The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This is our third read-aloud of the year (not counting Alice, which Joanna and I took turns reading in Iowa, with an assist from a CD we listened to on the bus for a few chapters).

Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is told from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old boy who is incapable of inference. He can only think logically. He can't understand faces, idioms, metaphors, or lying. His name is Christopher John Francis Boone.

As a logician, he is an admirer of Sherlock Holmes--hence the book's title. When Christopher discovers that a neighbor's dog has been killed, he decides to find the perpetrator.

This book is unlike any I've ever read. The kids probably have plenty of thoughts to share. They are as lively and responsive during our sessions as ever. Reading aloud, of which Joanna is a tireless component, has probably been the most rewarding and lowest-tech innovation of my recent educational career.

Barring a barrage of snow days, we will finish The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time before the holiday break. Next up in January: Tracks by Louise Erdrich.