Junie B., First Grader - Aloha-ha-ha! by: Barbara Park

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Random House

Copyright Date: 2006

Number of Pages: 119

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

This Junie B. Jones is when Junie gets to go to Hawaii. For show and tell one day in class she announces to her class that her parents are taking her to Hawaii for a week! She is so excited! Mr. Scary gives her a camera to take with her and gives her the assignment of making the class' first official photojournal!

She gets to fly on an airplane for the first time. While in the air she finds out that there are grumpy ladies in front of her and behind her. While getting her picture taken on the plane she amkes both ladies mad and so they are both in the picture.

Once in Hawaii she gets to go swimming and snorkeling! Her parents buy her a float tube in the shape of a parot even though she knows how to swim already. The parot tube is too tight ans so she wears it deflated.

Over the course of her vacation she gets discouraged because she isn't getting good pictures. Then her parents take her on a boring old person nature tour. But that is where she has the most fun. She puts flowers in her hair and a little baby bird, thinking she is a giant flower, lands on her head. She gets a picture of it.

In the end, her journal turns out great and she is excited to share about her experience in Hawaii when she gets back to Room One.

Who would benefit from readnig this book/Who would I recommend this book to?

This is a cute book that little kids would enjoy. It is a good book to read outloud to a class.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

none

My reaction:

The Junie B. Jones books are so cute. I love reading about her adventures and this one was no different. She makes me laugh. I like the way the author talks from Junie's point of view, it makes the book so fresh and creative.

Marvin Redpost - Super Fast, Out of Control! by: Louis Sachar

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Random House

Copyright Date: 2000

Number of Pages: 79

Reading Level: 7-12

Summary:

Marvin and his friends were bored on a Saturday when his friends decided that they all should ride down suicide hill! Marvin, not liking this idea, since he hadn't broken in his new bike went in to ask his mom. He decided the best way to get her to say no was to be mean to his sister, so he was and she grounded him. His friends were disappointed but went home.

At school on Monday somehow a rumor started that Marvin was going to ride down suicide hill. Everyone was impressed because none of them had ever done it. Marvin was scared! How could he back down? everyone would think that he was a wimp. He worried about it all week. He tried to come up with ways of getting out of it. He tried asking his brother for advice he tried to get his mom to tell him he couldn't... Finally, he accepted the fact that he was just going to have to face his fears and do it, in front of the WHOLE SCHOOL.

Saturday came. He and his friends had decided to meet up and ride to suicide hill together. He went to his friends house but he and another friend were watching a movie. Marvin was in a hurry because he anticipated that everyone was there now waiting for him and he didn't want them to think he had chickened out so he went on without them. When he got to suicide hill, no one was there. He was confused thinking he had mistaken the time. Then his mom showed up to watch. The only people that came to watch was his family. He realized that no one had actually been planning on coming they just were amazed that Marvin was going to do it! So, he rode down the hill to the cheers of his family and that was all right by him.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

This is a short simple book that is exciting fro kids to read. Boys would love it because it has to do with bikes and girls would love it too! I would recommend this to any child looking for a good read.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

None

My reaction:

This is a cute book. It is an easy read and it has a good theme about facing your fears and not giving into peer pressure. I would let my children read this any day.

Hiroshima by: Laurence Yep

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Scholastic

Copyright Date: 1995

Number of Pages: 52

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is an accurate account of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima using a girl named Sachi as the main character. The town was going through their normal daily routines that day. People were working to build a street of gravel just in case their town started on fire that would make them safe. Sachi went to her job working in a center that detected bomb threats. Up in the air there were three planes getting ready to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. One held the bomb and the others were there to document its magnitude. It was cloudy that day which would have impeded their mission but there was a clear patch right over Hiroshima so they were given the clear. When the first plane flew over Hiroshima the city was alerted and everyone got into their bomb shelters. But the plane just flew by. They knew they were safe because they bombers wouldn't trick them like that. So when the plane that held the bomb flew over everyone was out on the streets, not under cover. The bomb was dropped. It caused maximum destruction. its radiation was so hot that people burned up instantly. Some people right in the blast were subjected to such high heat that they disappeared but an outline of them was left on the cement. Houses disintegrated, people two miles away were getting burned. Fields started on fire...Out of 76,327 buildings, over 50,000 were destroyed. 125,000 people died just on that day. Thousands die days, weeks, months, and years later. People are still dying from it today. Sachi was burned badly from the blast but she was not killed. She went out to find her family. Her sister and father died.

The bomb ended WWII but at what cost? Was it worth it? Those questions are still being asked today. The bombing cuased the cold war with the Soviet Union. Many other countries started making atomic bombs. But, the U.S. decided that nothing like that should ever happen again. 25 girls were chosen that suffered from the bombing and they were brought to the U.S. to have operations that would make them look normal again. Shachi was one of them. She had plastic surgery to heal her scars.

There is now a monument in Hiroshima and on a plaque it says, "Rest in peace, for the mistake shall not be repeated." Millions of people visit it each year.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

Teachers who are teaching a unit on WWII should teach with this book. It is honestly presented with just the facts.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

This is a very controversial subject. Was it the right thing to do? Was it the wrong thing? It is an extremely sensitive subject to discuss and should be done so lightly.

My Reaction:

I found reading this book to be extremely educational and influential in my knowledge about what happened in Hiroshima. It really shows the horrors of what happened and the after math that something like the atomic bomb causes. It was interesting and sad, but definitely worth reading.

A Single Shard by: Linda Sue Park

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Yearling

Copyright Date: 2001

Number of Pages: 148

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is about a orphan boy living in Ch'ulp'o, Korea named Tree-ear. He lives underneath the bridge with his crippled friend Crane-man. Those are not their real names but they don't remember their real names. Tree-ear was orphaned as a toddler when his parents died of fever.

Tree-ear is an honest hard working boy who enjoys life even though he is homeless. He and Crane-man keep each other company, and have been for many years. The town of Ch'ulp'o is home to many talented potters. Tree-ear dreams of being a potter himself someday. He often sneaks in the woods right next to the most talented potter's home (Min) to watch him work. One day, when Min left to go inside, he cannot help but go take a peak and some of the work that Min keeps on the shelves outside. As he is admiring the pottery, Min catches him and scares Tree-ear so bad that he accidentally dropped the clay pot he was holding and it broke.

Min is furious and Tree-ear is horrified at what he did. For repayment he asks Min if he can work off his blunder by being h is assistant. Min agrees, and hires on tree-ear for the week. Tree-ear is excited because now he can be around the potter for a long time and watch him work. His dream is that Min will someday teach him how to make pottery, especially with the wheel.

When the week is up, Min hires on Tree-ear as his permanent assistant. Min isn't a very nice man, he is cold and rude to Tree-ear and never expresses thanks for the work Tree-Ear does for him. But Tree-ear works dutifully in hopes that he will be taught how to be a potter. Min's wife is a sweet lady who treats Tree-ear very kindly. She gives him extra food so that he can share with Crane-man at night. She gives him clothes in the winter time that he also shares with Crane-man.

Tree-ear has been working for Min for over a year when he finally asks Min if he would teach him how to make pottery. Min gets angry at him and tells him that he will never teach him how because potters only teach their sons the trade. Min lost his son to death many years before and is still bitter about it. Tree-ear is angry. He has been working for Min for a long time and the only thing that kept him going was the thought that he would someday be able to make pots. With that dream gone it was dull work.

Then word comes to the village that the Royal Emissary is coming to choose a commissioned potter for the palace. Min's stress levels rise and he is more strict with Tree-ear than usual. But tree-ear knows how important it is to Min, so he works even harder. Over the course of the next month, Min makes pots that are satisfactory to him and they are ready. The royal emissary comes and looks over the pottery. He sees what the town has to offer and leaves for another month to make his decision. It is between Min and another potter who came up with a new design and a new inlay process. Min's work is better but the other potter has a new style. Min works feverishly over the next month to create pots in the new fashion. the week before the emissary returns his pots are ready to be taken out of the kiln. In the firing process however, all of his pots had been ruined. He smashed them all over his yard. He had nothing to show the emissary when he returned. The other potter was commissioned. But, the emissary came to Min and told him that he wanted Min more but the new style was going to be tested. The other potter was a temporary palace potter until the emissary found out what min could do with the new style.

