Pictures of Hollis Woods- meeting #14

Our eighth meeting of the 2014-15 school year was on Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.  This book received a Newbery award in 2003 and was adapted for TV in 2007.  It is a touching story about a 12 year old girl who escapes from countless foster families before ending up with a retired art teacher that she really connects with.  She wants to stay with Josie, but a series of events leads to an adventure.  Her story unfolds from the pictures she draws and its a great book examining the meaning of family, self expression, and relationships.

 The host mama put out a spread of chicken salad, egg salad, croissants, and other delicious food to nosh on.

 We used our general discussion questions to help guide the discussion. They gave a mixture of thumbs up, thumbs down, and side even though most of the girls did not finish the book :)  March and April are busy school months, but we did have a talk about being sure to read the book.  Those who had read it seemed to like it, but were sad about portions that address Alzheimers.

The host mama bought colored pencils for the girls and paper so they could do artwork like Hollis.  I was able to get a copy of the movie and the girls watched the movie version while coloring.  

The movie version was cheap on Amazon from a seller selling a used copy.  Sissy Spacek stars in it.  

We had a great time!  Next month, we are reading Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry.