Going beyond the text!

The Magician was an exciting adventure that captured my imagination.  As I mentioned in the previous post, Nicholas Flemal and the twins esaped Dee in Oaji through a leygate and was instantly transported to Paris, France.  Nicholas Flamel views Paris as his home town and in real history is documented to have lived there for many years.  In Paris, the reader is introduced to an old friend of Nicholas, Joan of Arc!  This is another historical figure to research!!   Sophie has had her powers awakened and learned three elemental magics, but Josh still is a normal human.  He is feeling jealous of his sister and also scared that they no longer will have a close bond.  He is determined have his powers awakened also and after some crazy events, he ends up with Dee.  Dee convinces that he can find an Elder who can awaken his powers.  Dee takes Josh deep under the city of Paris in what are called the Catacombs.  Deep under the city the God of War, Mars Ultor.  Mars awakens Josh's powers and also gives Josh all his war strategy knowledge.  A final battle take place between Dee and Nicholas and the twins at the historic, Notre Dame.  Dee uses magic to bring to life the stone gargoyles and monsters that decorate the gothic building.  Flamel and the twins escape and head to London in search of another person to help teach the twins another elemental magic.  The third book in the series, The Sorceress, was also great, but I will save that for another post. ;)

This book had me "googling" so much information!  From Joan of Arc to Notre Dame, but my favorite was the Paris Catacombs.  In the book, the characters go deep under Paris through tunnels and some are filled with human skeletons!  It turns out that this really does exist.  In the eighteenth century the local graveyards in Paris were overflowing, so the city decided to take out the old skeletons and  export them to these tunnels.  The walls are filled with skulls and bones and some are even in designs.  This tunnel is open to the public, so if you are ever in Paris, be sure to check them out.  I have officially added the Paris Catacombs to my "places to visit" lists.  I think I would be a bit nervous, but it would be worth it.

For more information check out this link- http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm


Here are a few pictures of the Catacombs.

I love these books!

I finished The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel, and jumped right into the 2nd book in the series, The Magician.  I got so consumed in reading that I haven't posted any updates!  Well The Alchemyst was a fantastic novel that really created vivid images and scenes in my mind as I read.  The book that the antagonist Dee stole from Nicholas Flamel is known as The Lost Book of Abraham the Mage or the Codex.  In the novel, people throughout history have been searching for the books to unlock the secrets it holds.  The book creates a world that is full of everything that we thought was legend and impossible, and makes them all real.  Flamel takes the twins to meet an ancient warrior named Scathach.  This red haired young looking girl is thousands of years old and the founder of modern day martial arts.  Scathach helps the twins (Josh and Sophie) and Flamel escape Dee and find a shadowrealm created by an Elder, Hekate. Hekate is not human but one of the first races to live on Earth.  She and other Elders are very powerful and were also though of as gods.    The twins learn that in the Codex there is a prophecy that mentions twins of silver and gold saving the world from the dark elders.  We learn that each person has an aura of different colors around them.  The purer your color, the more magical power you possess.  It turns out a that Sophie is pure silver and Josh is pure gold.  Flamel is certain that these are the twins that will help save the world.  Hakate helps awaken Sophie's magical powers but before she has a chance to awaken Josh's, they are attacked by Dee and his army.  This was my favorite part of the book because of all the detail used to describe the battle.  Hekate is killed by Dee, but Flamel and the others escape.  

The  book continues to jump from different points of views as you read on.  Perry is still trapped by Dee but she is able to use her powers to help.  She tells Flamel to take the twins south to the witch in Oaji.  When I read this I was very curious about where exactly Oaji was in the USA.  I had never head of this town so I took my iPad out and searched for it on a map.  It is in southern California!  I love having the power of the internet so easily available when I am reading.  Searching for places or people really helps me understand novels better.  This book is filled with references to common known legends and tales, and being able to read them online helps you as the reader connect with the characters.  Many characters in the book, including Flamel and Dee were actual people, so if you read this book be sure to do some research.

The witch in Oaji, is a master of air and gives Sophie all the knowledge and memories she has ever had to help Sophie learn how to use her powers a bit more.  Now that Sophie's powers have been awakened, Josh feels distant and a bit envious.  Sophie has always been his best friend but now he doesn't know how to feel.  Dee tries to convince Josh that Flamel is not a trustworthy person and now Josh seems lost on what to believe.  Dee tries to battle Flamel and the gang in Oaji, but fails as the witch helps them escape thru a leygate to Paris, France. Leygates are points around the world where more than one power line intersects.  I really hope you read this book! My summary is not worthy of it's greatness ;)  I am almost finished with The Magician and will update you on the adventures in Paris.

Here's a picture taken after I searched for Oaji, California.  Always go deeper than the text and research on your own.  NEVER rely on one source for your knowledge ;)

8th Grade Graduation 2011

Next year I will no longer teach 8th grade, but I had a great year teaching the 8th graders of 2010-2011.  We read some great novels as a class and created the coolest projects ever. :)  Here are a few photos from the 8th grade graduation ceremony last month.

My Summer Reading Funk

I have been on summer vacation for 2 weeks and I must admit that it has been hard to get back into reading for fun.  I was struggling to find the motivation to just sit down and read.  Yes, teachers also don't always like reading ;)   I started thinking about all of my students and what I would say to them if they came to me with this problem.  I think I would say, "Just sit down and start reading!"  Sometimes you just need to dive right into a book and you will be right back to that reading loving person you always were.  I brought home a tub of student favorites to read over the summer.  So I finally picked one up and started reading.  Once I began, I remembered how much I love reading.  The characters you meet in these wonderful novels truly become lifelong friends.

I decided to start with The Alchemyst, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. I was introduced to this book by my 5th grader, Redwan.  He had a great passion for the story and characters, which I can now understand why.  The novel introduces the reader to twin brother and sister, Sophie and Josh Newman.  They are in San Fransico for the summer working down the street from each other.  Sophie works at a coffee shop and notices some strange looking men down the street walking into the bookstore where her brother works.  The novel is written in Third-Person Omniscient and jumps back and forth between Sophie's point of view and Josh's.  Josh is searching for books when he realizes that his boss, Nick Fleming is having a disagreement with the strange men that Sophie noticed.  There is a big fight in the book store, but not with fists.  Nick Flemming and the leader of the strange men, Dee, began using magic against each other.   Sophie and Nick's wife, Perry, run down the street to help when the men take Perry and an old book.  After the fight is over, Sophie and Josh are confused and looking to Nick for answers. They learn that Nick's true identity is Nicholas Flamel and he was born in the year 1330!  He and his wife Perenelle, Perry's real name, have managed to stay alive with the magic found in the book that Dee and the men stole.  Nicholas and the twins begin to plan a way to save Perenelle and get the book back from the powerful wizard, Dee.  My favorite detail so far is the odor of magic.  So if you smell peppermint with a mix of rotten eggs, there is sure to be some magic happening near you ;)

This book has hooked me right in and I cannot wait to finish it.  It is the first in a four book series, so I will have plenty of reading material to keep me motivated this summer.  I encourage you to buy or check out a copy and read it along with me!  If you have already read this book, make a comment with your thoughts.  I love reading with other people.  Until next time, happy summer reading!