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.