Min was going to refuse because he was too old to make the journey. Tree-ear volunteered to go for him. So, it was set. Min made the pots, Crane-man made a carrying bag to put them in and Tree-ear was ready to go. Before he set off, he gave a clay monkey that he snuck into the kiln to Crane-man (CM always called TE monkey). He set off. His journey was rough. Sometimes he would sleep in a village but other times he had to sleep in the woods. He reached the city of Puyo he visited the Rock of the Falling Flowers because Crane-man told him he shouldn't miss it. He climbed up the rock. At the top however, he found that he had been followed by a bandit who attempted to steal the package that had the pots in it thinking it was rice. Upon finding that it was pottery he chucked them over the cliff. Horrified, tree-ear ran down the hill and down to the river below to find the precious pots. He found them in shards. He either had to turn back to tell Min what happened or he could continue on. He decided to carry on with the biggest shard that he could find.

He reached the emissary with the single shard. even though it wasn't the full pot the emissary recognized the skill that it had. He sent Tree-ear back with news that Min had been commissioned. When he arrived in Ch'ulp'o it was to find that the bridge that he lived under, collapsed and Crane-man had been killed. He was invited to live with Min and his wife and he was given a new name, a name that meant that he was a sibling to the son that they lost. At the end of the book, Min asked him to go out and find wood to make his own wheel. He was going to be taught to make pottery.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

I think that anyone who reads this will like it. It has a theme of kindness and honesty throughout the whole book that anyone would benefit from.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

It's a little slow in the beginning. It drags on when it is developing the relationships of the characters. Some people might get bored reading it.

My reaction:

I only say that it was slow because that is what I heard from other people. I read this book straight through and I didn't find it slow at all. It was a great story. Tree-ear is an extremely like able person who anyone would love. It was a great story with a happy ending.

Lawn Boy by: Gary Paulsen

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Random House

Copyright Date: 2007

Number of Pages: 96

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is a book about a boy who is trying to raise money to buy a new inner tube for his bike tire. His parents are poor so he doesn't know where he is going to get it. Well, his grandma (kinda crazy lady) gives him a riding lawn mower for his birthday and then things begin to change. He starts by mowing his parents' tiny yard. Then, his neighbor pays him to do his... then that guys neighbor... and so on. Pretty soon he is mowing four lawns a day at about 40 dollars per yard. He is getting more and more money. More money than he knows what to do with. Well, one day he meets Arnold. Arnold makes investments in the stock market and he says that instead of paying the lawn boy he will invest that forty dollars for him... Lawn boy (his name is never mentioned) already has too many lawns to do and so he doesn't want to do one if he isn't going to get money for it. Well, Arnold knows people. Pretty soon Lawn boy has a crew of workers working for him. He gets half of what they earn and so now he can cover even more lawns. Money starts to rake it. As Arnold as his accountant all the money goes to him and he keeps the records and keeps investing things.

Eventually, between some luck with the stock market and all the work that they've been doing, lawn boy has 16,000 dollars! He didn't know what to do! But Arnold gave him even more news... He invested in another stock and... yup... the gain from that put the amount of money that lawn boy has at 50,000 dollars, with that news lawn boy passes out. On top of everything else, he is now a sponsor of a heavy weight champion Joseph Powdermilk. If he wins, then lawn boy gets a percentage of the winnings. The day that he meets "Joe Pow" they get news from one of their workers that there is a man at his house that is demanding all there money from them. Well all of them, including Joe, who is huge, pack into a little pickup to go figure out the problem. Without a word Joe Pow goes over to the man, picks him up with one arm and chucks him back into the car... They were sure that would be the last time that they saw "Rock".

Time goes on and money keeps pouring in. Lawn boy still has yet to tell his parents because he doesn't want to them to think he is bragging. Plus, he doesn't know how to even bring it up. One day as he is mowing lawns he gets a call from Arnold. He tells him to go home immediately and then hangs up. Curious, he heads over to Arnold's to find Rock and some of his buddies holding Arnold hostage. Lawn boy runs home and tells his parents everything. They are surprised, obviously, and they get a hold of Joe and they all meet at Arnold's. Joe walks right in and takes all of them out, well, more like tosses them all out the door. They never bother anyone again.

In the end, Apparently one of the numbers was calculated wrong and he didn't only have 50,000 dollars but 450,000 dollars. When he told his parents, his dad fainted, which made him think that there is a weak male gene in the family.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to any boy who is thinking about mowing lawns. Also, kids who like numbers would like this book a lot.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

Well, it can be a bit confusing at times when it starts going into detail about the stock market and stocks and bonds and interest and things... So that might turn some kids off. It also deals with people who are trying to steal the money from the business and that is a little off color. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone below 11 or 12.

My reaction:

I thought this was an extremely clever book. It was really funny as well which made it easy to read. Arnold kept saying things like, groovy and far out. The grandma was kind of crazy and said really random things which make this a funny book as well. I enjoyed the exponential growth of the kids company and how he reacted to having all that money! It was a cute idea that I thought the author portrayed very well.

Lincoln: A Photobiography by: Russell Freedman

Genre: Non-Fiction/Biography

Publisher: Clarion

Copyright Date: 1987

Number of Pages: 160

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is the book about Abraham Lincoln's life. He was 6'4" inches tall (mostly legs), he was homely, gawky, and he wore a high silk hat. He was born in Kentucky in a log cabin with a dirt floor. He never liked to talk about his growing up much. But, he had very little schooling. His parents couldn't read or write. However, he was a bookworm. He read all the time. Anytime he could get his hands on a book, he would read it. They moved around quite a bit. His mother died and his father remarried. His first job was working as a ferryman's helper on the Ohio River. He went back and lived with his family for a while but eventually started working in a General Store. He would read, and wrestle, and tell jokes, and laugh... He started thinking about politics at 23 when he ran for state legislature. He was a confident public speaker so it was worth a try. He lost this time. After that he became a frontier merchant. He tried all sorts of small jobs. Eventually he ran for state legislature again and placed second this time out of 13. He was elected to the house of Representatives. At that point, he started to study law. He was good at it and he was becoming recognized. The next years of his life were filled with him practicing his law degree, getting married, and he was elected into the House of Representatives. That didn't go well and so he went back to practicing law. At this point slavery was becoming an issue with the expansion of the U.S. Lincoln, for a while, didn't take a firm stand on slavery, but her did think it was immoral. As time went on, he got back into the political race and he ran for president. It was a long campaign against the Democrat Stephen Douglas. He was elected. (at this point he started growing his beard) The election of President Lincoln caused an uproar because it was widley known that Lincoln opposed slavery. One thing led to another and before the country knew it, it was in a civil war. North against the south. The war was a continuous string of bad Union Generals. Enormous amounts of bloodshed and losses of life. Lincoln was the most unpopular president. The war was literally in people's backyards. Brother Against brother. It was gruesome. During the course of the war, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Slaves in the Rebel states were forever free, and they could enlist in the Union army. The war went on for many years longer than expected. People kept dying... Niether side was giving up, cities were destroyed, homes, and families were destroyed. It looked like the end of the nation. Finally however, in 1965, the war was finally over. It was almost exactly four years in length. Neither side expected it to be that long, nor to end slavery. But it did. The thirteenth Amendment was signed and all slaves were free.

Shortly after the war ended, Lincoln was reelected for another term. He and his wife went to the Ford's Theatre with another couple. The play started and his body gaurd slipped downstairs to watch it. With out him on gaurd John Wilkes Booth snuck in and shot the president. He lived for another day or two, but died on April 15th at the age of 56. His body went on a train for a funeral procession where people along the tracks lit fires in memorial to him. The stuff that was in his pocket at the time of his death was put in a bag and not opened for nearly 40 years after.

