The Tail of Emily Windsnap

The Tail of Emily Windsnap is a great book because it is full of action. I recommend it for people who are interested in lots of wonder and enchantment. Because that is what this book is full of. I really like it because all of the characters are very determined to get what they want. A lot of this book takes place in boats, and water. It is a wonderful story that has friendship, family, and a little bit of romance. I rather think that this jut a little more of a girl book than a boy book. I think that because the book has a lot more girl characters than boy characters. I also know that the author put a lot of hard work into making this book sound like it could actually happen. This book is fantasy because it involves a ton of mythical creatures. I would give this book a 12 out of 10 because I thought that the author was very successful in making this story have a voice. I love this book so much that I felt that I absolutely needed to post it.

The Green Glass Sea

The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages is one of the best historical fiction books I have read. It takes place at a secret government research site during World War II and combines the story of friendship with the tension of one of the world's greatest secrets, the Manhattan Project.

I was so caught up in this story that I couldn't put the book down, even to feed my dogs -- boy, did they make me pay for that! I found myself continually relating to one of the primary characters, Suze, because she goes through a lot of angst trying to be liked by other kids, and I was like that when I was the age that she is in the story. My older, wiser self kept giving her advice such as, "just roll with it," or "don't let them bother you," or the classic, "just ignore them." Yeah, right.

The final chapter of the book, which began as a stand-alone short story, explains the title of the book. It really made me think about how something can be amazingly beautiful and terrible at the same time. If you love science, math, mystery, or a good story, I highly recommend this book. It's an absolute 10.

To learn more about the author, who lives in San Francisco, go to http://www.ellenklages.com.

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hall

When Mrs. Ritter first recommended this book to me, I wasn't very excited about it because the cover said that it was by the author of Princess Academy, and I'm not one for -- well -- princess books.   I didn't want to hurt Jane's feelings, either, so I took the book home for summer reading and set it on my end table, where it has been gathering dust ever since.

I picked it up early this afternoon and just now finished it because I couldn't put it down.  First off, it has a map of the make-believe Eight Realms at the front of the book.  This put me in mind of The Hobbit and The Dark is Rising, two of my all-time favorite books.  Also, it turns out that this book is loosely based on the fairy tale, Maid Maleen, and I love fairy tales.  Some of darkness characteristally found in Grimms' tales is present here in the form of magical animals, evil wolves, and shape shifting humans.  The author blends these images with those of the historical tyrant, Genghis Khan, in a way that makes for fascinating reading.

As I read, I was constantly worried about what was going to happen next.  I found myself trying to put pieces of the story together in a way that made sense before the author told me what was going on.  Sometimes this worked and I'd think to myself, "That's just what I thought!"  Other times, the plot would twist and I'd be surprised by what happened; I liked that.

Animals play a big part in this book and, in the acknowledgement, Sharon Hale says that a portion of the proceeds from this book go to Heifer International, an organization that distributes farm animals to needy families around the world.  I admire the way she used her respect for domestic animals to enhance her story and then turned around and donated money to an organization that provides farm animals to people throughout the world because it seems like her personal ideals fueled her creativity as a writer, or vice versa.

This book is available in our school library and I highly recommend it.  It's a 10, for sure.

Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson

   This book is a great summer read for kids between 5th and 6th grade because it takes place during colonial times in Philadelphia, the U.S. capital at the time of the story. After finishing 5th grade, kids have enough background knowledge about this time for the story to make sense.  

One of the things I really like about this book is that it has several authentic components: the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, the battle of the doctors, the first hot air balloon in the United States, the Free African Society, and the popularity of coffeehouses. The author recreates the fear and panic of the situation without going overboard with gross details.

Usually, I take a while to read a book, but I read this book in two sittings because I just couldn't put it down! 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This book was interestion because a lot of bad things are happening and Harry is just ignoring them! I think that Harry is making bad decisions and he sould think more carfully. Things are going on in my head like, "Why did you read that book?"or "Why did you fly that car?" I thought that it was interesting how Harry  figured out things that he did not know about himself. I think that this book is very dramatic, but nothing compared to The Deathly Hollows.  In both there are legends and mysteries.  I think Harry Potter is a really good series and I would give it a 10 for it's action.

