The Great Unexpected

If you have been following my blog, you know that my students and I are huge fans of Sharon Creech. Well she has done it again – The Great Unexpected begins as two alternating stories that eventually come together with twists and turns along the way. Naomi, the narrator of our story, explains that she is being raised just outside of a tiny town called Blackbird Tree by an elderly couple named Joe and Nula. She describes how she first meets the peculiar boy named Finn who has dropped straight out of a tree. Lizzie, Naomi’s talkative best friend, comes upon their meeting and asks the boy many questions. The story then continues across the ocean in Ireland where an angry woman is plotting revenge. Before long, the chance encounters with Finn stir up feelings Naomi hasn’t felt before and she becomes frustrated that Lizzie always seems to be in the mix of things. When Lizzie tells her church that she and Naomi will offer their services to help the elderly of Blackbird Tree, the readers are introduced to the eccentric people of the town. The sudden death of someone Naomi loves dearly wrenches her heart and in seeking comfort, she uncovers secrets from her and others’ pasts. The phrase, “It’s a small world”, applies to this one and I love that! Other great books by Sharon Creech include Heartbeat, Love That Dog, Hate That Cat, Walk Two Moons, The Unfinished Angel, and The Wanderer. Sharon Creech tells you about this book in the video below.

Walk Two Moons

Just a few weeks ago, author Sharon Creech, commented on my blog in response to my review of her recent novel, The Unfinished Angel. To say that I was thrilled was an understatement. Authors to me are like rock stars to many of you! As soon as I read the comment, I screamed for the only audience I had - my 16-year-old and 19-year-old sons – to come read this. I couldn’t wait to get back to school to share this with my students. My sons and my students thought it was awesome. Consequently, my student Book Talk Club is reading her Newbery Medal (1995) winning book, Walk Two Moons, and will meet this Wednesday to discuss it. What a gift this sequence of events has been. This was my first time to read it…it is now on my top ten favorite books of all-time. At the beginning of the story, Sal (short for Salamanca) reflects on the day she and her father moved from their beloved country farm to a city in Ohio. She reluctantly meets her father’s lady friend, Mrs. Cadaver, and sees a girl’s face peering out of a window in the house next door. She would later meet and become close friends with the girl named Phoebe. Mysterious notes are showing up on Phoebe’s doorsteps. Shortly after the notes appear, Phoebe’s mom leaves her family with very little explanation. Could Mrs. Cadaver (the name says it all) have something to do with Phoebe’s mom’s disappearance? Sal doubts Phoebe’s mom will come back; after all, her mom hasn’t. Time has passed…Sal is going on a trip with her entertaining grandparents (on her father’s side) driving many miles to see her mother. She is determined that they get to their destination by her mother’s birthday – it is her last hope. Sal’s mother left her and her father when they lived in the country to sort things out. As they begin traveling, Sal tells her grandparents Phoebe’s story which intertwines with her story and her grandparents’ story. The three face numerous obstacles along the way – reliving someone else’s experiences. I don’t want to spoil anything for you if you haven’t read this, so I will just say that this is storytelling at its best. When you finish this book, you will treasure your relationships even more and you will listen to the stories of others a little more closely. I would recommend this to teachers looking for a class novel.

The Unfinished Angel

The Unfinished Angel is Sharon Creech’s most recent novel. Readers at my school are currently reading Hate That Cat (companion book to Love That Dog) also by Sharon Creech…it is on our middle school reading list this year. Everyone will find the narrator, an angel who has yet to find her calling, extremely entertaining. She doesn’t understand “peoples” and their ways. She has been at the top of a tower in the Swiss Alps for as long as she can remember. Things change when she meets an odd girl named Zola. Zola is different from anyone she has observed. Zola reaches out to the angel and asks her many inquisitive questions that make the angel a bit uncomfortable. Zola believes she is an unfinished angel and wants help from the angel. This story made me laugh out loud. I especially loved the personalities of the orphaned children who live in the village. Will Zola and the angel be able to save them? I listened to this story in audiobook format – the narrator was excellent. Click on the video below to hear Sharon Creech read an excerpt from her book.