While Abraham Lincoln did amazing things for this country, he wasn't perfect. He fought with his wife, he wore carpet slippers, he let his children reak havoc on the white house, he went through bouts of depression... But all that just means he was a normal human being who did extraordinary things.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

This is a book for older kids. It would be way too difficult for a child younder than prpbably 10 to understand and to be interested in. But I would recommend this to any age appropriate student because it is important for the children of America to get to know the American heroes.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

Like I said, it is a little more difficult to read so it should be targeted at an older audience. There is bloodshed in it that is portrayed accurately but still is there. He wasn't a perfect man.

My Reaction:

I loved getting to know this American president in such an honest way. What an amazing story that he has. I am so intrigued by the life that he lived because as I said, he wasn't perfect, but that made him all the more human and relatable. By reading about him in this way, I realize how little I knew about him in the first place and I realized how fantasized people portray him as. The pictures in this book are simply amazing and they make the book even better.

Bridge to Terabithia by: Katherine Patersoon

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Scholastic

Copyright Date: 1977

Number of Pages: 128

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

It was the summer before Jess' fifth grade year and he was determined to be the fastest runner come fall. He would get up every morning when his dad left for work, before it was even light out, to go run in the field right next to his house. He didn't want anyone to see. It is a tradition at recess. All the fourth and fifth grade boys would race every day at recess to see who was the fastest. Jess had one once and he was determined to win every time. His summer went that way for a while. A family moved in across the street and the girl that was his age tried to make friends with him but he thought she was weird and so they didn't hang out all summer. Finally the first day of school came. Jess was excited for two things, to see his music teacher Miss Edmunds(who he is in love with), and to beat everyone at recess. Jess was ready, he had been practicing. Just as the races were about to begin his new next door neighbor, Leslie, shows up wanting to race. Girls weren't allowed but they let her anyway because they knew she'd be no match. Well, she beats them all. They are all mad and embarrassed. But, from that point on, Jess and Leslie become friends.

They are together all the time. They tell each other everything. Leslie is intriguing. Her family moved to this town to "find themselves" her parents are writers and they come there to get away from the material things of the world. They didn't even bring their TV. Leslie has a wonderful imagination. Together they share ideas and laugh and make up stories. They stick up for Jess' younger sister May Belle who is picked on by the older girls. The most important thing they do together is the make the magical kingdom of Terabithia. It is a secret known only to them. They use a rope swing to cross the creek behind their house and they enter the woods there. Once across, the land turns into Terabithia. They are king and queen. They have to protect their fortress (which they built with some scrap wood and nails) from outside foes and they have to bring peace to their kingdom. A little way into the woods, they found a sacred spot where they go in times of greatest fear or joy to ask for strength or to give thanks for their fortune. You could say it was their church grounds. On normal days they would sit in their fortress and Leslie would tell stories. All sorts of stories, from books that she had read to stories that she would make up. It was their magical land and it was perfect. While they were there, they would talk with royal words and there their imaginations could go wild.

At one point, Leslie's dad is remodeling their house and so Leslie is there helping him a lot. Jess gets jealous until Leslie invites him over. There he learns more about her family and he likes her parents a lot. Christmas time was coming and Jess' family didn't have any money (as his sisters were pretty bitter about). Jess wanted to get Leslie a really meaningful present. He could paint her a picture (which is a huge hobby of his) but he fears that he isn't talented enough. One day on the way home from school, he sees a sign for free puppies. He decides to get Leslie a puppy. That puppy becomes Prince Terrien of Terabithia.

Their friendship grows and grows and they become inseparable. They have other friends but they really only need each other. In the spring time it starts to rain a lot. It rains so much that the water level rises on the creek that they cross by rope. Jess is too proud to admit that he is afraid of crossing it and with Leslie there he is more brave anyway. One Saturday morning he gets a call on the phone. It's Miss Edmunds. She invites him to go to Washington D.C. with her (they live close to it). Of course he accepts. It is like a dream. They go to Washington D.C. and walk around the monuments and the museums. She buys him ice cream. Jess is on cloud nine. It had been raining as usual that morning but on their way home, the sun comes out. To him it is just a perfect ending to a perfect day. When he gets home however, something is wrong. His family was all waiting for him looking solemn. Leslie died. She went to cross to Terabithia on the rope and the rope broke and she hit her head and drown.

Jess can't believe it. He goes through each stage of the grief cycle. At first he doesn't believe it. He wakes up the next morning not remembering what happened. He fights it. He is angry with everyone. He hates everyone. He thinks that somehow she will come back. He mourns heavily for his lost friend. Then, finally, he accepts it. He realizes she won't come back. He then builds a bridge out of wood to Terabithia and he introduces May Belle to it. He knows that as long as Terabithia lives, Leslie's spirit can never die.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

This book is wonderful for anyone who has lost someone. Unlike the other book that I read that had death in it, this one ends in hope. It ends on a happier hopeful note that the reader can take courage from. This book explains the grief cycle (indirectly) really well because Jess goes through each of the stages. It is a wonderful book about friendship and how it never really dies.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

Well, Miss Edmunds takes Jess to the capitol alone. That is not tolerated anymore and so that was a little weird to read about. I thought that the climax of the book was going to be in that situation. Thank goodness it wasn't. But it is also obviously about death and so it is not for a younger audience who wouldn't understand death yet.

My reaction:

This was a sweet and honest book. It was a wonderful story about a friendship that was so strong that it couldn't be broken by death. There is so much imagination in it that it touched my heart in a way that other books couldn't that I have read this semester. It was about a true friendship where each person was making the other better. Together they were unstoppable. But even after Leslie died, Jess still found strength from the memories that they have together. It is a keeper.

Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny by: Barbara Park

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Random House

Copyright Date: 2007

Number of Pages: 119

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

Junie B. Jones is in Mr. Scary's first grade class. One day Lucille announces that she will be having a birthday party and that everyone is invited! Lucille is rich and she has a huge mansion so all the kids are excited to go. She announces that there will be an Easter Egg hunt and whoever finds the golden egg will win a grand prize: a swimming play date with her! Junie is excited and determined to find the golden egg. However, so are other kids in the class, including Sheldon and May. Sheldon starts flirting with Lucille and everyone knows its because he wants to win the prize.

When the day comes Junie wakes up really early to get ready for the party, even though it isn't until lunch time. She waits and waits... finally its time to go to the party. She and her classmates show up around the same time and are greeted by Lucilles parents and Nanny. They are very stuck up people who don't like kids much. Once Junie spent the night at Lucilles and she did such damage that the maid still hadn't forgotten her. The parents have all the kids get into a "nice straight line," and they take them to the back. There are picnic tables set up with nice dishes and food. They all sit down for their picnic and they are served by their kitchen staff. It is really fancy.

There was a rumor that the Easter Bunny was coming. The kids were all excited. As lunch came to an end, Lucille's dad brought out a bag. In the bag was a jar full of jelly beans. They were going to play a game. There was only one purple jelly bean and whoever picked out the purple jelly bean got a special prize. Junie was determined to win, and she did! She pulled out the purple jelly bean! She got the prize that was all wrapped up. As she opened it, it was a giant bunny suit. Apparently the person who was supposed to be the Easter Bunny didn't want to come. Junie was disappointed because now she had to be the dumb bunny! Then she found out that she got to take pictures with all of the party guests and she got excited.

The egg hunt started. Junie couldn't go very fast because of her big bunny feet. But, according to Lucille's dad, there was no running allowed, so she was good. May suspected that Lucille told Sheldon where the golden egg was... So, May stuck to him like glue. He had the habit of yelling out every time he found an egg, so every time, May would sneak in and snach it from him. Junie had given up on the egg hunt. She was sitting on a rock pouting a bit when she saw something golden in the grass. It was the golden egg!! She started to run to get it just as Sheldon and May did the same thing. When the tackling ended it was Junie's hand that was on top of the egg. She ended up giving the egg to Sheldon because, afterall, he was Lucille's boyfriend. May was sulky. Junie got to give the person with the most eggs collected a giant bouquet of flowers to take home. It was a good day.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

This is a cute book that is fit for any young child. I think that the humor in it is great and Junie is a very likeable character. I would recommend this to everyone.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

It doeas involve Easter which is a religious holiday, but it doesn't talk about Christ or anything.

