and that they should try and see
things they both like so maybe they will see how alike they are and then
they could maybe become friends.
:)
posted by K9 5:51 PM
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Ruby was my favirote character
posted by bookfan 6:52 PM
Friendship is a very fragile and special thing. Ruby and Melba Jane need
to learn how to remain friends even when things are rough. How do you think
Ruby's grandmother feels about the split in the girls' friendship because
of the accident that caused the loss of Ruby's grandfather and Melba Jane's
father? Is the accident part of the reason Miss Eula takes her trip to
Hawaii? How does humor help one deal with sadness?
posted by shadowkitty 8:36 PM
Bookfan, did you finish the story? I like Ruby best, too. Maybe because
we get to know her best. I like Dove, too (I really like her name!). She
tries so hard to get Ruby and Melba Jane to be friends again. She tells
them, like K9 suggests, that they are alike in many ways. She says
"we're all different and we're all the same." Is that just about
Melba Jane and Ruby, or does Dove really mean "all" of us?
What do you think?
posted by shadowpuppy 9:56 PM
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
It is hard not to like Ruby, or Dove. I like Melba Jane too. I understand
her feelings, not only of loss but of frustration at having to help care
for her younger siblings. How would you like to have to be responsible for
your little brothers and sisters on a regular basis?
posted by shadowkitty 1:00 PM
We have a new book to read?! I can't wait, i'll get right on it!! It
sounds awesome! :)
..andrea
posted by avdandrea 5:06 PM
Thursday, July 17, 2003
So...ever since I read Ruby exclaiming "Good garden of peas!"
I've been thinking about what exclamations I use. I find myself saying
"Arrrgggghhhh!" and "Wowsers" a lot. Is that lame, or
what!? What exclamations do you use? Come on, I can't be the only one to
have strange things come out of my mouth :)
posted by shadowpuppy 10:47 AM
The exlamation I like to use is fishpaste. It's weird but I can't help
saying it!
:)
posted by K9 1:47 PM
Oh I forgot another exlamation I like to use. I like to say goodly! if
something good happens. :)
posted by K9 1:49 PM
Friday, July 18, 2003
Wowsers! Could K9 and I be the only ones who have strange habits of
speech???? Or perhaps the only ones brave enough to admit it... :) (fishpaste!??)
posted by shadowpuppy 10:10 PM
Monday, July 21, 2003
Hello,
Just a heads up on the up-coming title for the discussion beginning August
4th and continuing through August 30. We will discuss the suspense,
adventure Wild Man Island written by Will Hobbs. In this tale Andy
Galloway sneaks off from the group he is on a sea kayaking trip with. He
intends to visit the site where his archeologist father died while trying
to solve the mystery of the first Americans. Andy is blown off course by a
sudden violent storm. He is washed ashore on Admiralty Island, also known
as the Fortress of the Bears. There he must struggle to survive. He
encounters a dog who is friendly, yet runs with the wolves. Later he
encounters a wild man who seems prehistoric. Will Andy survive? Does the
wildman help or hurt him? Who is the wild man really?
Would you react the way Andy does to the dangers that surround him?
Join us as we discuss this fast moving adventure in the wilderness
beginning August 4.
posted by shadowkitty 2:38 PM
Back to Love, Ruby Lavender! What about the chickens? Why is
Ruby so attached to them that she reads the dictionary aloud to calm them?
What was your reaction to the rock throwing raid on the greenhouse where
Ruby kept the chickens?
posted by shadowkitty 2:48 PM
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Well, what about the chickens? I think that they are a "tie"
between Ruby and her grandmother. Rescuing them was something they did
together, and Ruby feels like she is now their "protector." In
the back of her mind, I think that Ruby thinks that if Miss Eula will not
come home for her (Ruby), she will, at least, come home for the chickens!
I think Melba Jane realizes this, too. When she wants to hurt Ruby, the
meanest thing she can think to do is to attack the chickens. How bad does
Melba feel after the attack!!!
posted by shadowpuppy 8:42 AM
Is Melba Jane really intending to hurt Ruby or is she hurting Ruby
because of her father's death and Melba's belief that Ruby's grandfather
was responsible? Is Melba Jane jealous of the time Dove spends with Ruby?
posted by shadowkitty 11:45 AM
I think Melba Jane is just trying to blame someone about her fathers
death. I think that she really does like Ruby but she's just being mean and
like I said, trying to blame her father's death on someone because she is
upset. I think Melba Jane is a little jealous of Dove and Ruby being
friends because it doesn't seem like she has alot of friends.
:)
posted by K9 8:47 PM
Thursday, July 24, 2003
What does Melba Jane need? What would help both Ruby and Melba Jane come
to terms with the lose of their loved ones? Should Ruby make the first
move? What would you do in the same situation?
posted by shadowkitty 12:41 PM
Melba Jane is doing a very normal thing. Her daddy has died and she's
sad, but more than that, she's ANGRY! It's just not fair for her dad to be
dead when she and her family need him and so she wants to blame someone.
True or not, she blames Ruby's grandfather and takes it out on Ruby. Don't
you know that feeling? You're sad about something, but deep inside you are
also very angry about it. What did you do to get over the anger and the
sadness?.
posted by shadowpuppy 3:47 PM
Monday, July 28, 2003
The end of Love, Ruby Lavender makes my eyes mist up. Melba Jane
and Ruby seem to find a way to help each other heal. What do you think is
going to happen to each of these characters should Deborah Wiles write a
sequel? How would you like this story to continue?
This is the last week to make your comments on Love, Ruby Lavender.
Have you started to read our next discussion book, Wild Man Island by
Will Hobbs?
posted by shadowkitty 11:38 AM
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
So, here we are near the end of our discussion of Love, Ruby Lavender.
Like Sharon Creech's Love That Dog, Love, Ruby is a
nominee for the Rebecca Caudill Award. What do you think? Could THIS be the
winner?
These are the only two nominees I have read, so far. They are so different
in format and story that it is hard to say that one is better than the
other. Do you have a favorite? This is your last chance to be heard :)
posted by shadowpuppy 1:33 PM
Our next title, beginning next week, is an adventure/survival story - Wild
Man Island written by Will Hobbs. I'm looking for suggestions from our
members for the title to discuss after that. Books, except for our October
title that is already picked, must be from the 2004 Rebecca Caudill Nominee
list. Visit the Youth Services Department at Roselle Public Library to find
out other titles on the list. Let us know the books from this nominating
list you are interested in discussing. Thank you.
(Tell your friends and classmates - if they are Roselle Public Library
cardholders, they can also join)
posted by shadowkitty 7:34 PM
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Hi! Just read that we are done with Love, Ruby Lavender. I just loved that
book! I finished Wild Man Island, it is a great survival story and I can't
wait to start discussing it. Someone asked for suggestions for a book after
Wild Man Island. How about Stormbreaker? A lot of my friends at Roselle
Middle School read it and everyone thought it was great. Kinda like James
Bond story or like the Spy Kids movie that is out at the theater. See ya,
Scottiegirl
posted by Scottiegirl 9:48 AM
Friday, August 01, 2003
Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles was a very touching story. We
saw how Ruby handled her feelings of sadness, her anger at the loss of her
Grandfather. We read how Melba Jane and Ruby were finally able to forgive
and maybe even to grow through their experiences that summer.
Now it is time to move on to Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs. Andy
Galloway misses his father who died while on an archeological study. He
makes a fateful decision that puts his own life in danger. Beginning next
Monday, August 4, we will discuss the implications of Andy's choices. Would
you have made the same choices???
posted by shadowkitty 10:28 AM
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