From: Ben Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 10:20 AM To: Laura Dwyer Subject: Re: Briar Rose[Scanned] Hey Mrs. Dwyer I think your quote means that if you're asleep you don't care what goes on in the world. If you're awake then you care about lots of things, even the sleepers. " 'I found out that Ksiezniczka...' she stumbled over the pronunciation. 'means princess.' " (Yolen, 1992 p.66) That tells you that Gemma was the princess because this quote,"BY WHAT NAMES HAVE YOU ALSO BEEN KNOWN: (INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL NAMES OR ANY OTHER NAMES YOU HAVE BEEN KNOWN.) Ksiezniczka"(p.62) tells you that she used to be called Ksiezniczka. " ' Mom, exactly when were you born?' 'Exactly August thitieth dear. I thought you knew that. You give me a present every year' 'I mean-what year?' 'Why, 1944. Is it important?' " (p.63) That tells you nothing right now, but the next quotes will make this one mean something. "Under the heading IF YOU HAVE ANY LIVING CHILDREN, in a peculiarly Germanic italic hand, someone had written, 'With child, due any day.' " (p.63) That tells you that Becca's Mom was born shortly after Gemma moved to America but not the date. "The sheet was dated 1944." (p.61) That proves that Becca's mom was born in 1944, and that Gemma did have a child due any day. " 'Maybe,' Becca said, raising her voice a little, 'from August 14 to August 30 was sim'ly 'any day' ' " (p.63) And that proves that it was Becca's mom that was due any day. This is a really good book, and you can tell by the length of my emails. Ben ----- Original Message ---- From: Laura Dwyer To: Ben Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 9:34:54 AM Subject: RE: Briar Rose[Scanned] Hi Ben Excellent reflection! The intriguing style of this book is the way that it effortlessly carries you into history while keeping you in the present. The author provides a window into the past and allows you to view the past a peek at a time. I found myself drawn to the window. "It's not the sleeper who minds. It's the ones left behind, awake." (Yolen, 1992, p.38) What do you think this means? Enjoy! Thank you, Mrs. Dwyer ________________________________ From: Ben Sent: Sat 7/8/2006 10:28 AM To: Laura Dwyer Subject: Briar Rose[Scanned] Hey Mrs. Dwyer, How's it going? Thanks for the Snickers. I can't wait to continue through the book, and I only stopped because I had to empty the dishwasher. I decided to send the email now because I had already paused. "Everyone likes a fairy tale story because everyone wants things to come out right in the end." (Yolen, 1992 p.1) That just tells me that this story comes out right because they tell you it's a fairy tale. Right now their just building up suspense with Gemma dieing and the background story of Sleeping Beauty every other chapter. " 'I was the princess' she cried again. 'In the castle. The prince kissed me.' 'Yes Gemma' 'That castle is yours. It is all I have to leave you. You must find it. The castle in the sleeping woods. Promise me.' "(p.16) That really builds up suspense, and tells me that her stories are so real that Rebecca is promising that she will find the castle in the story. That is really cool because it shows that some stories can be real. I really like the book so far. I can't wait to get going again. Bye. Ben