Author/Illustrator: John Hulme and Michael WexlerPlot Summary: In this book, the world is really just a big puppet theater and "seems" are the puppeteers. The "seems" make it rain, they make it stop raining, they decide how much it should rain and they decide where it should rain and when. And this all happens in the Department of Weather. But it's not just about rain; the "seems" make everything happen and in this book, there is a problem in the Department of Sleep. People are unable to fall asleep which means a "Fixer" comes in to figure out why. In this case, Becker Drane is the "fixer" and although he is the youngest "fixer" on record at 12 years old, he is chosen to do the job. Read this book and see how the world really works and what happens when it doesn't.
Comments: I began reading this book during the recent flooding activity in Atlanta. I had to wonder if maybe there really was something going wrong in the Department of Weather. This is an interesting book for students fifth grade and above and primarily boys. It's a little quirky and offbeat and possibly would not be a good choice for a faith-based conservative institution.
Extensions:
1. Students (either a class or in a literture circle) would write a letter describing why they would make good "Fixers." They may start this process by taking the SAT - Seemsian Appitude Test either on the website or transcribed by the teacher and distributed in paper format.
2. Students would take a Department from the book - ie. weather. They would explain - they could use a variety of fomats - written, audio, video, etc. - how one aspect of weather in "the seems" would work.
3. Students would draw/design a picture of what the Department of Water would look like based on the description in the book. Students could also put together a three-dimensional model.
Themes/keywords: sleep, technology, space and time
Age/Reading Level: 5 - 8; ATOS/Follett - 6.6; Lexile - 1060
Standards:(relevant standards for 6, 7, and 8th grades)
ELA6R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational texts.
ELA6R2 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.
ELA6RC1 The student reads a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books or
book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) per year from a variety of
subject disciplines. The student reads both informational and fictional texts in a
variety of genres and modes of discourse, including technical texts related to various
subject areas.
Publisher's Info: Bloomsbury Children's Books , New York. 2007
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-129-9
ISBN-10: 1-59990-129-3
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 01/01/09 | Wilson's Junior High School 11/01/08 |
| School Library Journal starred 11/01/07 | Library Media Connection starred 01/01/08 |
| Publishers Weekly 10/08/07 | Booklist 11/15/07 |
| Horn Book 04/01/08 | Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 10/01/07 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction
Websites:
Official site - Take the SAT - Seemsian Appitude Test or visit the Fixer Lounge - password required.
The authors like to visit middle schools - watch a video of this.
An article about the movie rights to the first book.
Notes for Booktalk: This is going to be a series. The second book is "The Split Second and the third is "The Lost Train of Thought."
Vocabulary: glitchometer, slippage, snorchestral, Foibles
Comments