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Post by aln1982 on Nov 22, 2007 9:06:16 GMT -5
Just reread and my opinion of this one hasn’t changed – I still really dislike it. Whether the history in the play was right or wrong, I think it was totally inappropriate for 3rd graders. I have to side with the parents and don’t think that they were necessarily mad at first about the information in the play being “different” than what they had learned in school but that it was being included at all when it didn’t need to be. In my opinion, the play was making a postivie holiday into a negative thing by pushing political views on the kids – another situation like Dawn Saves the Planet. Right or wrong, the play wasn’t the place to voice the opinions I don’t think. Abby totally went off and I felt like shaking her. ;D As for the “Censored” buttons, again, I think it was inappropriate. I didn’t even think there was enough of the subplot to redeem this book in my opinion. I really like Thanksgiving books like Get Well Soon Mallory that have a “nice” feel to them rather than this one. It just seemed so negative and another example of kids going off and being extremely "passionate" about an issue that is almost above their heads. Just my thoughts, though. It will be a while before I reread this one. ;D
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Mar 22, 2008 16:31:09 GMT -5
I just reread this one, and I really liked it. I tend to like Claudia books, I'm not sure why. I don't see why the parents had their knickers in a bunch over that play. The play itself wasn't so bad, at least not how I read it. Parents were seeing things out of context, and they were seeing the kids questions being explained honestly by the SMS students and the teachers. If schools can't teach their children actual facts and critical thinking, then what purpose is a school?
Calling it censorship was a little over the top -- and in real life, this is an issue that would be decided by the school board and some crusading teachers. I did think it was a very good way to introduce some of these concepts -- free speech, first amendment guarantees, etc -- to it's target audience.
I loved when Dawn came back. That was funny.
Abby's comments were great too. Good use of the word propaganda. I'm starting to really like Abby, but I didn't like her cutting people off.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 22, 2008 17:47:14 GMT -5
^ I really didn't like this one (though it's been a while since I've read it so I can't even remember exactly why and don't feel like arguing about it anyway. ;D) I did like Dawn coming back and the subplot with the families celebrating together. ;D
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Mar 22, 2008 18:40:27 GMT -5
I didn't really care much about the subplot. I thought it was funny that all their plans got canceled, and their reaction. I liked that Mal mentioned her family in NYC and the Macy's parade again -- they canceled that trip when she had mono, and this time because the apartment flooded. Poor Mal, she's never going to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But after that, I stopped paying attention until Dawn came back. And I didn't care much about their big dinner, because ... whatever.
Oh, and Karen and Andrew didn't go to Watson's for Thanksgiving that year. Karen was probably so disappointed.
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Post by aln1982 on Mar 22, 2008 19:21:46 GMT -5
^ It would have been fun for Karen and Andrew to have been there with everyone else, I'm sure. At least it was better than the year they had to have two thanksgiving dinners and Karen got sick....
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Post by sparklymouse on Nov 3, 2008 17:24:49 GMT -5
Just read this one. I liked it except for the few lame play protesting chapters, but every one has already talked about the stupidity of them. Had to roll my eyes that of course none of the BSC client parents had a problem with the play, only the parents of the kids we'd never see again did. I was surprised that Betsy Sobak randomly showed up again in this one, in another Claudia book no less.
This is the first book I've read where they do their Short Takes classes. Those classes seem a little unbalanced. Some kids basically had a 2nd English class with lots of reading, others had a drama class, others watched a lot of movies based on books. I wonder how classes were assigned.
I liked all the interaction among the BSC and siblings at the end, especially Sam and the triplets and Janine and Claire. One weird thing. They played pin-the-tail-on-the-turkey at the Pike house and it was said that an entire wall of the Pike's family room is covered in cork. What the hell kind of decor is that? Also, if it was supposed to be a pot luck dinner then why did all the adults cook together at the big house? I bet Nannie's just a control freak.
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Post by wenonah4th on Nov 4, 2008 6:33:26 GMT -5
That wall sounds a little weird. Not uncommon for homeschooling families to have big sections of chalkboard or whiteboard around but that's just strange.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2008 14:33:44 GMT -5
This is one of my favorite books- I love a good brouhaha. I'm also a sucker for holiday schmaltz so I like everybody getting together for Thanksgiving Dinner. The CENSORED playbills might have been inappropriate, but they were also hilarious. I always laugh at the part about someone demanding to know who's responsible and Pete Black telling them the names are on the back of the bill. Stoneybrook sure is different from where I grew up. We read lots of books that show up on challenged lists and nobody raised an eyebrow. We read 1984, Huckleberry Finn, The Heart of Darkness, The Diary of Anne Frank. Another English class read I Know Why the Caged Sings and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden- a gritty book about a 16 year old girl in a mental institution. I'm still surprised nobody objected to that one.
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Post by sparklymouse on Nov 8, 2008 17:36:24 GMT -5
^Not random. It was Thanksgiving weekend. It's like the busiest weekend all year for traveling. (Good luck to anyone going anywhere this year. It's just a few weeks away!) I wonder why Jeff didn't come with her though. I would think the 2 kids would have the same holiday rotations. Sharon must think Jeff hates her. He rarely comes back to see her.
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Post by cokiemason on Nov 8, 2008 18:41:53 GMT -5
Could the cork be like panelling? I know every single house in the 80's had that horrid stuff. I drove past my old house a few weeks ago (we sold it like 15 years ago) and they still had the panelling in the basement. I about cried.
The parents in this book are on glue. Nuff said.
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Post by sparklymouse on Nov 9, 2008 20:18:11 GMT -5
Could the cork be like panelling? I know every single house in the 80's had that horrid stuff. My childhood bedroom was all panelling! It was kind of awesome because I could tape as many posters as I wanted up and they'd peel right off with no damage to the walls. But they were also dark brown walls, so my room was rather cave-like without my JTT decorations. The book specifically said cork. They said it was good because they were playing a game with push pins and it didn't matter where they stuck them. I don't know. Ugliness in the Pike house.
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Post by otempora541 on May 14, 2009 12:51:09 GMT -5
In the early 90s there was a flurry of what do we call indigenous people who live in the US. Hence the argument of what do we call them.
Something clicked for me: Claudia is talking about the Million Man March when she's talking about a march. Thought it wss funny.
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Post by maddieruns on Jun 15, 2010 1:33:08 GMT -5
The Stoneybrook parents are just weird. First the elementary school parents insist on protesting the third grade play, and then they have to go over to the middle school and protest the eighth grade play too? The parents were especially harsh telling the eighth graders as they went inside, “You ought to be ashamed of yourselves" and "Disgraceful" and then booing so vociferously during the play that the principal has to come out and intervene. Rude. I felt so bad for the actors. I would be horrified if I were on that stage.
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Post by anzuhana on Dec 12, 2010 17:38:15 GMT -5
I loved how Abby told off the woman at the auditorium and I liked it when Dawn returned to Stoneybrook for a surprise visit. I thought that the parents were being ridiculous. I'm surprised that Jessi was amazed at how narrow-minded and ignorant the people's comments were or did she somehow forget what happened when her family moved to Stoneybrook?
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,251
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Post by oldhickory on Dec 13, 2010 11:59:17 GMT -5
what i hate about these serious issue books is that the writers make everyone who disagrees with them ridiculous and unbelievable. it doesn't give kids a chance to think for themselves on the issue. i think that in itself is manipulative. i am against censorship and i would have sided with the bsc anyway, but i don't think it's fair to portray overprotective parents as narrow minded nazis.
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