No Talking

No Talking is a book by Andrew Clements.  I know that this book was already posted, but it was a long time ago. I really like the book because it has the quote "there's a way to prove that girls talk way more than boys." I think that can be true, but not always true, because girls are a lot more shy. I recomend this book to people who like the books that Andwrew Clements writes. I also recomend it to people that like having sides because the girls and boys are and opposite teams and are against each other.  I would rate this book a 10 because it has a good plot.

Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Ahh! Don't Die Peter! Don't Die! Whew! He made it! This is what I encountered a lot in this book.

Peter and the Shadow Thieves is the second book in the Peter and the Starcatcher's series. I call this series the "before" Peter Pan series because the books are about how Peter Pan became Peter Pan. I think that Peter and the Shadow Thieves is scarier than the first book. In the first book, you are just meeting the characters, so you don't really care what happens to them -- well, maybe you do care a little.

Now, in the second book, you care a lot more about what happens to them. I think that this is the better book out of the two of them. The first book was good, but it didn't have much mystery and scariness in it. In this book, sometimes I was afraid to turn the page. I would think "Please don't let him die!"

In a series, you usually don't have to worry too much that the character will die because you know that the characters have to live to be in the next book. For example, if I hadn't known that Harry Potter was a series, I would have been so freaked out the whole time I read the book because I wouldn't know if he would still be alive by the end of the chapter. In this book, even though I know that they will live because there is another book, I was freaked out when they came to a near death experience.

I would rate this book a 10 for mystery, scariness, and entertainment -- the last page was hysterical, but don't read the last page first!

Black Beauty

(This is a sub for the date 4-21-08.)  This book, to me, is very special because the author is such a good writer, but she died very soon after she finish writing it. I'm lucky enough to read the full version. I stared reading it with my mommy when I was about four but, for some reason, she wasn't reading it to me anymore. 

I've always loved horses since I was born, but in the past month I grew more interested in them. I stared to read it again and the horse, in my mind, was so beautiful.  I understood  much more than I knew, and I really got why they called it Black Beauty. It was such a charming book. I would rate it a ten and recommend it to any horse lover. 

The End of the Beginning

When I read this book, I thought of this book as a drama and comedy. The voices in my head were laughing or saying, "Don't do that!" At some points the book was funny and and angry because the funny and pranksterish ant was making fun of the snail or somthing.  I could connect to this book because the ant and snail meet up and are going the same way out of cowincedence. That's happened to me before when I'm walking and I meet up with this guy named Griffin -- not our Griffin -- who is a sixth grader at MVMS.  I rate this book a 10.

The Secret Garden

Have you ever watched a movie before you read the book it was based on? I really suggest you read the book, The Secret Garden, before you watch the movie. If you watch the movie first, it somewhat ruins the surprises for you and you would be waiting for something to happen that is 199 pages away.

At first, I had a very hard time starting The Secret Garden because I watched the movie before I read the book. In the beginning, I thought the book was very boring. Every time I tried to read The Secret Garden, I never got past the first six or seven pages. I know that you can't tell a book from its first six pages, but the first six pages completely bored me.

The last time our class went to the library, I picked up The Secret Garden and made myself promise not to put the book down. I am ever so glad that I made myself do that. If I hadn't done that, I would have missed out on a great book!

Every now and then it was hard to "read" what the characters were saying because a lot of the characters speak broad Yorkish. An example of broad Yorkish is "Tha'rt not nigh so yeller and tha'rt not nigh so scawny. Even tha' hair doesn't slamp down on tha' haed so flat." Luckily, the author tells you how to pronounce the really hard words - when I say "hard" I mean that you can't just sound out the word.

One thing really interesting is that the book was written in 1911. That's almost 100 years ago! And not only that, The Secret Garden is still wonderful to read. Maybe it's like some wines, the longer it's kept the better it tastes.

I would rate this book an extremely well earned 100! Just kidding. I rate The Secret Garden is a super 10.

