The Real Adventure

Book: Doll Bones

By Holly Black

One of the first of the children's books I read for this blog and a book that truly drew in my interest when it spoke of ghosts and adventure, this book is a must read for any child in your class who has an active imagination.  For some reason this book has been on the backburner for my to do list to add to this blog and I really want to emphasize that it isn't at all because I didn't enjoy reading this book or because I felt it wasn't good for the classroom.  Trust me, this book truly earned te John Newbury Medal and I truly recommend it for a variety of reasons.  The most obvious reason is because it has an original style plot that can easily hook readers (who doesn't love a good ghost story) and the fact that main characters get to turn their once imaginary stories into a real adventure really shows the value of one's imagination and the fact that even if it isn't always clear adventure really is around every corner and that you don't have to be from a mystical land to be a hero in a story.  

If I had to pick a negative quality it would be that the book seems to take a while to hook the reader with the revelation that it was a true fiction book not occurring until a few chapters in when we hear the ghost story and how the doll had the bones of a girl in them.  What drew me in initially was the fact that it sounded like it would be a ghost story filled with adventure and while it ended up fitting the bill I wasn't sure of that until almost halfway through the story.  However, this can also be a compliment to the book and show even more the hidden message that adventure doesn't only occur in story books, and the fact that the story was so realistic (besides the ghost) with the children camping in the woods and having to keep track of how much they were spending, and having to steal a boat to get across the river, and even having to break in through an unlocked window to get into the library really kept the reader from feeling as though it were just another fiction book.  It truly felt like an adventure story that had merely one or two elements that made it fictional wich I really felt was a huge positive to the book.  Overall, like I've said this is a great book to show to any reader who you feel has a thirst for adventure.

Lexile Reading score: 840L

Recommended Grade Level: Grade: 4 or 5

Teaching Suggestions:  I recommend this book highly for a small group guided reading discussion.

Before the Reading

A great activity for the students would be to use the image of the front cover as well as any additional images from the text to have the students guess at what the story will be about and make predictions on what the doll will have to do with it and their adventure.  After the students make their predictions show them the video of the book trailer included below so that they gain an understanding of what the story will be about and how the picture actually tied in.

During the Reading

At the conclusion of each chapter have the students draw a picture that they feel summarizes what happened in the chapter or that they feel represents a key point in the chapter.  Then have them write 3-5 sentences that summarize what happened and what the picture represents.  At the end the teacher can stape all the pages together so that they each have their own version of the book based on their different takeaways.  You can add a lot of discussion here and have students explain to their groups/partners why they choose to draw what they drew for each chapter and have them discuss what they feel was important information and "filler" information

After the Reading

Make a research project for the students to do after reading the book to tie into the book, you can offer them multiple options for a topic so that they have choice in what they want to do.  Some ideas for a research topic would be looking up china bone dolls and to reflect on how this artwork is used in real life and find the history of it.  The students can also esearch to find a book that they feel has the same overall message as Doll Bones.  Or the students can research the author of the book and the reason she choose to write this story.

Great Electronic Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xqXfGOepQE

This is a great book trailer for getting readers interested in the story and for giving them an idea of what the book is about so they won't regret choosing it for a book.

https://quintessentialantiquedolls.wordpress.com/history-of-china-dolls/

This link gives the history of bone china dolls and will help give students an understanding of hhow the doll plays a role in the story, it's also  great way to introduce them to the idea of doing research before reading a book.

Important Vocabulary Words to Go Over

Apparatus - the equipment needed for a specific activity

Contentious - Likely to cause an argument

Daunting - Intimidating, looks impossible to do

Exhilarating - Thrilling, get's someone very excited and happy

Exasperated - To be very annoying to the point that it angers others

Ominously - Menacing, threatening, scary

Silhouetted - The dark shape and outline of someone or something

Tentatively - Done without confidence, hesitantly