Walking Through Walls by Karen Cioffi

*Chapter book, fantasy
*12-year-old boy as main character
*Rating: Both children and adults will love Walking Through Walls. For kids, it’s an exciting story that keeps them guessing to the end what’s going to happen and what decisions the main character is going to make. For adults? Well, we all love good writing, and Walking Through Walls is a perfect example of that! WillowRaven’s illustrations add class to the story. (The book is 62 pages–perfect for a summer read at summer school or at home!)

Short, short summary: (Note: Walking Through Walls is based on an ancient Chinese tale.) Wang is tired of working in his father’s wheat field. It is too much work and not enough money. He wants to get rich and be powerful. So, he decides he’s going to find the magical Eternals because if he becomes one, he can get what he wants. He goes off in spite of making his parents sad, and he finds where other boys are training. He is anxious to learn magic and become rich; but the Eternals are very smart, and training is actually very hard work. Wang is impatient and only focused on greed. How will the Eternals train him? Will he learn what is actually important? Will he become an Eternal?

This book will be available on July 1 from Amazon or RV4 Publishing. You can find out more information here: http://walkingthroughwalls-kcioffi.blogspot.com/

So, what do I do with this book?

Besides being a terrific book, the author has included a lot of material in the back of the book for teachers, parents, homeschoolers, and her readers!

She has questions, activities, and more information about the time period of The Ming Dynasty.

Here are a couple of her sample activities:

1. Write a list of five qualities that you think give a person value.

2. Draw a picture of a dragon.

3. Continue the book–write a sequel of what happens to Wang after the book’s end.