Mallory On Board

Anchors Away! At least that is what Mallory will be thinking about in this book. The excitement is rushing through the McDonald family. Except, there is one bump in the road for Mallory, or should I say a rock in the sea. Her two best friends' mother and father are getting married. Why is that a problem? Well as Mallory would say, "because their suppose to be 2 separate families!"  

This book at first will made me feel bright and happy inside but, depending on my definition of sad, I could feel tears forming inside. That could probably turn my sunny day out of the picture. I think that it is true, what it says in the book, that there are good ships and bad ships, but there are no ships like friendships. There also is the feeling of being left out, like the extra one in the crowd.

To me, sad can have two meanings in this book.  The meaning of bursting into tears, or the meaning of the feeling as if you were being excluded and letting the sadness build up inside. This book taught me a lot about those two meanings. Also that if you'rr ever feeling left out by a friend, you should always tell them. I would rate this book a 10+.

Replay

This book is by Sharon Chreech. I think she is a great author and now I am almost done with reading all of her books. This is the last book, I think, that I have to read from her and then I am going to go onto another author. Now onto the book, this book is very enjoyable. I would recommend this book to a lot of people that like the theater because this book is pretty much about a boy who wants to go into the theater business. The book is very interesting and when I am reading this book, (have not finished yet) what goes through my head was things like "WOW" or "That was so sad," and things like that.

I would recommend this book 1 thousand times because it is so good. I would rank this book a 10 because it is really well written and I know that everyone would like this book. (I think)

Christopher Mouse

The book Christopher Mouse is about a small whight mouses life. I am amazed, because he always seems to know what to do, even though he is only a few weeks old.  He can always tell when there's danger. When I think he's made a bad choise, it always works out. I think he has a crazy life for a mouse, and he is lucky to be alive. I was really focused when I read this book and it has a great ending.  I would rate this book a 10 because I would read it again.

Wizards at War

Wizards at War is the 8th book in the Young Wizard Series. I am finding this book very interesting because even though Diane tells you that their world is going to end, she doesn't put it in your face all the time.  Another thing I find interesting in this book is that all the wizards from the last several books are coming together. I have just come to a twist in the story that I think is unfair to the main characters. Then again, who said life was fair?

So far I think that if Diane had to stop writing these books this would be a great place.
The thing is, this book raises some questions. For example, will the two adult wizards get their wizardry back? Why are only the adult wizards losing their wizardry? If the adult wizards do get their wizardry back, how will they get it back? If they don't get their wizardry back, how will this affect the main characters? I guess this wouldn't be a good place to stop the series after all!

So far I would rate this book a 10 for the adventure and the feeling that you have to continue readnig.  I have said that these books make you want to continiue to turn the pages. I think that might be the reasons these books sell so well.

Martin the Warrior

Martin the Warrior is yet another book from the fantastic Redwall series. Martin is a slave to a stoat named Badrang and his crew. This is about Martin, Rose, Brome, Grumm, Pallum and Feldoh accompanied by many other friends. I'm not complaining about this at all, but I've noticed that all of the Redwall books that I've read run along the same plot. Usually what happens is that a warrior goes on a quest to find something or someone to help them save the group of people that is being attacked or tortured by the evil ruler. There are also a few other groups such as the people who are defending themselves from the evil ruler. Then the warrior comes back and defeats the ruler. The really amazing thing that Brian Jaques does is creating completely new charecters (except for the warrior or the main charecter) creates completely new plots and creates many new settings. I might be saying this over and over again, but (unlike me) the author never ceases to suprise me. He has suspense, poetry, good charecter pesonalities and so much more (plus that other stuff that I keep going on and on about.) There are soo many books to read so I don't have to worry about running out of Redwall books for a while. I'd give this book a 10 (seriously).

Shakespeare's Secret

I have read a lot of books , but this book is my favorite of all. This book is about a girl named Hero. That might sound a little strange for a girl name , but in a play by Shakspeare Hero is a girl who is very brave. Why is her name from Shakspeare? Well in the book Hero's father is a Shakspear expert. But that is a very triky job because her family has to keep moving. I would rate this book a 10+.

