ESU 11 2016-2017 Battle of the Books
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  • The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days
  • Summer of the Monkeys
  • The Trouble in Me
  • Tuck Everlasting
  • Ungifted
  • Wonder
  • Woods Runner

Summer I Saved the World                 in 65 Days
                          Grades 3-8

It's summertime, and thirteen-year-old Nina Ross is feeling kind of lost. Her beloved grandma died last year; her parents work all the time; her brother's busy; a​nd her best friend is into clothes, makeup, and boys. While Nina doesn't know what "her thing" is yet, it's definitely not shopping and makeup. And it's not boys, either. Though . . . has Eli, the boy next door, always been so cute?
   This summer, Nina decides to change things. She hatches a plan. There are sixty-five days of summer. Every day, she'll anonymously do one small but remarkable good thing for someone in her neighborhood, and find out: does doing good actually make a difference? Along the way, she discovers that her neighborhood,and her family, are full of surprises and secrets.
   In this bighearted, sweetly romantic novel, things may not turn out exactly as Nina expects. They might be better.

Level 3.5; 6 points
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It is the parting words of her eighth-grade history teacher that give purpose to her summer: “It is very often the ordinary things that go unnoticed that end up making a difference.” Inspired, Nina plans to perform 65 small, anonymous acts of kindness for her family and neighbors—one for each day of her summer. She leaves brownies on a doorstep, plants a garden in the dead of night and secretly cleans up a neighbor’s yard. Through her friendship with Thomas, Eli’s irresistible toy-sword–wielding little brother, she discovers Eli has family troubles of his own. Teens will easily ally with the kindhearted, insecure Nina and be charmed by the humor and beautifully defined characters. The unpredictable domino effect of Nina’s good deeds is a joy to behold.

Activity One

What 65 small things would you do to change the world? Make a list of those 65 things - no repeats of yours and try to keep duplicates of Nina's to a minimum.
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Activity Two

​What (or who) did the fox represent?
Your answer needs to be written out and cover at least half of the page.
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Activity Three

Nina's grandma was a big part of her life. For a change of pace, please make her carrot ring recipe, then share a picture of it as you share your great cooking skills with others.

NINA'S GRANDMA'S CARROT RING RECIPE:2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups grated carrots, firmly packed
Cream shortening and sugar, add egg and dry ingredients, then water and carrots. Bake 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven in a greased mold pan.
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