My Reaction: This is the first Junie B. Jones book that I have ever read. I thought it was really cute. It was an easy read and it is definately something that I would read to my kids someday.

Frindle by: Andrew Clements

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Aladdin
Copyright Date: 1998
Number of Pages:112
Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:
Nick Allen is a clever kid. He isn't disrespectful, but he does have a way of bending the rules. For instance: In the third grade he turned his room into a tropical island. He had all the kids in class make palm trees out of construction paper and they taped them to their desks. The next day, everyone came to class in beach clothes and Nick made a volleyball net out of yarn and the boys shirts and he brought ten cups of sand and spread it out on the floor. The teacher loved it, but the janitors... not so much. So, that fun ended. Then, in the fourth grade, he had just got done learning about blackbirds on TV and how they have a unique peep they chirp when danger is near so the hunter can't tell where it was coming from. He was sitting in class and saw that his teacher's nose looked like the beak on a blackbird and so he let out a shrill peep. The teacher couldn't figure out where it came from... from then on he did it once or twice a week and his teacher never figured out who it was.

Then fifth grade rolled around. For seventh hour english he got Mrs. Granger as a teacher. He had heard about Mrs. Granger. She was a small, and wore her white hair in a bun. She had eyes that could make you feel like a speck of dust. She never missed a day of school, students swore she had x-ray vision, and she loved the dictionary. She would always make kids look things up in the dictionary. Parents were required to buy their kids a specific dictionary at the beginning of the school year.

On the first day of school Nick decided to try some of his delaying homework tactics on her. He would wait until the last 2 minutes of class, before the teacher had a chance to assign homework and he would ask a deep question that she was sure to answer, thus, forgetting to assign homework. He did it, all the students knew what was going on and they watched excitedly. He asked Mrs. Granger where all the words in the dictionary came from. She knew exactly what he was doing so she assigned him to write a report about the origins of words. Extra homework! He wrote his report alright, he made it 45 minutes long. Thus, hoping to delay the class an extra day. She listen attentively throughout the whole thing. When he was done she crammed the whole hour's lesson into 10 minutes. Then he asked the same question as he did the day before, "where do words come from?" The answer she gave changed his whole life. She explained that words are words because we, as human beings, say they are words.

That day Nick had the idea to change the name of a pen to a frindle. He told a small group of friends and they made a pact never to say the word pen again but to say frindle instead. They did. It worked by the end of the day they got the whole class saying frindle for pen. Words spread, and soon a few other people in the school were saying it. Then, Mrs Granger, angry that he was using words so lightly, put up a sign that said, if any student is caught saying the word frindle, they will be put into detention. Well, that did it. That got the whole school saying it. within a few days she had a classroom full of students in detention. The punishment was, they had to write 100 times "I am writing this sentence with a pen." But most of the students wrote frindle for pen. Pretty soon the word became so popular and there were so many people staying after school to write sentences that they had to arrange late buses to take the kids home.

One day, Mrs. Granger asked Nick if she could talk to him. She asked him, "don't you think this has gone far enough, aren't you ready to stop this?" and Nick replied that he wished he could, but the word wasn't his anymore. It was every one's. He would stop it if he could, but it couldn't be stopped. She pulled out a fat envelope, and she said I am going to send you this envelope when all of this is over, and she had him write the date across the seal on the back so he would know she didn't open it.

As time passed, a rich inventor in town made a Frindle brand. He made pens, shirts, and other merchandise that said frindle on them and they sold rapidly. A reporter got wind of all this and reported the story on the news. Nick ended up on CNN, NBC, The Tonight Show With David Letterman, and other news program. It spread across the country.

Just as things were settling down in Nick's town, the word was rapidly getting more popular throughout the country. The man who made the Frindle Merchandise was rolling in the doe and he was giving 1/3 of his earnings to Nick's father who put it in a savings account for Nick. By the time Nick was ready to go to college, he was wealthy. His word was still being used all over the country.

While in college, Nick got a package in the mail. It was from Mrs. Granger. She had sent him a dictionary with a page marked in it. With the dictionary came the fat envelope that he had put the date on ten years before. He opened it up and inside was a letter that explained what when he opened this, it meant that his word had made it into the dictionary. She told him how proud she was of him and reiterated the meaning and importance of words. With the letter was her favorite pen and in the cap was a small note that said "frindle". He opened to the marked page and there it was, frindle. Mrs Granger told him that this is the dictionary she requires her students to buy and she uses his story as an example of the miracle of words.

He sent her a new pen and on it was inscribed a note to her that said, she can name it anything that she wants to.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?
This is a good book to get kids interested in words. It shows a clever story of a kid who made a difference in the English language and he did it by listening to what his teacher said and learning from it. Language arts teachers could read this to their students.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
If you do read this to your students you have to be prepared for a lot of new words to pop up.

My Reaction:
I loved this book. It is so cute and clever. I knew kids like Nick when I was in school. He is the kind of kid that is friends with everyone but he is happy to be himself. I think that everyone should read it. It was an easy read that made me happy!

Love That Dog By: Sharon Creech

Genre: Poetry

Publisher: HarperCollins

Copyright Date: 2001

Number of Pages: 86

Reading Level: 7-11

Summary:

This book is written from the perspective of Jack, a little boy in Mrs. Stretchberry's class. It is written as if it comes out of a writing journal that Mrs. Stretchberry reads and makes comments on, but all you can see is what Jack writes. They are starting a unit on poetry and at first Jack refuses to do it because, after all, boys don't write poetry, girls do. Over a few days in their poetry unit Mrs. Stretchberry convinces Jack to write a poem. He writes one about a blue car. She asks him to expand about the blue car but he doesn't want to. In class, they read a few poems by famous poets and Jack is amazed to see that some poems don't seem like poems. He thinks that

to be a poem it just has to have

short lines

that break up

the sentences.

Over the course of his writing, he begins to write poetry without realizing it. Every once in a while Mrs. Stretchberry asks if she can type up what he said about _______ and put it on the bulletin board. For a while he only lets her if she doesn't put his name on it. Finally he lets her, but some of his poems he has her edit because they might be too sad for his classmates. He is inspired by the poem Love That Boy by Walter Dean Meyers and he writes a poem "inspired by Walter Dean Meyers" called Love That Dog, and it is about his dog, Sky. Once his teacher gets him to talk more about his dog, he writes some beautiful poems about a dog he had that got hit by a car. The first poem that he wrote about a blue car racing down the street splattered with mud...which, we find out later, is the car that hit his dog sky.

He is influenced by many poets but Mr. Walter Dean Meyers is still his favorite. He asks his teacher if someone like Mr. Walter Dean Meyers would be able to come to their school and read poems to him. She convinces him to write to Mr. Meyers to see if he could come to his school. He doesn't think that Mr. Meyers will answer, but he does, and he comes and visits Jack's class and reads some of his poems to them. Jack is thrilled and can't get over Mr. Walter Dean Meyers and how good his voice sounds when he reads to them.

So, over the course of the book, Jack goes from not liking poetry to being the reason a famous poet comes to his classroom.

Love That Dog

(Inspired by Walter Dean Meyers)

By Jack:

Love that dog,

like a bird loves to fly

I said I love that dog

like a bird loves to fly

Love to call him in the morning

love to call him

"Hey there, Sky!"

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to anyone. I think that it is a great example of what poetry is and how it can change lives just by reading it. Kids would benefit from reading this book because they can appreciate the poems that Jack writes. Adults would benefit just as much from reading this book because Jack is an extremely lovable character and that makes it easy to read.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

None whatsoever.

My Reaction:

My English teacher read this book to my class once and I fell in love with it. I think that this is the sweetest book. It shows how much passion children have for what they are learning even if they don't know it. It also shows that kids remember the bad things that happen in their lives just as much as adults do. At first Jack is unwilling to talk about his dog, but by the end he is writing beautiful poetry about him. The voice in this book is superb and you really feel like you are reading a kid's journal. I can picture a little boy named jack writing what he is thinking, not even knowing that what is coming out can be poetry.

