Author Archives: 24jessicaw

Jun
14
2016

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

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9780064471046_R1_slideshowThe book I am reading is called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. The name of this series is called The Chronicles of Narnia. The main characters’ names are Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. They are all brothers and sisters. Another important character’s name is Aslan. Aslan is a Lion. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe takes Place in England and the imaginary World, Narnia.

I think one of the most important scenes is near the end of the book when the four kids and Aslan go to the witch’s castle. Aslan unfreezes the stone statues that the witch had made, with his breath. (The witch froze creatures by pointing her wand at them, then they turned to stone.) I made a diorama of this scene. Aslan is in the center of the scene breathing on the dwarves to unfreeze them. I made him in the center because he is the main and most important character in this scene.

This scene is important because there are a ton of statues that the witch froze and Aslan unfroze all of them. “Everywhere the statues were coming to life. The courtyard looked no longer like a museum; it looked more like a zoo. Creatures were running after Aslan and dancing round him till he was almost hidden in the crowd” Everyone searched the whole castle to find any more statues that were hidden. “Now for the inside of this house!” Said Aslan. “Look alive, everyone. Up stairs and down stairs! Leave no corner unsearched. You never know where some poor prisoner may be concealed.” Aslan didn’t want anyone to be left at the witch’s castle as a statue.

After he unfroze all the statues Aslan made an army of his own out of the creatures that he unfroze. The witch’s army and Aslan’s army then had a battle. In the end Aslan’s army won, the witch died and most of her army died too. Without Aslan unfreezing the creatures they wouldn’t have won the battle. That is why the scene is so important. I would give this book a five star rating.

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Feb
24
2016

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

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9780553751758The title of my book is called Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The main character’s name is Won-a-pa-lie which means The Girl with Long Black Hair. Her secret name is Karana (she is a Native American). The setting of the book is on an island in the middle of the sea and the time of the book is in the mid-1800s. The main problem in the book is that Karana is living on an island all by herself with no people, just animals. She has to survive all alone, just by the things she remembers.  One big event in the book is when a boat came and took all of her people, including Karana, away from an island (the people from the boat were nice people) and Karana’s tribe brought all of their stuff with them. But her little six year old brother went to get his fishing spear at the last second and the boat left without him. One minute later when the boat had not moved that far away from the island Karana noticed that her brother was not with her. She looked back to the island and there her brother was running on the island to the boat. Karana had to decide if she wanted to stay on the boat with her people and leave her brother behind or jump off of the boat and leave her people to be with her brother. She decided to jump off of the boat and be with her brother. That is important because it changes the whole story and it means that she cares more about her brother then everything else. One part of the book I thought was really interesting was how she made stuff, like her fence and her house. I think that is interesting because she was so creative about what she made it out of because she did not have that much stuff to build with. For example, she made her fence out of whale bones.

One adjective that describes Karana is brave. She is brave because she survived on an island all by herself. Another adjective that describes the main character is skillful. Karana is skillful because she can make a bow and arrow, house, a lamp made out of a fish and a fence made out of whale bones.The last adjective that describes the main character is loving. She is loving because she jumped off of the boat and left everything and everyone she knew and had, to be with her brother.  After Karana jumped off of the boat and swam back to the island to be with her brother. She thought “I felt the sand under my feet and saw him standing at the edge of the waves, holding his fishing spear and looking so forlorn, I forgot all those things I had planned to to do. Instead I fell to my knees and put my arms around him.” This quote/thought makes me understand the main character because it tells me that Karana cares more about her brother than creating a new life at the new island and all of her belongings.

I liked this book because it was very interesting. The parts I found interesting were how she made the things she used to survive, for example, it was interesting how she made a fence, a lamp and weapons.  (It also won a Newbery award so it has to be good). I would recommend this book because I thought it was very interesting. It also grabbed my attention and made me want to read it a lot. This book reminds me of a book called Swiss Family Robinson. The thing that is sort of in common is that the family was shipwrecked and they had to survive on an island by themselves. I would give this book a five star rating!                                                                                                                                                    

Jan
15
2016

The Cricket In Times Square

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9780374316501_xlgThe book I am reading is called The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden. The main character’s name is Chester, he is a cricket. Three other important characters are Mario, Harry the cat, and Tucker the mouse. The main problem is that Chester came from Connecticut, but he got stuck in a picnic basket between two liverwurst sandwiches and he could not get out. Now he is in New York City and it is too crowded for him. The setting of the book is a newsstand in Times Square and the year is around 1957.

One important part of the book is when Chester gets stuck in the picnic basket. It is important because Chester would’ve not gotten to New York City if he hadn’t got stuck in the picnic basket. One other important part is when Mario hears Chester playing his music. That is important because if Chester did not play his music, Mario would have not heard him. And if Mario did not hear him, Chester would have not been rescued by Mario. One big event that happened in The Cricket In Times Square is when Chester gets stuck in a picnic basket and then gets to New York. This event is really important because if this part did not happen, the book would not be called The Cricket In Times Square. Another important part is when mama Bellini almost killed Chester. She did not kill Chester because Tucker told Chester to play his music and he did and the song he played was her favorite song. So mama Bellini was really happy instead of being really mad.   

Chester is honest, because he never tells a lie to anyone about  anything. I also think Chester would do anything to help his friends. Chester is friendly because he made two friends really easily. The two friends are Harry the cat, and Tucker the mouse. Chester is very musical because he can memorize a song after hearing it once. Once, he was listening to the radio and he heard a song about a minute later he started to play along. One day, there was a fire, and Chester said, “I’m going back there, if the Bellinis find me gone, they’ll think I set the fire and ran.” This quote shows that Chester is honest because it is very risky for him, but he does not want to disappoint them so he goes back there.

I like this book, because I like books about animals. I think it was a good idea that a cat, a mouse, and a cricket would be best friends. I would recommend this book, because I think a lot of other fourth graders also like books about animals and we all live in New York where the book takes place. A Cricket In Times Square also won the Newbery Honor. I think this book is similar to Stuart Little, because it is about animals that talk and act like humans. I would give this book five stars.                                                            

Dec
11
2015

The Black Stallion, By Walter Farley

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Black-Stallion-Book-Cover-the-black-stallion-13136793-420-617I read The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. The main characters are Alec and the Black Stallion. The main problem in the book  is when the ship Alec was on (Drake) was shipwrecked. The setting of The Black Stallion is on the ship, then on the island and at the end at Alec’s home.

One important part of my book is when the Drake was shipwrecked. It was important because Alec was the only human survivor of the shipwreck and the Black Stallion was the only horse survivor. A second important part is when the Black Stallion and Alec were living on the island. It was important because he lived on an island where no other people live and they become best friends. A third important part is when Alec raced with the Black Stallion and won in the most famous horse race with the two most famous horses. It was important because now he became famous. Two events that changed the story are first, when Alec met the Black Stallion and the Black Stallion and Alec helped each other survive. The second event was when the Drake was shipwrecked and Alec had to live on the island. Alec is strong because he lived on an island all by himself and he had to live on his own. I think Alec is brave because he learned how to ride on a wild stallion all by himself and survived on his own.

I enjoyed this book because I like stories about animals. I also like this book because I think it is cool how a wild stallion saved Alec and how on the island the Black Stallion and Alec bonded. I would give this book a five star rating.