East

East is an interesting book. It also has a really great plot. This is a really hard book to explain but basically, it's about a girl named Rose who finds herself being held captive in a castle by a polar bear. I still don't know why though. This is a really good book because the author did a great job with detail so it's not like they're saying "The grass flowed in such grace that it looked as if there were, Blah, Blah, Blah!" She also wasn't going "Then, Rose died and then her mother moved away, Yada, Yada, Yada!" She also leaves me on a cliff hanger and makes sure that the unecspected happens!

I would deffenetly rate this book a 10!

Wenny Has Wings

Wenny Has Wings is the most heartbreaking book around. Janet Lee Carey conjured up a tale that will make it seem as if the ocean is coming out of your eyes. Wenny North, died at age seven. She was hit by a truck with her brother Will. Our school library copy has tear stains to share on pages galore. They were both rushed to the hospital. In this time is really the main story.

Most people will tell you that is what the book is about. Thats true, but really the thing that boggles me is it is just the beginning. True throughout the whole book they reefer back to this moment in time, but the book really is about what happens after. I think that is what people should say. " This book is about the suffering of a family after they lose the youngest member of there family."

This books hook is really good. It isn't exactly the first piece of the book it's the back cover. "Dear Wenny, I died too. Not when the truck first hit us, but right after in the hospital. I was pretty messed up by the truck, and while they were trying to fix me, my heart stropped for a whole ten minutes. I sped through a tunnel when I died, then I flew around in the sky. I'd be flying up there with you still if D.r West fall hadn't put two paddles on my chest and shot electric energy into my heart." From this I know that he was writing letters to his sister. I think that if I were in his shoes I would want to be up there still. I think this because mainly is because how his parents are effected. It seemed to me that they really didn't care that he had made it. They just dwelled on the fact that Wenny was no longer with them. I think he got over it the best. He still got angry really easily but he saw the bright side. Like what he did for Wenny's birthday. I won't give it away, but I think that it was really sweet. I think that the most amazing thing is that Wenny is based on Janet. I could never write a book about the person who is basically me dyeing. That would just be too much. Please consider reading this book. I think that Emi also has read this book. I would definetly rate this book a ten.

P.S. Watch out for tear stains.

The Sisterhood Of the Traveling Pants: Girls in Blue The Fourth Summer Of the Sisterhood

I am very sad that this series is over. This was the last book and this is my favorite series besides Harry Potter (which has also ended). It is about 4 girls who are all very different but are like sisters and they call themselves the Septembers because they were all born in that month. Carmen's father left their family when she was little and is very self-conscious, Bridget loves soccer and is outgoing and her mother died when she was still a teenager, Lena is from Greece and is shy but very kind, and Tibby makes movies and she is the more serious out of the friends. They are are all teenagers and in the last book they are in college. There isn't A LOT of romance in these books but depending on which one your reading they amount varies. It's nice not to have that "hard core" romance that I've been reading lately. By brain really needs a break but they way that the author wrote the book, there was just enough romance to hold me over and I repeatadly thought to myself, "More romance, please!" But if there WAS more romance, it would be too much! I definitely recommend this series and I would give it a 10 because I always wanted to keep reading and it is one of my favorites.

Our Only May Amelia

I like this book because it is funny an it is just a really good book. This book is by Jennifer L. Holm, I think she is a great auther because in this book I feel like I am actually in the book it just gets in my head so well. When I finish reading the Sharon Chreech books, witch are the best, I want to start reading all the books by Jennifer L. Holm. This book is about how May Amelia is the only child girl on the Nasel. I would recomened this book because it is so good. The only bad part with this book is that when someone is talking, the auther does not put in the quotes were someone is talking so it is kind of confusin when you read it because you don't know who is talking.

I would give this book a 10 because it so well written because the auther makes the book kind of sound like you are actually there I would deffinetly recomened this book!

When i first saw this book, I said to my self "A. This book looks interesting." So then I read the back to see if it was actually good. When i read the back i said to my self " Wow. This book looks interesting because it says that May Amelia is the only girl on the Nasel. When I started to read the book I said to my self again "This book is really good i think I am going to keep reading this book, and I am. So read it, its really good!