And on and on the story goes. Max is helped by his roommate Sasha, who didn't go home for summer break, but is still at school running a summer camp for fifty 5-year-old girls. The girls, fueled by candy, also help Max and Sasha in their attempts to outwit the schoolmaster. Much of the story, though, is about the tiny people and their inability to get along. There is lots of violence and threats of violence, although it doesn't seem like anyone actually gets genuinely hurt. There is also the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, as well as Max's attempts to get him to understand the difficulties he has communicating with others. All and all, it is quite an adventure, and I would only recommend it to children who like adventure stories. In addition, those who like witty type humor certainly may appreciate many of the author's attempts to get laughs. Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... The ending, I wasn't sure about, but I did come to terms with Max's decisions and saw his reasoning. It fitted. Max has few friends and rarely interacts with his peers at all, because it is too difficult to keep up with the speechreading. He's also not interested in sports activities, so he has even less interaction than many deaf children would have with hearing peers. His peers, all fellow kids, of course don't realize how fatiguing speechreading is, and the emotional and intellectual labor of repeatedly explaining this and asking for repeats is just as exhausting.

Max and the Millions by Ross Montgomery Max and the Millions by Ross Montgomery

For my final book I thought I would try a book that was more light hearted, and Ross Montgomery’s book delivered. Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry. The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... Without his aids, Max believes that “he would have to rely on lip-reading alone from now on.” This, despite his explicit knowledge that signed languages exist, and the fact he can read and write fluently. He uses gesture and writing multiple times throughout, so he's not clueless or helpless. It's not too difficult to at least come up with a signed system (like a visual Morse code). The melodrama of this statement is, of course, childlike, but again, it becomes a non-issue in that Mr. Darrow is able to create magical hearing aids that practically dissolve all communication barriers.Max was deafened at age four, and initially mainstreamed at a small school that provided communication support. (Note that elementary schools generally have more support and peer interactions are less complex, so this is highly realistic.) But then Max is sent to a large boarding school with no support. In my opinion, this novel is definitely an adventure novel, best suited for those looking from excitement and elements of humour from their reading. From Costa-shortlisted superstar, a highly anticipated standalone adventure about what happens when you find a tiny, living, breathing civilization on the floor of your school dorm room. Excellent premise, totally involving, and much more clever than the above would suggest. The historical documents of the Floor are great satire, the story of the warring factions and their place within Max's world gives a new perspective on his own problems. Adventure Stories (Children's/Ya) Fantasy & Magical Realism (Children's/Ya) JUVENILE FICTION--Action & Adventure--General JUVENILE FICTION--Fantasy & Magic JUVENILE FICTION--General Children's stories Fiction Juvenile works JUVENILE FICTION -- General JUVENILE FICTION -- Fantasy & Magic JUVENILE FICTION -- Action & Adventure -- General

Max and the Millions by Montgomery, Ross Download Max and the Millions by Montgomery, Ross

Moreover, Mr. Darrow later manufactures a new pair of hearing aids for Max from scratch, ones that perform better than any aids on the market that are created, fitted, and adjusted by professionals. Given how well done the deafness is, the unrealistic savant MacGyvering HAs (reminiscent of Tony Stark’s “magic” HAs for Clint Barton) is disappointing. Like Kate DiCamillo, Montgomery’s use of miracles enables the deaf character to experience an inexplicable ease of communication access.This book shifts between many perspectives; from Max, to Max’s new friend Sasha, to Sasha’s sister, to Ben the King of the Blues. It is handled seemlessly, with different fonts and characterisation throughout which makes this book easy to follow. The plot is delightfully daft and complemented by many subtle social comments about inequality, the abuse of power and the futility of war. My biggest problem in this book is the ending. Max decides to shrink down and join the small people in their new vegetable paradise. I personally would have preferred it if Max kept his bond with the people, but used his new social skills to realise that he could find a place in the boarding school. However, it is still a charming ending. At time this books violent language startled me; it’s been a while since I’ve read the line ‘how many blood sacrifices would you like?’. But it never becomes distasteful. I had to remind myself that I am a very different reader from an eight year old. It is always handled with a pinch of humour. It may feel like too much for an overprotective adult reader, but not for a child. Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: ‘Go to my room. You’ll know what to do.’