Eyewitness: Time and Space by: Mary and John Gribbin

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: DK Children

Copyright Date: 2000

Number of pages: 64

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This book is packed full of information including stuff about ancient ideas, measuring time, the universe, black holes, space and time.... There is so much information that to summarize every little thing would be impossible so I will just talk about a few things I learned. For one thing, the idea of space only became important when farmers were trying to figure out whose land was whose. This led to research and discoveries about the Earth and space. I also learned that if you were to take a road trip around the circumference of the earth traveling at a steady pace of 37 miles (60km) per hour, you would finish your trip in just inder a month. But taking a jet plane at 500 miles per hour, it would take 21 years to travel the distance from the earth to the sun. WOW! Another interesting fact is, scientific evidence shows that there was a beginning to the universe. which would imply that there is an edge of time! That is a little much to think about. One last thing that I learned is that, when it comes to the universe, light provides the ultimate measure in length.

This book contains, along with its actual text, pictures and picture caps that give the reader even more information. It has labels for every picture so that there is hardly white space on a page to spare.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

A very inquisitive and imaginitive child would like this book. I would recommend this book to a child that is always asking how something works and why. There is so much information in this book that it could keep a kid occupied for a long time.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

There are a lot of things that a student can learn from this book, but it also has a lot of words in it that could be potentially confusing and frustrating to a child. As I was reading it, there were a lot of words that I wasn't even familiar with. As I have said before the pages are completely covered with information and pictures. A student could have a hard time focusing while reading this book. I would be careful not to give this book to a child who is easily frustrated when they don't understand something.

My Reaction:

I thought there were a lot of amazing facts in this book that I had no clue about, ten times the amount that I discussed in my summary. If I had time, I would enjoy going through this book and reading each and every bit of text there is but that is hard to do. When I opened this book, I could feel my heartbeat quicken becuase there was so much on the page that it wasn't pleasing to my eyes. It makes me feel tired and anxious for some reason. I have read other books with a lot of information in them but for some reason this one didn't keep my interest as much as the others. Perhaps its because I felt like I didn't know enough information before I started reading. But as I said before, this book would benefit kids who like to learn about anything and everything. I think they would go crazy over the information inside.

Mountain Creatures by: Sujatha Menon

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Really Useful Map

Copyright Date: 2008

Number of Pages: 48

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This book is about animals that live in the mountains all over the world. From mountains rodents to Mountain gorrilla, from the golden eagle to the giant panda, there are all sorts. The author dedicates a couple pages to each kind of animal and he explains different facts about their lifestyle and habitat. For instance the Rocky Mountain Goat. It talks about its physical features. They are stout, and have white to yellowish fur. They have think coats that protect them from the cold. It talks about how they live in herds during the winter and spring but live in smaller groups during the summer. For each animal it gives a "Creature Profile" that gives facts about the animals life including: Common name, scientific name, found in, size, feed on, enemies, and status. For example, the snow monkey: the common name is the snow monkey or, Japanese macaque, the scientific name is: Macaca fuscata, they are found in the mountains and highlands of Japan, the weight between 13-24 pounds, they feed on: seeds roots, fruit, berries, leaves, insects and bark; their enemies are humans - farmers consider them pests and they kill them; and their status is threatened - thier population is declining drastically. At the end there is a section about how the mountains are being over run and that we need to protect the life that happens there.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

Students who are doing a report on an animal would do well to use this book. It has great information about how animals that people don't hear about often, live their lives.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

None that I know of

My Reaction:

I like learning about animals and the habitats that they live in. I think that the information in this book is extrememly useful and valuable and any kid who just likes to learn about cool animals would love to own this book. I had fun reading it and learning about animals that are new to me.

Life in the Oceans by: Lucy Baker

Genre:Non-Fiction

Publisher: Two-Can

Copyright Date: 1997

Number of Pages: 31

Reading Level: 7-11

Summary:

This book is full of what life is like in the oceans. The ocean is one of the oldest and largest living environments. Beneath the oceans are rugged mountains, active volcanoes, and endless trenches. There are animals as small as plankton and as large as the blue whale. There is actually only one ocean but because we have continents they can be divided into smaller sections: the four main oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic), and there are seas, bays and gulfs as well. The Atlantic is the biggest and busiest ocean. The oceans are always moving. They travel in movement patterns called currents and tides. These are linked to the pull on the earth from the moon.

Plants provide food for the life under the sea. Algae, and phytoplankton are two types. The plants and animals of the ocean come in all shapes and sizes. Each appearance of an animal depend on its lifestyle and where it lives. Sea anemones and sponges stay in the same spot their entire lives and thus they look more like pants than animals. Other animals look the way they do because of what they eat or who their predator is. The animals that sit around and wait for plankton are often hunted by other animals. The most notorious hunter is the shark. They are considered man eaters but there are two hundred species of sharks and only 25 of them are dangerous to humans.

People don't live in the oceans but they utilize it and its resources. They get food and raw materials from it (fish, oil, gas). A lot of the times the nets of the boats case problems from sea life and because there is so much fishing going on, fish stock has become very low in some places. People even dump pesticides and pollutants into the rivers and streams that eventually make their way to the ocean. This toxic waste kills and drives away many animals. Many countries are trying to keep this from happening. There are many legends and folk tales that come from people who live by the ocean like, "Dakuwaca Fights for His Life," that came from Fiji.

Including the information above, this book contains little text boxes of information that go along with the wonderful sea pictures that they have throughout the book.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

Just like the other documentary books that i have read, children would love this book because it is easy to read and there are lots of cool pictures and information about some neat creatures that they have probably never heard of.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

None

My Reaction:

This is a very informative book. I enjoyed reading and learning about life in the ocean. The ocean has always scared me slightly and so reading about the cool things that happen there is pretty interesting. I can't imagine being an animal that is always hunted and always having to be on alert for danger. It had great photographs that illustrated the text very appropriately.

Odd Boy Out - Young Albert Einstein by: Don Brown

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Copyright Date: 2004

Number of Pages: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His family fears that his head is too big and that he is too fat.. The doctor said he was fine, although he did have a big head. It took him a long time to start talking which worried his family but when he finally started he was clever and sharp. As he got older, he was cruel to his sister, he would throw things at her and hit her on the head, he scared away his tutor and she never returned again. He liked to build card houses and he when he started doing something he would focus entirely on that. He was always curious and he always wanted to know how the world worked around him. Their family moved to Munich where his parents let him wander the streets alone in order to teach him to be independent - he was four. When school started, he wanted nothing to do with the sports the other boys were playing, and while soldiers fascinated most boys, they disturbed Albert. To top it all off he was Jewish, and the other boys made fun of him for that. He would do well in some school subjects but he ignored that ones he didn't like. All his teachers thought he might be dull-witted. He got good grades. His parents had a medical student live with them for a while and he gave Albert a math book. Albert worked through the book by himself and finished after just a few months. He gets another math book, and pretty soon he passed up that medical student in math knowledge. He was witty and sly in school and refused to learn things just so that they were memorized. One teacher told him he would never get anywhere in life. He ignored that prediction. His parents moved to Italy and he followed shortly after. He applied to attend the college but failed the entrance exam, so he finished his high schooling and ended up attending the college. He still preferred to be alone and he didn't have any friends but he didn't mind it. At school he graduates and tries to find a job teaching at a university but ends up working for a patent office. He got married and became a father. He would always be thinking about math, light, time, the world, the universe...Because of him we have E=mc^2, automatic door openers, television, space travel, and atomic energy. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

Who would benefit from reading this book/Who would I recommend this book to?

I think it is good for children to read about the younger lives of famous people especially people like Albert Einstein. I would recommend this to all children so that they can get to know the Albert Einstein not known to many people.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

He was mean to his sister, and that could be a potential problem. We don't want kids thinking that just because Einstein was mean to his sister doesn't mean that they can be.

My Reaction:

I thought this was a really cute book. It depicts Einstein in a new light for me. It makes him more human. I find it interesting that even as a young child he knew that school was a place that you go to learn and grow as a human being not just a place that you memorize and regurgitate random information. He was a good student but in his terms.

