Mrs.+Zoll's+Blog

Gossamer by Louis Lowry (One of the best books I have EVER read! I get weird dreams all the time and this book was such a fascinating way of describing how we get dreams. Plus, there was just a touching story about an old woman and foster child and his mother that weaves through the story of the dreamgivers. Amazing!)

I like that in the book __Gossamer__ the details are so decriptive about how dream fragments are put together. "Through touching, they [the dreamgivers] gather material: memories, colors, words once spoken, hints of scents and the tiniest fragment of forgotten sound. They collect pieces of the past, of long ago and of yesterday. They combine these things carefully, creating dreams. Then they insert the dreams as the humans sleep. The act of dream insertion is called //bestowal//. It is very delicate. It requires absolute precision to b//estow a dream//, or even to decide exactly how one should be bestowed." page 14,15 When I have a dream, it always seems as though there all of these separate feelings, colors, and events that mash together and I don't know where they come from. This quote uses words like "hints" and "tiniest fragments" and "delicate" to really capture just how fleeting dreams are.

A great book of writing! __Esperanza Rising__ by Pam Munoz Ryan

"In her entire life, Esperanza had never helf a broom in her hand. But she had seen Hortensia sweep and she tried to visualize the memory. It couldn't possibly be that hard. She put both hands near the middle of the broomstick and moved it back and forth. It swung wildly. The motion seemed awkward and the fine dirt on the wooden planks lifted into a cloud. Onion jackets flew into the air instead of gathering together in a neat pile like Hotensia's. Esperanza's elbows did not know what to do. Neither did her arms. She felt streams of perspiration sliding down her neck. She stopped for a moment willing the broom to behave. . .Then she heard it. First a small tittering and then louder. She turned around. A group of women were laughing at her."

Wow. Did Ezperanza feel sad when the women were laughing at her? If that was me I would feel sad. I maybe would even cry. comment from: Brandon lol :)

I love how the author describes doing something so simple. I take for granted the ability to swing a broom and think it must have beenr really hard for the author to capture just what it must be like for someone as privileged as Esperanza. I picked this passage because it really showed me just how privileged Esperanza had been in Mexico. She didn't even know how to sweep! I also love the word choice. Wildly, lifted into a cloud, elbows, streams of perspiration, and tittering all stood out to me.

Hi all! Thanks for being flexible. I'll be adding my new blog about great writing in the book I'm currently reading, so keep your eyes peeled. ;)

hahaha!