"The Indian in a Cupboard" Book?

another vote for it being an awesome book. Toys coming to life thats so cool.

break it down have her read a chapter and report to you and then continue. next time she should plan ahead.

I really loved that book, lol. So much so that I bought the movie from a Blockbuster that was going out of business for my little guy (too young for the book still).
But yeah. There's going to be books that she doesn't like. But that's life. Some exciting assignments, some not so exciting assignments. The chapters are short, it's a little book. She can do it if she's 8 or up. ;)

We loved that book! We did not think it was a boy book. We loved the idea of the secret world of the toys being real.

It is like the dragon tattoo book. Everyone says if you can get through the first part,you will love it.

Maybe offer to read every other chapter to her.

Find something really tedious for her to read a few pages of, then give her back the novel. After three pages of "Isotopic Geochemistry" or "Land Surveys of Southern Arizona" she will eat up "The Indian in the Cupboard!"
I must say, I did love that book :)

That's kind of sad to me, as it was a favorite of mine as a child. However, I can think of other books I didn't like that I had to read for school, so go figure! All I can offer is that obviously she needs to read the book. That sometimes we have to do something we don't necessarily like to do. If the answers are based on her own interpretation, she can be honest about it. Treat it like any other chore or homework lesson. If she doesn't get it done she won't be able to do a,b, or c. Keep it simple.

Strange take: let her write the essay about why she hates the book (beyond covering the basic information required). Have her read the whole thing not just watch the movie, because sometimes movies are not true to the book. Maybe she'll like it further on, maybe she won't. But getting to vent about why she doesn't think it is an interesting book will make the assignment interesting and show that she read and understood it.

And before people get all over me- what do you think professional book critics do?

My sisters and i loved that book, so did my kids. It is a beautiful story!

Well I don't like doing the dishes, but they have to get done.

it's actually a good book. did a boy tell her its a boy book? my daughter hated any book she thought was a boy book. go to the second hand store and see if you can find a copy of it. my kids all loved it. the lady who wrote it actaully wrote another one about a girl with a doll house where the dolls came to life. she might like that one.

Forgot my favorite line from the movie is one that we still today say in our house lol. "you should not do magic you do not understand" I say that to my hubby every time he fries the computer lol

Oh my gosh! I LOVE that book!! Bunch of crazies ;)

This is realllly cheating, but the movie is really good too....

I loved the book as a child! My sisters hated it. Like you said, she has to read it! IF she puts in half an effort, she won't get a good grade. Lesson learned!

Hey -it's life. Tell her it's great preparation for many, many things in her academic and professional future! As we all know, sometimes you just have to suck it up and get through it. Tell her at least she's not experiencing an entire semester of Victorian poetry taught by a professor who lived and breathed it! I thought I would stab my eyes out, but it was required...

I loved it read the whole series to my kids, but they were a teeny bit younger. I would def read it to her. make it an enjoyable experience, talk about each chapter. Did you tell her you think the book is boring?

My 4th grade teacher read this book aloud to the class....I liked it!

Don't know what else to say? She has to read it...right?

Maybe you could simplify the questions for her. Some children may not grasp the idea of literary conflict. They may watch the news and see a story about "the conflict in Afghanistan" or similar news stories involving conflicts between gangs, and they may think "there is no war in this book" and fail to understand that conflict in a book can be about a guilty conscience, or an ethical decision, etc.

So maybe you could explain to her that the teacher wants her to write about the problems that the boy has. Does he have to make any tough choices? Is he having a disagreement with his friend? What does she see as the biggest problem that the boy faces? Write it down as simply as possible. Then write down what led up to that challenge, and how he fixed things. Take away all those literary terms and substitute very simple age-appropriate words.

You might relate "conflict" to everyday situations. Use a simple example, like you want to have steak for dinner, but to buy steak for everyone would cost $60, and you have to pay the cable bill soon. Your conflict is: do you give in to what you want to eat, or be responsible and have a cheap pasta dinner that wouldn't be as delicious? Her conflict right now is: she has to read a book but it's not the type she likes, and there's a report due and consequences for not doing it. Does she just suck it up and read the book and do the homework, or does she refuse to do the book and accept the poor grade and loss of privileges? Which would be worse?

Of course, that doesn't get around the boring issue, but yeah, there will dozens more boring books she will have to read, and when she's done with her education she'll have to pay bills or fill out a rent application, which are boring, and stand in line at the DMV, which is boring, or fill out a time sheet or prepare a report or complete a patient's chart, all of which are boring. It's a hard lesson to learn or accept!