On My Honor by: Marion Dane Bauer

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Yearling

Copyright Date: 1987

Number of Pages: 96

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

Two friends, Joel and Tony. Tony is an exciting kid who always wants to try something new, do something crazy, and get into trouble. Joel is more reserved but goes along with Tony because they have been best friends since there were little. One day Tony has the bright idea that they should ride there bikes out to Starved Rock to go climb the bluffs, something they aren't allowed to do. Joel hesitates and Tony scoffs at him and calls him a wimp and a baby. Joel knows that they aren't allowed to, and really doesn't want to. But, Tony always gets his way. Joel, in a desperate attempt to find a way not to go, asks his dad if they can go to Starved Rock to "hike" leaving out the part that they will be climbing the bluffs. He is sure his dad will say no because he never lets them cross the street without someone watching let alone ride there bikes all the way to Starved Hill alone. His dad says yes. Joel is disappointed but can't see a way out, so they set off, Tony on Joel's new 10 speed bike.

They are riding for a while enjoying the speed, Joel nervous for where they were headed. Then they cross the bridge over the nasty, muddy river and Tony stops. Tony decides that they should go down to the river. Joel knew this was a stupid plan because the river was dangerous and disgusting. But, he was desperate for a way to get out of going to the Bluffs. Before he knew it, Tony had stripped and was in the water persuading Joel to join him. Joel didn't want to but Tony again called him a baby and dared him to come in. Joel did, careful not to submerge his head. They were there a while when they decided to race each other to the sand bar out in the middle of the river. Joel was in the lead the whole time, he never realized what a terrible swimmer Tony was. When he made it to the sand bar, he jumped up, victorious! Tony was no where to be seen. Joel, knowing Tony, was sure Tony was playing a joke on him. He was laughing at first, but then he realized that Tony's clothes were still on the bank and there was no figure of a boy crouching in the bushes. Joel started to really worry now. He jumped back in the water making a desperate attempt to find his friend. Why had Tony never told him he couldn't swim!? Why had he agreed to swim across the river? He could barely touch the river bottom and knew that was how Tony must have been getting across. But then Joel found the dropout of the river bottom. At that point he knew that Tony had drown. He swam back to the shore, threw his pants on and ran up to the deserted highway to get help. He started running up the road in the direction of home. Eventually a car came, he stopped it and it was a teenager with his girlfriend. The boy had Joel show him where Tony went under and he tried to find him himself, but to no avail. The teenager told him he has to go to the police and Joel said he would, with no intention of doing so.

He didn't know what to do. He was going to be arrested, his parents were going to hate him, he was furious with Tony for the whole situation that he didn't want to be in in the first place. He decided to ride his bike to Starved Rock anyway. On his way there, he came up with a story that would cover what happened. He decided to tell everyone that Tony had stopped at the river and that he had continued on to Starved Rock without him. When he got home, he went up to his room and lay on his bed. He could smell the fishy smell of the water on him so he took a shower. It didn't help. He laid on his bed for a long time. He told everyone in turn his "story" and for once they believed him. His insides were screaming for them to know the truth but he was afraid. His night went on normally, he did his paper route with his younger brother... When he got home, there were police at Tony's house and they asked him what he knew. He told them the lie again... But then the truth came spilling out. He blamed his dad for letting him go, he blamed everyone, he ran to his room and lay on his bed, not crying. Eventually his dad came up. He apologized for letting them go. He said, this is something we are both going to have to live with. That is when Joel started crying. His dad was relieved that he was doing so. Joel told his dad about the fish smell and his dad said that it probably would take a long time for it to leave. Joel asked his dad to stay with him until he fell asleep.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?
I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
It is about death through and through. But, I didn't feel like there was a good resolution at the end. This is a book that is a little advanced for the recommended reading level. If I were to recommend a book about death to a kid I would probably refer them to Bridge to Terabithia rather than this one. This one wasn't happy at any part of the book. Plus the dad talked about there not being a heaven and that goes against a lot of people's beliefs. That is the last thing a kid wants to hear when their friend has died.

My Reaction:
I thought this was a horribly sad book that didn't have a clear message, nor a clear resolution. I think that if a book is going to be about death it needs to have a resolution and a message that life does go on. This ended with Joel crying on his bed. This would not be the view of death that I want my children to have. I know that they need to be exposed to this kind of thing but death isn't the end and I certainly don't want them thinking it is. I didn't really like this book at all. Joel didn't even like Tony all that much, He didn't want to go with Tony, it was Tony's fault he died, the end... you know? What is that?? Anyway. This is one I won't be picking up any time soon.

Loser by: Jerry Spinelli

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: HarperCollins

Copyright Date: 2003

Number of Pages: 224

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This book is about a boy named Donald Zinkoff who is a good kid. He laughs easily (at everything) he loves school, he doesn't care what people think about him, he wants to please everyone but does things because he likes to not because he has to. He also is a little strange. His handwriting never improves from kindergarten on, he has a stomach problem that makes him spontaneously throw up, he laughs so hard that he falls out of his seat.... He is always the kids that makes his peers laugh. Then fourth grade rolls around. Zinkoff has always been there, since kindergarten, but now he is noticed. Kids nickname him "loser" and so that is what he is called. He is now seen as the weird kid who is horrible at sports, fails at school, can't play any instrument and is annoying. Zinkoff doesn't notice though! He lets things roll off of him and he still likes everyone. He goes through a couple people who he thinks are his best friends but only the reader realizes that those people are really trying to avoid him. Zinkoff doesn't understand this behavior but he finds other friends to be with. At one point when he was younger, his dad took him with him on his mailman route - that's his dad's job. His dad let Zinkoff deliver papers to a whole street by himself. During that process, he discovers the waiting man, a man who is always standing at his window waiting for his brother who was lost at war 30 years before to return home. For years following, Zinkoff always rides his bike past the waiting man's house see him. He also met a mother who keeps her daughter on a leash and he stops by there house from time to time over the coming years.

So, Zinkoff is considered a loser by everyone a school. Especially when field day comes in the 4th grade. He is excited for field day just like everybody else. The teachers split all of their classes into four teams and Zinkoff gets put on a team with the most competetive boy in school. this kid is determined to win. In the final race the teacher put Zinkoff as the anchor... when it was his turn to run in the relay his team had run so well that they were way ahead of everyone... then Zinkoff started running. He was so slow that every other team passed him and was finished long before he made it to the finish line. After that, Zinkoff was hated. Other than that day, he didn't let it affect him. He lived life as happy as can be. Fifth grade went the same way as fourth. Nobody liked him still. When field day came around this year, he was placed on a team but that team kicked him off... he tried to find another team to play on but no body wanted him. He skipped school that day. The first time in his whole elementary school years.

He played in the band at his fifth grade graduation and he cried to think that elementary school was over for him. His family (who always supported him) was there to cheer for him as he walked across the stage. Then summer started, and ha did what every normal kids does. He played, swam, slept, rode his bike, ate, teased his sister.. then sixth grade began.

The book ends with him in the sixth grade. Winter is coming and the snow starts falling while everyone is at school. They are all excited because for them, usually the first snow fall means a snow day the next day. Zinkoff participates in an on going snowball fight on the streets of his town. When he comes to the street that the little girl with the leash lives on, there are police cars and ambulences and everything flashing their lights. He found out that the little girl was lost! He cared so much for her that he went out looking for her. This part of the book was jumbled up because he was in and out of sanity and consciousness. Somehow it went from him searching for her to him passing out in the snow and blindly walking around the streets of town searching. He had no idea how much time had passed but while the little girl was found in under an hour, the search was on for zinkoff. He wasn't found until 2 in the morning. All for the little girl.

A while later at school during gym, kids were picknig their teams for basketball, and as usual Zinkoff wasn't picked at all. But, there was one kid who knew that he had gone searchnig for the girl, and while he thought Zinkoff was a weirdo not worth his time, he was so curious as to why a kid would go searching for a little girl at the possible detriment of himself that he picked him to be on his team. The End.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

This book is a lot like stargirl, in that it presents a misunderstood person in a different light than what people would normally view them. It is a good book for students who are entering middle school to read and discuss. It is important for kids who are not bullied or picked on to know what it is like to be the outsider. It is also important to teach the kids who are bullied and picked on to stick it through. It is important to be yourself no matter what is said about you, because that is the only way that you will be happy.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

kids call him names and laugh at him and some kids who read this could find it funny that people are picking on him so much, so those are the kids to be aware of when they are reading it so that you can discuss with them how people feel when mean things are said about them.

