Reader's Journal #8 Escape: the Story of The Great Houdini

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

                I am nearly finished reading Escape: The Story of The Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman.  Here’s a passage that I really liked:

                “In Dresden, while weighed down with chains and manacles, he proposed to leap off a local bridge into the river.  It would be a dramatic but dangerous stunt.

                The Dresden police said no.

                Houdini made the death-defying jump anyway one September day in 1900.  Bess couldn’t watch.  He had long practiced holding his breath in the bathtub for longer and longer periods of time.  Now, with breath to spare he stayed underwater until the anxious crowd watching from both riverbanks must have thought he had joined the fishes.  When Houdini finally burst to the surface, laughing, free of manacles and chains, the crowd went wild.

                Houdini had touched a live wire.  He was a man who seemed able to escape the shackles of daily existence.  In Germany this had a special appeal.  The master of escape excited the dream of triumph over the rigid Teutonic culture of strict rules, “where everything not compulsory was verboten.”  The onlookers cheered inwardly and outwardly for this American who snapped his fingers at the fetters of life.

                But when Houdini, dripping wet, crawled onto the grass, he was arrested.”

                The reason why I picked this passage was because it showed how much courage and determination he had to do that even when the police said no.

                My two before reading strategies were to review what I had read last time, and to skim and scan what I was going to read for text features.  My two during reading strategies were to understand what I was reading, and note unfamiliar words.  My two after reading strategies were to ask questions about things I did not understand in the book, and two, to prepare for Reader’s Journal.

                The genre was biography and the characteristics were dazzling.  The topic was on Harry Houdini.  The main idea is how Houdini made a living.  This main idea is definitely stated because the book talked about how much money he made.  The essential message of the book is not to be afraid of what you want to do and go for it.

                A cause effect in the book is because of his dazzling escapes, Houdini would get more and more famous. 

                 I would compare that every time he did a trick the audience would love it.  I would contrast his religion and the way he acted was not very similar to the way his father did.

                Some text features I noticed were at the beginning of the book it’s big, 3D, and bold.  This shows you how the book is probably going to be.  At the beginning of each chapter the first letter of the first paragraph begins with a fancy letter.  This reminds the reader of how posters were written in Houdini’s time.    The title of each chapter is written the same way and shows the same thing.  Every time it says the name of one of Houdini’s escapes, it’s italicized.  This shows how all of the tricks Houdini did were big. 

                The pattern of organization is that everything is told in date order because you can get a better understanding of how his life ran throughout the years. 

                The author’s purpose is self-explanatory.  He wanted to tell about the life of Houdini.  The author’s perspective is that he admires Houdini.  The point of view of the book is from someone who admires Houdini.

                Five new vocabulary words that I learned were “verboten” which is German for forbidden; birdshot, which is a type of ammunition fired from a shotgun for hunting; hostility, which means anger and aggression; vagabond which is a hobo.

                I would rate this book five out five stars because it really explains Houdini’s life and I really learned a lot about him.  I would recommend this book to anybody who likes magic.

                Sincerely, your student,

                Michael Heskiel