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The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1)
Last updated Friday, October 13, 2023
Author: Jacqueline West
Date of Publication: 2010
ISBN: 0803734409
Grade Level: 4th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Oct. 2023
Synopsis:
This house is keeping secrets . . .
When eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy - but it isn't until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there's something darkly magical afoot.
Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house's spooky paintings to a world that's strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. But in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been ensnared in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. With only the cats and an unusual boy she meets in Elsewhere on her side, it's up to Olive to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good.
| Note to readers: |
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Olive Dunwoody, 11 years old, moves with her parents into a creepy old house in a new town. She soon discovers many strange things; including paintings that seem to be "alive" and cats that can talk.
It might be fun to have the readers for all grades treat the event like a campfire reading - sitting in a circle on the floor, classroom lights out using flashlights to read. The last item could help with any challenging kids by having them hold the flashlights for the readers.
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| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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Check the picture opposite the first page. Are there any houses that look like that in your neighborhood? Do you think you might want to stay in one like it? Or even live in one?
Vocabulary:
arsenic: a grayish-white element, vaporizes when heated, VERY POISNOUS.
inheritance: property that passes from one person to another upon the owner’s death.
mathematician: a person who is an expert in math.
lackluster: dull, lacking in radiance or vitality.
aberration: departing from the normal or correct course.
sepia: a brownish, grayish color that is frequently seen in older photos or images from the 1800s.
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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Olive meets Horatio, a talking cat. How would you like to have a pet that talks?
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Olive discovers she can climb into the strange paintings in her house. Have ever imaged yourself inside a painting or picture? Or as a character in a book or movie? Would you like to be able to?
READERS: Advise the children to finish the book, which will be in the school's library after today. There are two other cats that talk and she interacts with the people in the paintings. Is what’s going on good or bad?
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| Craft ideas: |
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Draw a picture of a house like the one on the first page of the book. Decorate it for Halloween. You can make it creepy or nice.
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Draw a picture of a costume you would like to wear for Halloween.
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Make a mask for Halloween.
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| Special activities: |
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Complete the supplied word search
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
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