And Book-O Was His Name-O!

Phoebe's class is doing a reading assignment called Book-O, where a Bingo sheet is covered with various genres of books, and the kids have to fill the sheet by reading a book that fits each category. Phoebe is, of course, well on her way to filling her sheet--the hardest part is picking the best category for each book!

But, so far, she has

• Adventure: The Black Stallion Returns
• Animal Story: Obi, Gerbil on the Loose
• Mystery: Return to Howliday Inn, from the Bunnicula series
• Comic Book: Atalanta, The Race Against Destiny
• Historical Fiction: I Walk in Dread, the Diary of Deliverance Trembly

The last one is what she is reading now. It is from the Dear America series, which are fictional diaries from girls who lived through historic times or events. This one is about the Salem Witch Trials. Atalanta's story would have filled the Myth box, but it was a graphic novel, so we decided to put it in Comics. There are plenty of other books that can fill the Myth requirement. If nothing else, we just got a used copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology, which is what everyone reads at some point or other.

Obi the gerbil is named after Obi Wan Kenobi, so that prompted a rewatching of Star Wars. I think she's about ready for The Empire Strikes Back.

Together, we are reading The Lost Hero, which is the first book in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series. It picks up after the end of the Percy Jackson series, but I have noticed that it seems to be skewed to an older audience. A lot of talk about how hot various characters are, which is a bit weird. But Phoebe doesn't seem to be too bothered by it.

She sent another letter to President Obama, and got her reply yesterday. She was thrilled to read that he read the Harry Potter books with Sasha and Malia. She asked especially about Bo, so she got a picture of him as well as some activity sheets.

Phoebe has gotten back into watching the original The Bionic Woman. I think we have watched four episodes since Sunday. It streams free from Amazon, so that makes it easy! Phoebe said yesterday that she wished she was bionic so she could knit faster.

We've also been adding to her pop culture toolbox by  introducing her to Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. ST:NG is a bit easier for her to relate to, I think, so perhaps we will stick with that then go back to the classic series--although she did enjoy "The Trouble with Tribbles"! This girl will not go to college without knowing what "Beam Me Up, Scotty!" means--sadly, I have had far too many of those in my classes!