Discussion

Who would the book appeal to?

This book is not for someone who is just beginning to read, because it uses quite a bit of big vocabulary.. so basically anyone over 16 could be drawn to it.

The book deals with some southern aspects too, so people from the south might be able to bring more of a connection with it and enjoy it more than the next person.

The book also is telling a story of a basically broken home. So anyone who has ever had to deal with situations like what you read in the book would like it tooo.

What about it is appealing?

I like the fact that the author sets the tone so well, when your reading it Bragg really makes you feel like you were there at the time. He is very specific with his emotions and how he felt about things.. he also is good at describing the situations of the time.

What obstacles should student readers of this book be ready for?

Challenging dialogue, Braggs' uses a lot of big and challenging words in this book. Its important to understand everything that is being said, because most of the time the most challenging words that he uses are intended to be the most powerful & moving.

What would students need to know about in-order to understand the book?

They would basically need to read the prologue of the book, i didnt at first and was lost, but after i read it i understood a lot more stuff.. this isnt supposed to be a book of him bashing on his father and telling lots of stories about him, although he does this a lot.. The main point is to show how strong and great of a person that is mother is.

You also need to understand the situation in which they are living in and where they are at. They are very poor and cannot afford what most people can... They are also in the south, so somethings that they are accustomed to there we may not understand.

What issues does the book deal with that students might be interested in discussing?

Rick Bragg had one of the worst fathers ever it seems like, and something that is interesting is all the things that Bragg explains him doing. A big thing in the book, for me, is seeing how his father messed up next. Another thing to discuss is the level of poverty that they were at, i think its enteresting to ponder how it must be or if someone could make it today in our economy if they were as poor as Bragg explains his family to of been.

Is there any "mature" content in the book? If so, what kind of content? How would you deal with such content in class?

Well there Isn't any content in the book so far that I would really concider mature to the point where if it was a movie it would be rated R. The book gets into how his father used to beat his mother pretty intently, but other than that and some language the book is prettty straight edge. And as far as discussing it in class, well i think that at this point we are all big enough, and hopefully mature enough to discuss basically anything in class.. So i would just go at it just as i would any other discussion.

Book Discussion

Who would the book appeal to? This book would be appealing to about everyone. I think people who maybe grew up in a poor family would relate to it easy, and people who grew up down south who knows what it was like going through what Rick went through everyday. It is kind of a hard book to read, I would say the age of fifteen and up would be fine reading this book.

What about it is appealing? The way Rick shows all his emotions and feelings really make the book exciting, it shows what he went through on a day-t0-day basis.

What would students need to know in order to understand the book? The students would need to know that life down south is alot different from life in Iowa. They would also need to know that he was a very poor kid growing up, he went through stuff most kids don't even think about going through to survive as a child.

What issues does the book deal with that students might be interesting in discussing? Some interesting issues that go on in the book is seeing what he went through when he was a child, he grew up in a very poor family, and learning about what he had to do is very interesting to me. If you could think of the worst example as a father, Rick's would fit the description almost perfectly, he would always walk out on his family, he was never there when his children needed him the most, even though his family was poor, that is no excuse to walk out on them when his children needed a father in there lives, and his wife needed a husband in her life.

Is there any "mature" content in the book? If so, what kind of content? How would you deal with such content in class? There is some mature content in this book, it talks about how Rick's father would beat people. His mother went through some depression I think by what she did to her children, but mostly sadness, she was in a way embarrassed that her children had to live such a rough life style. I would deal with it in a way that I knew exactly what I said was right about his childhood.

Questions for the book...

Who would the book appeal to?
I think this book would appeal to anyone I think. I dont think anyone under the age of 16 should read it because it uses some very big vocabulary and i dont think it would make sense to them as it would to older teens and young adults. I think anyone that has experienced a father that has left and came back multiple times should read this maybe they would learn something from it or something.
What about it is appealing?
I thinkk it is appealing because the author keeps in all his feelings and doesnt really tell his dad how he feels. I am real amazed that at the beginning of the book he tells us that his father had nothing to do with him writing the book and it was after his grandma passed when he started to write it. As of right now i cant really see his grandma being a big part of his life. the only time we hear about her is when their father leaves most of the time they end up at her house.
What obstacles should student readers of this book be ready for?
The emotion the author uses when he is talking about his father and the importance of his mother.
What would students need to know about in order to understand the book?
Students should know what the feeling of living in the south was like. how living with no money at all was like and how living with a father that leaves whenever he wants and doesnt come back months or even years latr and when he is with you he is a total drunk.
What issues does the book deal with that students might be interested in discussing?
Realising how poor they are. Also you should be interested in the way his mother deals with all of this. She takes care of three boys they know they cant always get what you want and you should also know she works all the time just to try to feed them.
Is there any “mature” content in the book? If so, what kind of content? How would you deal with such content in class?
there is alot of physical abuse with the father beating his mother. a lot of mental abuse with the father leaving all the time. Just make sure you know who the author is talking about sometimes it jumps around and you can get confused but if you know who he is talking about you should get the content.