My reaction:

I thought it was ok. I think that Jerry Sinelli is an excellent author but this wasn't one of my favorite books. I can't exactly explain why. Maybe it is because there is no climax. It just goes through Zinkoffs elementary and early middle school years but that is all. The part that he got lost in the snow while trying to find the little girl was really strange. I had no idea what was going on. It had a great message but when I compare this book with Stargirl, which has the same message, Startgirl is definately better. Although Zinkoff is more real than Stargirl was so that is a plus. I think that everyone knows a Zinkoff while only a few people have met true Stargirls before.

A Year Down Yonder by: Richard Peck

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Puffin

Copyright Date: 2000

Number of Pages: 130

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is a humerous book about a girl named Mary Alice from Chicago who is forced to go live with her Grandma Dowdel in a small Illinois town after the depression hit her family hard. Her grandma is an unlady-like bear of a woman who is good at shooting guns and getting what she wants from her neighbors. Mary Alice is horrified at some of the things that her grandma does because everyone in the town is frightened of what she might do to them. Her grandma takes her everywhere with her to take part in her mischieveious plots. At the start of her time there Mary Alice has her money stolen from the school bully. The girl follows her home to get more money from her but her grandma ends up tying the girls shoes up to her horse and slapping the horse on the butt so that it will run home to the owners it was stolen from. The girl wasn't seen at school after that. Around halloween time (a very popular holiday in that town) a few things happened. First, apparently it was tradition for the neighborhood boys to go around the town distroying everyone's privvys. Grandma Dowdel wouldn't stand for that. She and Mary Alice made her grandma's famous glue that sticks from here till kingdom come and they set up a trap in the back yard. When the boys come to destroy the privvy, they are tripped by a rope that was part of the trap and Grandma Dowdel poured the glue on the leader's head. For a long time after that his hair grew back in only tufts which made him look like a plucked chicken. The next thing that happened was they were going to make pies for the Halloween party. Grandma Dowdel was told she could have any pecans that wer eon the ground around Old Man Nyquist's pecan tree. Well, there wasn't enough pecans for Grandma so she broke into his barn and fired up the tractor and rammed it so hard into the tree that it fell backwards. After that, there were enough pecans that they could hardly fit them all into their gunny sacks. The book is packed full of stuff like that! But not only was she witty and mischevious but she was caring and thoughtful in her own tough way as well. At the turkey shoot the town held every year they would sell soup to support a local lady's organization. Grandma Dowdel would charge extra to some people but she wouldn't make some people pay because she knew they couldn't afford it. She would give all the money to a poor lady trying to support her ill son. The money that she recieved would help pay for food for the whole year. Grandma Dowdel also went hunting for foxes in the middle of the night and she sold the fox furs to a fur trader. Mary Alice didn't know at the time but the money that her grandma got from the fox furs was used to buy a train ticket for Mary Alice's brother to come visit. She also made a halo for Mary Alice so that she would look prettier than Carleen Lovejoy at the school christmas nativity play.

Grandma Dowdel wasn't the only one to be up to no good though. Mary Alice had her dhare of mischief. A new kid moved into town named Royce McNabb. He was gorgeous and Carleen Lovejoy was all eyes for him from the beginning. Carleen was the school snob so Mary Alice couldn't stand for that. So, on Valentines day she and her friend Ina-Rae came up with a plan. Mary Alice wrote her a valentine from each of the boys in the class. She would make a scene about it so that only Carleen Lovejoy would hear. It worked. It drove Carleen insane. Mary Alice also wrote little article for the news paper called Newsie Notes. She would write snippets about what was going on in the community.

Finally, Mary Alice got the courage up to ask Royce to tutor her in math - she was lousy at math. He said ok. She planned to do it at an hour that her grandma would be napping so that she wouldn't be disturbed. It just so happens that at the time they had an artist named Arnold Green staying with them from New York City who was there to paint the wall of the post office. In the middle of the study session there was a loud scream and Maxine Patch came running out from the attic room where Arnold was staying and all she was wearing was a flower but she had a snake that was clinging to her like it would never let go. She went running from the house just as Grandma Dowdel woke up shot gun in hand. She thought the scene was so funny so she shot off her gun so that everyone would see Maxine running down the street naked. Royce left shortly after that a bit shell shocked and Mary Alice thought that that would be the last that she would be seeing of Royce.

In the end however, Royce graduated high school and asked if he could write to Mary Alice while he was at college. Of course she said yes. She ended up moving back to Chicago - after having a debate with her grandma about whether she could stay. In the end she went back to her parents. She and Royce McNabb were married at Grandma Dowdels house on his three-day pass from the army. The End!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

This is a great light hearted book that I think anyone would enjoy. It is hilarious but it also has moments of love and tenderness. I definately benefitted from reading this book. I would recommend this to everyone.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

Well, Grandma Dowdel steals and swears and does what she wants, so parents who are extremely strict would want to be careful with what their kids take from this book. But other than that it is wonderful.

My Reaction:

This is one of my favorite books that I read this semester. I love comedy books. It is so awesome how an author can make you laugh just by using words and descriptions. I thought that it was well written. It is a book that I will be keeping.

Hurricanes by: Seymour Simon

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Collins

Copyright Date: 2007

Number of Pages: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

Hurricanes is an informational book that describes the life of a hurricane in detail. It starts off talking about what hurricanes are and where they typically happen. It then goes through the different types of Hurricanes, such as: Cyclones, Tropical depressions, and tropical storms. When these storms go over the North Atlantic, Carribean, and the Gulf of Mexico, they are called hurricanes. In the north Pacific these are called typhoons, in the Indian Ocean they are called cyclones, in Australia they are called willy-willies. Then it goes on to talk about how hurricanes are formed and what kinds of things happen during a hurricane such as thunderstorms, tornados, and heavy rain and winds. The eye of the hurricane is the very middle and it is fairly calm with few clouds, but that tricks a lot of people into thinking that the storm is over when it is only half finished. Hurricanes form waves of fifty feet or higher that can wipe out coastlines. One historic hurricane hit Galveston, TX in 1900. It caused the worst storm tide in history. It moved the coastline back 300 feet. It then goes through the five categories and the wind speeds expected in each. The damage that hurricanes can cause is unbelieveable. They are the worst type of storm. Even worst than tornados because they can last for days and even weeks. The book gives excellent advice for before during and after hurricane situations such as, stay away from moving water and always keep extra water and non-perishable foods around.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

Any child living in hurricane prone areas would benefit from reading this book because it teaches them to be smart about hurricanes. It is good to know what a hurricane is and what to do if one comes close.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

Some people could find the subject of hurricanes a little sensitive because they may have lost some people to a hurricane. If I were to teach with this book in school I would make sure to be aware of the students backgrounds that I have in my classroom.

My reaction:

I find hurricanes to be fascinating. It is amazing how they form and how long they can last. I thought this book had enormous amounts of information that is very educational and beneficial.

Armored and Dangerous by: Howard Zimmerman

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publisher: Bearport Publishing

Copyright Date: 2008

Number of Pages: 24

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

This is a book about armored dinosaurs. It has descriptions of different dinosaurs and how they protect themselves against their meat-eater predators. Each descriptions has a phonetic guide on how to say the name of the dinosaur, what the name means, how they use their weapons (skulls, tails, bone plates) to protect themselves, and how big it was compared to a human. They also include an illustration on what the dinosaur would have looked like and an interesting fact comparing each dinosaur to another. My favorite dinosaur was the Stegosaurus. Each stegosaurus has exactly 17 large bony plates sticking up out of the back of their body. They used the four sharp spikes on their tales to keep them safe. The scientist who found the fossils thought it was the fossils of a large turtle! In the back of the book it has a map of where each dinosaur was found. Half of them were found in North America!

WHo would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

Little boys. They would love this book! It is all about how dinosaurs protect themselves when they are attacked! What little boy wouldn't eat that up? I even think little girls would benefit from reading this book. I remember doing a dinosaur unit and I loved it.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

I don't think there are any problems with this book

My Reaction:

I think this book is great. It is simple enough for young children to understand but interesting enough with new information, that older kids can enjoy it too. I enjoyed learning about all the different armored dinosaurs, and I am in college.

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Harper Trophy

Copyright Date: 1993

Number of Pages: 247

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

Part One - Beauty (really named Honour) was the youngest of three sisters the other two named Hope and Grace. Beauty didn't like her nickname because she felt like she wasn't any where near as beautiful as her two sisters. They were perfect ladies who liked to cook and sew and do lady things like that, while Beauty liked to read and ride horses and take walks. Her greatest ambition was to go to a university while during that time, it was unheard of for women to do so. Her father was always respectful of her dreams and he let her be who she was. Their family was really well off. They lived in the city by the ocean where her father was a merchant who owned many ships. Beauty's sister Grace became engaged to one of their father's captains. They wouldn't marry until Robbie came back from his three year voyage. She became a lady in waiting. That left Hope to go to parties and social gatherings alone. Not long after that Hope told Beauty about a man that she was on love with, Gervain, but he was just an iron worker and she didn't know how to tell her father. She asked Beauty to do it. Before Beauty got the chance however, their family lost everything. Most of his ships became lost or wrecked. Pirates took over one and from all this, their fortune was gone. Even the ship Robbie was on could not be located. The family, especially Grace, was devastated. As they were figuring out what to do, Gervain came to their estate and told their father that he owned a house up north that he was planning on taking Hope to live in once they were married (at this point he explained his feelings about Hope to her father) HE told them that they were welcome to come live there. They agreed. After there was an open house to sell all of there possessions, they set off in a company of traders. Before they left Beauty was given a horse named Greatheart that she had raised from a colt. He was the most beautiful horse, fit for a king, but he behaved the best for Beauty and trusted her the most, so his owner gave him to her. They took the two month journey up to their new life in a town called Goose Landing. It was a completely different life than they were used to, they had to clean and cook for themselves. They had to build and work from sun up to sun down. It took a long time for them to get used to it.

Then after a time, word came to them that one of the ships that had been lost had returned. Her father set off at once. It was right before winter so he told them not to expect him back before spring. However he was gone for only a few months when he arrived in the middle of March during a snowstorm. It was obvious that something had happened to him but he didn't want to explain it until after he had rested. The next morning he told his story. He said that he decided to leave early from the city so he set off alone. Part way through his journey he was hit by a blizzard but instead of stopping he tried to continue on. Eventually he was lost in the woods. After traveling for a time he came across a white road and so he followed it thinking it would lead him to a town. It led him to a castle. As he got closer the snow started leaving. When he got to the castle grounds it was all in bloom. He went through the gates and walked up to the doors and when he got there they opened for him. The castle took care of him and gave him a bed and fed him (he couldn't see anyone but everything worked on its own) The next day as he was leaving, he was passing through a gate that was surrounded by beautiful roses. He had promised to bring Beauty back rose seeds but this would have to do so he picked one. All at once he heard a horrible roar. Then a beast was next to him. A beast who talked like a man. The beast was angry that after all the hospitality that he gave him he was so greedy that he took one of his precious roses. For a payment, in one months time he was to bring him one of his daughters. Under the condition that the daughter came willingly. If he didn't come back in a month the beast would come and find him.

Part Two - After he recounted his tale, the family was distraught. They didn't know what to do. Except for Beauty. She knew what she was supposed to do. Much to the dismay of her family she said she would go. They tried to talk her out of it but she knew this is what she was supposed to do. So, one month later (the rose her father brought home died exactly one month after he picked it. The beast sent her father home with a packet of enchanted rose seeds and Beauty planted them. They grew and bloomed in the month that she had left and they never died) Beauty set off with her father to find the enchanted castle, all they had to do was get lost in the woods. At the gates she said goodbye to her father and went onto the grounds. She put Greatheart into the enchanted stable that immediately started grooming him and feeding him. She made her way up to the castle to find the beast. She found him in a study sitting on a chair by the fire. The first time she saw him it frightened her. She was scared of him and what he was going to do to her. But he had promised her father that she wouldn't be harmed. She found her room "Beauty's Room" which was as enchanted as the rest of the castle. Over the next few months she began to get used to her life in the castle. She was incredible lonely because apart from the beast and the breeze that was her handmaid she had no one. Having Greatheart was good for her and she took him riding everyday. Her wardrobe was covered in frilly gowns and most of them she refused to wear. She felt like they were too beautiful for a plain girl like her to wear. She had dinner with the beast every night and every night before she left he would ask her to marry him. She would always say no. As more time went on she and the beast became friends. They would go on walks together and he gave her a library. The library, like the rest of the castle was unbelievable, it had books that hadn't even been written yet. After he gave her the library their relationship became stronger. He continued to ask her to marry him and she would always say no but each time she had to say no made her more and more sad. She hated to think that she was making him unhappy. Little did she know, she was changing. Not just in her attitude toward the beast, but in her looks too. She was becoming more beautiful but there were no mirrors in the castle and so she didn't know. She also was changing her way of thinking because she believed in all the enchantedness of her home. She could hear the voices of her maids that she originally thought were just breezes. She had new eyes to see everything that was going on in the magical castle.

One day, the beast showed her his magic mirror. It showed the viewer anything that she wanted to see. She saw her family and they were talking about her. Her father had dreamt something that had actually happened and Beauty asked the beast how that could have happened. He confessed that he would send her father dreams about her, careful to exclude himself from them. She also learned that Grace was thinking about marrying a young preacher who she did not love. She was still set on Robbie but was giving up that he was still alive. The beast showed Beauty that Robbie had just returned to the city from a long journey that he had gotten lost. She was excited but sad that her sister didn't know that Robbie was alive. The beast let her go home to inform her family about what she learned but he gave her a rose that would last for a week but after the week was up the rose would die and that would mean that the beast was dieing because, he couldn't live without her. She went home to her family and told them all about what she had learned and about how she was doing. She indeed had grown more beautiful and taller too. They begged her to stay longer and they were angry with the beast for keeping her away from them. She tried to change their minds about the beast but they hated him. They talked her into staying one extra day... She did but knew that it was a mistake. Over her week with her family she realized that she loved the Beast and she needed to get back to him. She left the next morning before anyone could stop her and she rode all day. It took her hours to find the path that led to the castle. The gate wouldn't open for her... the castle was dieing. She ran through the dark hallways trying to find her beast. She couldn't find him anywhere or her room. She was scared he was dead. She kept running and running until she found him. She found him in the room where she first met him. He was sitting in his chair... in the same position she left him in. She ran to him ab thought he was dead but he wasn't. HE thought she had broken her promise but she had returned. He told her she must rest but she had to tell him first. She told him that she does love him and wants to marry him. All at once he disappeared everything disappeared. There was an explosion of light and then a man stood beside her. Somehow a gown was placed on her and she was clean. She was scared that the beast was gone. She ran away from the man to find her beast only to discover that the man was her beast. HE told her his whole story of being cursed to become a beast and how he could only be changed back if a woman agreed to marry him. Then, all at once her family was coming in a procession up to the castle. Grace had Robbie, Hope had her Ger and her three kids. The whole town came. When they emerged from the castle everyone cheered! They lived happily ever after - along with everyone else.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

This is a book that any girl would love and benefit from. It is a classic fairy tale retold into a more believable story. It is a beautiful love story that will have any girl or woman swooning.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
It could be scary for younger kids because there is a beast that is obviously frightening. But other than that I think this book will do more good than harm for anyone reading it.

My reaction:

I love this book. This is my favorite book that I read this semester. I loved the beast. I thought that, rather than being frightening, he was sweet. He loved Beauty so deeply that I could feel it. He had been waiting so long for someone like her to come along. He had unbelievable patience and a deep longing to be loved. I thought that Beauty was a great character. I liked the fact that she wasn't the most beautiful of her sisters but she was the most well put together and normal character. It was a lovely story.