Please check your comments

Hello. Thanks so much for all the comments which have been made to the blog. It is great to see the conversations from so many different locations.

Just a quick reminder on the format of the comments. Please remember to post your comments in complete sentences and using correct grammar. We are beginning to have quite a few comments come in with "i" instead of "I" as well as a lack of periods, etc. These comments in the future will not be published. Since we have a wide variety of visitors to the blog we would like to maintain high quality writing, just as your teacher would expect in your classroom.

As the moderator of the blog, I'm sure that I make many mistakes but we want to try to put our best work on display when possible. Thanks for your cooperation.

Mr. Langhorst
South Valley Jr. High School
Liberty, Missouri

Week #1 - Introduction to the Week

Welcome to the official start of the 2008 Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project. During this four week adventure there will be roughly 300 eighth grade students at South Valley Jr High in Liberty, Missouri reading Guerrilla Season by Pat Hughes along with teachers, parents and community members along with participating schools from around the country and some individuals from other countries. If you are joining us please drop us a line at bookblogproject@gmail.com so that we can give you a shout out!

Week 1 will take place from March 3,2008 until March 9, 2008. The reading assignment for that week if you would like to keep pace with the other participants is the first 9 chapters - pages 1 through 76. We will be reading about 80 pages a week during the 4 week project.There will be several questions posted each week in the form of blog posts. Some are general questions and some deal with a specific part of the novel. Pat Hughes will also be asking her own questions for you to answer throughout the project. Each week there is also a blog entry named Ask Pat. This is your opportunity to ask the author of the book a question and she will answer it! If you think of a great question about the novel you would like others to respond to just send us an e-mail at bookblogproject@gmail.com and we'll put it up for you online.

We would like to ask you to keep in mind two things when posting a comment to the blog: 1) Use the best grammar possible. This blog is accessible to anyone in the world with Internet access so please use correct grammar in your comment. We understand that people will make mistakes and we'll make our fair share but we want to put our best foot forward. 2) When you post a comment please select "anonymous" and then include the "pen name" that you gave your teacher. All comments are first screened and moderated by Mr. Langhorst and Pat Hughes. Any comment with a large number of errors in grammar, unappropriate or listing your real name will not be posted on the blog.

Each week we will have other special features to help you discover more about the novel. We will have links to people and places mentioned in the reading so that you can learn more. There will be audio clips from interviews with author Pat Hughes to give you a "behind the cover" look at Guerrilla Season. This project is intended to be an interactive experience. If you think of something that would help the project let us know at bookblogproject@gmail.com

Enough said. Let's go.........

Week #1 - Question 1 - Taking Sides

In the beginning of the novel we discover quickly that life in Missouri in 1863 was uneasy. When someone came to your door you didn't know what you should say if they asked whether you supported the Federal troops or the guerillas with Quantrill. The wrong answer could get the men of the house killed and your place burned to the ground. Matt and his family really tried to walk a fine line between the two sides and not support either in public.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you had to be careful not to take sides - when making a stand in public or with your friends for one side or the other of an issue may get you in trouble so you just sort of tried to avoid the issue? Give an example of a time you had to not say which side you may or may not support.

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Please remember to use correct grammar when making a comment and post only using "anonymous" and signing your "pen name".

Week #1 - Question 2 - Pat Asks You

The author of Guerrilla Season, Pat Hughes, will ask the readers of the novel questions throughout the book blog project and comment on the answers.

Her first question focuses on the historical aspect of the novel. She asks: "Do you know what role (if any) any of your ancestors or members of your family had in the Civil War?"

Please describe any background your family may have had in the Civil War in the comments to this blog post. Please remember to use correct grammar and post only as "anonymous" and sign your "pen name".

Week #1 - Question 3 - Who is Watching?

On the last page of the reading assignment for week 1 - page 76 - Matt senses something. The last night of Chapter 9 reads: "Walking down the lane, he had the unsettling notion that he was being watched.

"Who do you think is watching Matt?

Please leave your guess and why they would be watching him as a comment to this blog post. Remember to use correct grammar and comment only with your pen name.

Week #1 - Question 4 - You Ask Pat A Question

How often do you get the chance to ask the author of the book you are reading a question? Well, during this project you have access to the author of Guerrilla Season - Pat Hughes. She will answer any question you may have about the novel, questions specific to being a writer, anything. Just leave a comment to this blog post and she will respond to your question with a post in the same comments list.

Just remember to use correct grammar and list yourself as "anonymous" and list your pen name. Go ahead, ask her a question....

Week #1 - Podcast "Researching the Novel"

Take a listen to Guerrilla Season author Pat Hughes describe how see did the research for this historical novel. It isnt' as easy as just sitting down and writing - she used e-Bay, riding lessons and the Internet to make this novel historically correct.

This audio file is a mini-podcast that you can listen to through the internet but clicking on the link below or you can right click on the link below and then save it to your computer and move it over to a portable MP3 player. This file is 10:35 minutes long. Let us know what you think in the comments below or e-mail us at bookblogproject@gmail.com

Direct link to listen to Pat Hughes describe the process of researching a historical novel - MP3 file - 10:35 minutes in length

Week #1 - Links to Learn More

During the reading assignment for Week #1 there were many references to historical events and famous famous. I have found some interesting links to help you discover more about some of these events and people with the page number of the book where it appears. If you come across any other links that you would like to share with the other participants please include them in a comment to this blog post. Just remember to comment under "anonymous" with your pen name.

jayhawkers - page 7

Quantrill - page 7
bushwhacker - page 7

General Sterling Price - page 8

Wilson's Creek - page 8

Jim Lane - page 17

John Brown - page 18

"Bleeding Kansas" - page 18

Doc Jennison - page 18

Emanicipation Proclamation - page 24

War of 1812 - page 32

Battle of New Orleans - page page 32