BHH Reading

BOOK

The Inquisitor’s Tale or The Three magical Children and their Holy Dog is about three children and their dog Gwenforte who are on a mission and are considered dangerous enough that the King of France is at war with them. Jeanne, a peasant girl has visions of the future. She finds her dog that saved her as a baby to be alive and has returned to protect her. Word spreads about the dog and fear that the peasants will worship the dog, a troop of knights are sent to Jeanne’s village to destroy the dog and take Jeanne. William is a young monk raised in a monastery. He discovers he has supernatural strength and sent out to deliver books. Jacob is a Jew, who can heal wounds with plants. One night people come and set fire to his home and most of his village. Each on their own journey find their way to the inn and there they discover each other and become a team despite their differences. They are chased through France and encounter many difficult events.

This novel is told by a mysterious narrator who arrives at a small French Inn in hopes to learn information about the three children. Towards the end of the story we find out that his mission was to kill the children but that changes at the end. A series of storytellers who seem to know a great deal about the children pass the story from one to the next, chapter by chapter.

HEAD

It surprised me that one of the important characters in the story, Michelangelo di Bologna who at the beginning seemed to be evil and someone who wanted to hurt the children ended up being a friend of theirs and an angel who was there to protect them throughout their journey. The whole time I wanted to know who this “inquisitor” was, who wanted to know all about the children and then to find out what his real mission was all along really surprised me. The author thinks I already have some background knowledge about the Middle Ages and religion. There were so many events that happened in this book and people who the children came across that it challenged me to really pay attention and focus to what was going on and to who all these people were so I wouldn’t get lost to what was going on. 

HEART

Something that I learned about myself was that I am capable of enjoying a different type of novel. I never thought I’d finish a 337-page book that quickly and I would have never chosen to read this book on my own. It really kept me engaged and I literally laughed out loud at some of the things in this book. I liked that it was humorous, and I really enjoyed reading it. The Middle Ages has never been an interest of mine, but I feel like I have learned some things reading this book. The author stated that some of the characters were real people during that time and that some of the events really did happen. I think that learning about this time in history just makes me be more knowledgeable and I now will appreciate these types of authors who incorporate history in a fun way. I can encourage others to branch out in their reading.

BHH reading reminds me of my making connections anchor charts I’d have in my classroom that included text to text, text to self and text to world but I actually like this one better. I especially like the head and heart questions. They really make you think about your reading.  I learned that a book can become much more enjoyable and meaningful when you ask yourself these questions as you’re reading or after you are finished. Chapter 5 in our text states that if students are going to get better at reading then their teachers need to understand what readers do with their minds and BHH reading is a great example of what we should do during our reading. I definitely see myself answering the heart questions in my future reading. It gives my reading purpose.