Who would the book appeal to?
Everyone, but specifically people with southern roots. keep the age 15-16+, make sure they are old enough or mature enough to grab parenting like concepts
What about it is appealing?
The way Rick words his emotions and feelings
What obstacles should student readers of this book be ready for?
Deep emotion and hard dedication from Ricks mother, she works day and night for Rick to have a good life
What would students need to know about in order to understand the book?
The life in the deep south of alabama and the feeling of being dirt poor
What issues does the book deal with that students might be interested in discussing?
Being dirt poor and having a "never there" father
Is there any “mature” content in the book? If so, what kind of content? How would you deal with such content in class?
Beatings, Depression, Sadness, being poor? i would just make sure that i got all of Ricks emotions and feelings right. i would try to capture all the glow that he shows in his mother throught the book

day 1 discussion

So yeah so far this book hasnt really went anywhere. Like cody had said it is just like this boys life. I think since this boy's life is the only memoir i have read, i am kindof looking for something like that to happen in a memoir. Probably why im getting no where in the book. I thought it was very interesting that he never wanted to start writing until his grandmother died. That will happen to one of us and we can write a book about our life and we can get some bank. But the book is very slow i dont like how it jumps around im just waiting for something exciting to happen. When will that happen.
His mother is a very nice lady reminds me of my grandma. she will do anything i mean anything for one of her childern. I wonder if this is becasue of the rough life she lived before this or if she just wants he kids to have it all. Cody mentioned something about being depressed if this was him and i would be the same way i dont think i could take it i mean i dont get whatever i want now but having to go to goodwill to get clothes for less then a dollar that is wack. Every one stay caught up!!!!

Week 1 Discussion

We have been reading this book for a week now and still nothing really exciting has happened, so we don't have any questions to answer or anything. So far, it's just him telling us about his childhood and how rough of life he had to live when he was a child. He grew up in a very bad part of Alabama, he lived with his mother who had close to no money to spend on her children, but she loved her kids more than anyone has ever loved their children. She went eighteen years without getting one new dress so that her kids could have clothes for school. His father is the exact opposite, not very supportive at all. He was never there for his kids when they needed him, most kids have a dad that will take them to the park, play sports with, and just have fun with him, but not Rick Bragg, he never had the chance to do any of that stuff with his father. It really shows how tough Rick and his family was during this time, I know I don't have it in me to get through a childhood like that, it really shows how dedicated they were toward not just themselves, but to their family.

First Week's Discussion

This is the first week that we gotta blog about our books.. Ig we gotta come up with a question to have a discussion over.. but I dont really know what to discuss sicne nothing has happened yet in the book... So far the dude has just told us a bunch of random information like the fact that his mother was apparently a very strong woman, she used to work all day to support her family, and it seems like His dad wasnt much of a help. Charlie Bundrum, his grandfather, also died in 1858 at the age of fifty-0ne. His family was very poor, his mother only had one nice dress, and when they needed new clothes they would have to go to goodwill to get .25cent clothes.. one time they even had to go to the Jacksonville Dump... I think that if that was me and my family Id be unbelivably depressed & upset all the time because of that, I dont know how someone could deal with a life that is that hard.

His Father wasnt very supportive through his childhood, his dad didnt even teach him or his brothers sports, instead he learned form his mother. His mother was a woman that put her family before her-self and I belive that she did a lot to benifit her family. Rick Braggs seems to of had a very hard childhood, but he seems very fortunate to of had a Mother like his to support him.

So far this book has been going really slow, its all about small random events, and it seems to jump around a lot also, kinda like in This Boy's Life. SO far its just been about their struggle as a faimly as they struggle through poverty and loosing family members, or coming accross new problems in life.

I choose this book.....

i choose this book because ADHD and me didnt work out, it was to short and i was out of time to get a diffrenent book.
expectations, read every night, get homework done, try to enjoy it.
i know this isnt a sports illustrated or the cartoon section of the news paper, but just keep up with the reading and we will all be peachy
Toodles,
Austin Smizzle

expectations

I choose this book because we couldnt read ADHD&Me without having to read another book, and we couldnt find a book that was short enough to read as a second book, that seemed interesting enough.. So Ayers came by and gave us some suggestions on books that we could read.. this book was the easiest one to get a hold of, unlike the other Memoir by Tobias Wolff about his war time in Vietnam witch we would of had to look for at a book store and buy. This book seems like it could be alright.. the back describes that it's about this really poor family struggling to get by. From the book presentations in class i noticed that basically all the books that we were able to choose from to read now were based on a struggle of somesort.. This book seems like it could be pretty good, i guess we will have to see. Challenges will be keeping up with reading and to not fall behind.

expectations

Everyone needs to participate equally and we need to read the pages we are suppose to every day and just make sure we all stay caught up.
I have no idea what this book is about. I like reading books that interest me like sports books or scary books.
The reason im reading this is because the other book we were going to read didnt work out so we are going to read this one and we are going to enjoy it. Got it fellas!!!
Peace my homies
Keegan Talbott(Idriveamontecarlo) Not really but it sounds good. :)

what up my brothas

this is a test does it work this book is going to be so awesome i cant wait to read it with all of you bros

eh check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6FNB2Hy5j8