I've really lucked out where my kids go, they don't have to read a certain book, they can pick any book they want for a book report. I think it sucks to "make" the kids read a certain book. Not everyone likes every book. Regardless, its an assignment and she has to do it. Now she will really hate it because she's waited until the last minute and will be reading and working on it all weekend. =/

I loved this book and the whole series growing up. It does start slow, but it gets better. I think if she puts in effort to get through the beginning, she might enjoy the middle and end more.

Wow. Just curious, what books DOES she find interesting?

Oh the movie is awesome. My daughter loves it. Once she sees the movie she will be more wanting to read the book. Target or Kmart should have it.

There were books I did not like. I was an English major at time when my college required all English majors to have what is now a separate concentration in Literature. I read...a lot.

When my sks complain about a reading assignment I will say "my mother is a fish" - which is an ENTIRE chapter of As I Lay Dying.

She can't get out of it so simply tell her to read it and do the assignment and then she can chalk it up to learning a cultural reference. In our house, not getting reasonable grades (especially for simply flaking on homework) leads to things like not being able to go out with friends.

Here's another idea - if she reads it and does the assignment how about you take her to the bookstore to get another book to read for fun?

Sometimes it also helps SD to tell us what she doesn't like so she gets it off her chest, but she's still reading the book and doing the assignment. "I can't believe the author took five chapters to describe a kumquat! He did no character development at all. What was that about?!"

Here's something about the movie, though - it doesn't replace the book. It can be close (my roommate wrote a paper mostly based on the movie version of Pride and Prejudice) but if the teacher is looking for exact examples, he or she will know if the kid only saw the movie and is using that for reference. Even if she sees the movie, she'll need to use the book.

I happen to love this book. I do it as a read aloud to my second graders. They always run to the library to read the sequel when I am fonished with the book. Try reading one chapter aloud to her then have her read one on her own. Perhaps the book may be more interesting to boys, but I love books where toys come to life.

There was a movie made based on the book. I don't know if the movie stayed true to the book's storyline.

The most valuable lesson she can take away from this is to hurry up and finish the book especially if she doesn't like it this way the assignment can be completed sooner than later and she would be free to get on with life and living.

My girls hated the book, my boys loved the book. I really enjoyed the movie but I also like stuff like Jungle book, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

They made this into a movie... don't know if you could find it, but it's out there....

You know that this was made into a movie in the 80s, right? Being huge into literature, I can't believe I'm going to suggest this, but have her watch the movie. She can then skim the book for details to answer questions and write her paper. In all honesty, I think if she sees the movie, she might like the book and want to read it afterward.

I can't guarantee the movie covers everything in the book, but I'm certain it's pretty close. You might also consider going to the library and getting your hands on something like the Riverside Anthology of Children's Literature or the Norton Anthology of Children's Literature, or something similiar. There are many such books out there. I vaguely remember this story being featured in short form (cliff notes style) as well as a literature analysis of the author and story. It has been years since I've had my hands on these books, so forgive me if I'm wrong. They might even be downloadable if you have an e-reader. The books are not cheap if you think you want to buy a copy.

See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8qX52eZjI (the whole movie is here)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Riverside-Anthology-Childrens-L...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393327760/ref=oh_o00_s0...

My son is 9 too. I told him when school work bores him that he just has to do it and do it well and that school will get more interesting in middle school and high school when he has more electives. Unfortunately, there will always be something in school that bores us, we just have to teach our kids to make the best of it. It sounds like your daughter is doing great!

Tell her if she reads it she can watch the movie after, complete with ice cream and sprinkles. :)

Added: It is kind of a boring book, but homework is homework. Maybe it would help her to take notes on the answers to the questions as she goes through? Then by halfway through the book she will be halfway through the worksheet..she could do half tomorrow, the other half Sunday (but get a head start tonight if she wants).

How old is she? It was really boring to me when I read it as a kid (it's more geared towards boys, IMO), but I appreciated it when I read it as an adult.

My girls had to have it read to them for National Book Week... by that, I mean, *I* had to read it to them... we got through it by doing it chapter by chapter, then recapping at the end of each chapter. Then I'd make them guess what would happen next. Once they were more involved then just READING, it went a lot smoother.

Good luck. I wish that wasn't the standard book for that age group! Or I wish they could choose between that, and something like 'Island of the Blue Dolphin' or something!

You should be able to get the movie from a rental place. It's a good movie. My daughter liked it, and so did I. I also liked the book. I remember in school the only book I did not like was Of Mice and Men. Don't know why?! I read it anyway, just like she will prob. have to. Sucks, but that's life sometimes! Hopefully, she will like others she will have to read better. There are so many good ones out there!