Literature: Term 2 Super Pack

 
Purchase a discounted term (16 weeks) of classes! This includes:
 
Bravery and Adventure (4 weeks)
Would you be brave enough to be frank with the king or have a secret friend? Discover both these dilemmas and decide for yourself. Sometimes, adventures are simply waiting for us right outside our own front doors (or maybe just next door). Who knows what lies ahead?

Wise Choices (4 weeks)
Sam and Oscar face life-threatening situations in almost every chapter, during which they need to make responsible, wise choices. This can be especially hard when one is only eleven years old and has never had to make these decisions before. Keep a level head as we travel through time and space to learn a thing or two about making wise choices!
 
Determination (4 weeks)
Learn all about hard work and keeping to it in these literary adventures! Can two stowaways survive the grizzly bear, coyote, and crazy miners? An unusual girl is surrounded and loved by many unusual people who would, in normal circumstances, be called robbers. Let’s see what we can learn from these steadfast characters.
 
Thoughtfulness and Compassion (4 weeks)
Being thoughtful and compassionate isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be very hard. Garnet practices showing the love she has for her family and friends. Chester discovers the true meaning of friendship. Last of all, Edward Tulane learns what it means to truly love, despite any and all challenges that may arise.
 
Day and Time: Thursdays, 12:45 - 1:45 PM ET
Bundle Duration: 16 Weeks
Dates: February 6 - May 29, 2025
No class April 17 (Spring Break)
Recommended for: Ages 9+ / Grades 4-5
Teacher: TTK Faculty
Required Materials:* 
The Kite Fighters, by Linda Sue Park
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters, by Lesley M.M. Blume
My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells
By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren
Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright
The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
 
See more literature classes: thethinkingkid.org/literature
See more classes for ages 9+ / grades 4-5: thethinkingkid.org/grades-4-5
 
The Kite Fighters, by Linda Sue Park
Kee-sup can craft a kite unequaled in strength and beauty, but his younger brother, Young-sup, can fly a kite as if he controlled the wind itself. Their combined skills attract the notice of Korea's young king, who chooses Young-sup to fly the royal kite in the New Year kite-flying competition—an honor that is also an awesome responsibility. Although tradition decrees, and the boys' father insists, that the older brother represents the family, both brothers know that this time the family's honor is best left in Young-sup's hands.
 
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters, by Lesley M. M. Blume
Eleven-year-old Cornelia is the daughter of two world-famous pianists—a legacy that should feel fabulous but instead feels just plain lonely. She surrounds herself with dictionaries and other books to isolate herself from the outside world. But when a glamorous neighbor named Virginia Somerset moves next door with her servant Patel and a mischievous French bulldog named Mister Kinyatta, Cornelia discovers that the world is a much more exciting place than she had originally thought.
 
My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in New York City with his family, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live in the woods—all by himself. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel, he intends to survive on his own. Sam learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that changes his life forever.
 
On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells
In the wake of the Crash of 1929, Oscar Ogilvie’s life is changed forever. His dad has to sell their house and cherished model trains and head west in search of work, leaving Oscar lonely and miserable in the care of his aunt. Then he meets a mysterious drifter and witnesses a crime so stunning it catapults him on an incredible train journey from coast to coast, from one decade to another.
 
By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman
When Jack's aunt is forced to sell her beloved mansion but is still unable to raise enough money to pay her debts, the twelve-year-old goes to California in search of gold to help her. Joined by his trusty butler, Praiseworthy, Jack finds adventure and trouble at every turn. 
 
Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren
On the night Ronia was born, a thunderstorm raged over the mountain, but in Matt's castle and among his band of robbers there was only joy - for Matt now had a spirited little black-haired daughter. Soon Ronia learns to dance and yell with the robbers, but it is alone in the forest that she feels truly at home. Then, one day, Ronia meets Birk, the son of Matt's arch-enemy. Soon after Ronia and Birk become friends the worst quarrel ever between the rival bands erupts, and Ronia and Birk are right in the middle.
 
Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright
A few hours after nine-year-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in the dried-up riverbed, the rains come and end the long drought on the farm. Garnet can't help feeling that the thimble is a magic talisman, for the summer proves to be interesting and exciting in so many different ways.
 
The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
Tucker is a streetwise city mouse. He thought he'd seen it all. But he's never met a cricket before, which really isn't surprising, because, along with his friend Harry Cat, Tucker lives in the very heart of New York City―the Times Square subway station. Chester Cricket could not have found two better guides―and friends―than Tucker and Harry. He makes a third friend, too: a boy, Mario, who rescues Chester from a dusty corner of the subway station and brings him to live in the safety of his parents' newsstand. 
 
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . . . 
 
*Students must have the books to participate in the course.