Category Archives: Deborah & Jacob’s Class

Jan
14
2016

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, By Judy Blume

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imgresI read the book Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. The author is Judy Blume. The book takes place in the year 1947 in Miami, Florida. It is about a girl named Sally and her life after World War 2. Sally is in 5th grade. She is nine years old. Sally has many ups and downs in her new life in Miami. A down is that her father cannot stay in Miami with them, because of his job he has to stay in New Jersey. An up is that Sally has many new friends in Miami.

Her father visits every once in awhile, so Sally’s only communication in between visits, is to write to him. Sally tells her father all about Miami, and recent activities, and things that have happened. I love Sally’s letters to her father. They are very descriptive and interesting. I especially like how her letters to him start with, Dear Doey-Bird. That is Sally’s nickname for her father. I think that nickname is pretty funny!

Sally and her family moved to Miami because her brother Douglas got a kidney infection. I will not tell you why Douglas got a kidney infection because I don’t want to spoil an important part in the book. I can relate to this part of the story because my brother has many food allergies and eczema. Eczema is when your skin starts to bleed and gets very itchy and uncomfortable. Every year my family goes to Hawaii for the summer. The weather helps my brother’s eczema. This is similar to how Douglas feels better in Miami because it is not cold. Another connection is that I live in New York and they live in New Jersey. New York and New Jersey are right next to each other.  

Sally is a very interesting character. She is cautious, smart and sometimes brave. For example, on page 102 and 103 it says “After years and years of her mother’s warnings it was finally happening. A strange man was offering her candy!”… “He shook the bag of candy at Sally. “Go … on … take …” “No!” Sally said and rode off, almost knocking the man over.” She likes and thinks some things that you might think are odd for a nine year old girl. Sally likes to call herself a detective because that is her favorite game to play. On page 27 Sally says, “I’ve got this really great detective story ready. We’re after this murderer who cuts people up and stuffs the pieces into brown lunch bags…he leaves the bags all over town and the people are really scared…this is no ordinary murderer…this guy is dangerous.” This gave me the idea that Sally enjoyed different types of games than other kids.

A case that Sally worked on was the case of old scary Mr. Zavodsky, the man who offered her candy. Sally thinks that Mr. Zavodsky is Adolf Hitler(A.H.). She thinks he looks like A.H. because he has slick, dark hair and a small black moustache. There are no pictures in the book but you know what the characters look like because Sally is very good at explaining them.

If I were Sally I would write another note to Mr. Zavodsky. I would say to him, I know who you are, and you can’t hide forever! So admit who you are now or I will tell everyone your real identity. I will not ever call you Mr. Zavodsky again because that is your fake identity. Don’t try to trick people that you’re good by trying to give them candy that probably has poison in it! You can trick my friend Andrea but you can’t trick me! From Detective Sally, your worst nightmare.

I enjoyed this book so much! I liked it because it is funny, exciting, sad, well written and the characters are like a never ending maze! When I read this book I couldn’t stop! I personally think that it is an amazing book. Out of all the Judy Blume books I have read, I think that this one is my favorite. Judy Blume really captures the moments and describes the scenes. It is such an amazing book I didn’t want to stop reading it! I want you to have that feeling too, so that is why you should read this book!

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself is a great book for 4th graders and higher. If you like mysterious, funny, interesting, breathtaking books, then you should definitely read Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself.

I rate this book FIVE STARS!

 

  

 

Jan
14
2016

Frindle, By Andrew Clements

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    The book Frindle is a frindle about a boy named Nick Allen who lives in a small town in a suburban area with bigger towns further away. I think Nick is unique because he has so many factors to him. He is not solely a happy type, a mean type or a funny type, he is all of the above and more. For example, in the text it says, “If you asked the kids and the teachers at Lincoln Elementary School to make three lists-all the really bad kids, all the really smart kids, and all the really good kids, Nick Allen would not be on any of them. Nick deserved a list of his own, and everyone knew it.” This shows how Nick is unique and not like anyone else. Nick wanted Lincoln Elementary to be more exciting so he thought of a great idea and involved some friends.  His Language Arts teacher, Ms. Granger, loves the dictionary. She absolutely cherishes it. When they are learning why words are words and why they are called what they are, he wanted to change the word “pen” to “frindle.”  Ms. Granger does not like this one bit, because she thinks all words should stay the same if there no point in changing it but that doesn’t stop Nick.

When Nick launches his new word, he gets the whole fifth grade to hold up a pen and say, “Frindle” on Picture Day.  The photographer that was taking the school picture didn’t have any film left over to take another since fifth grade was last. Ms. Granger decided this was taken to far and wants to put a stop to it. Another really important part in this book is the penalty for whenever a kid in Lincoln Elementary School says the word, “Frindle”. Ms. Granger will keep him or her after school and force them to write the sentence, “I am writing this punishment with pen” 100 times. The school office started having mad parents on the phone very often, and everyone was tired of it except the children. Nick was finally making his school a more exciting place, but it came with consequences.

About two weeks after the big punishment, Ms. Granger gave out and things started to get too crazy. The principal, Ms. Margaret Chatham, is sent over to Nick’s house to talk with his parents about the “Frindle” situation. When Ms. Chatham arrives in the room she is big, scary, and firm. Very firm. She talks slow but meaningful, and always sticks to her word. For example, in the text it says “Once Ms. Chatham on my first day of kindergarten promised me a gummy if I did a good job at school that day. At the end of the day, I got a gummy. A big red delicious gummy.”  This shows how she always sticks to her word. Ms. Chatham asked Nick, “…”  Oh, wait. You have to read the book to find that out…

I really enjoyed this book because I thought that the author developed the characters really well, and they all had a backstory with a distinct personality which I thought made the book that much better.  Another reason I really enjoyed the book is at the end of almost every chapter there was a cliffhanger.  I thought this was a smart idea so the reader will question the next chapter if they have stopped reading,  and will encourage them to continue to find out what happens next.

 Whenever I had to stop reading at the end of a chapter, I always wondered what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book, because you won’t ever get bored with it. There’s always something exciting or fascinating happening that you won’t want to stop reading. One connection I have to this book and my life is one time my friend started calling carrots “Pushas.” Everyone started saying it, so our teacher decided it went too far and made us stop. Some kids kept saying the word and had to talk with the teacher. I would rate this book five stars because it’s funny, interesting, and tells a good story about a boy and his bond with the 5th grade language arts teacher, Ms. Granger.

Jan
14
2016

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K Rowling

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searchMy book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was written by J.K. Rowling. Harry, Ron and Hermione are really not just in one place. They travel all over the place because they are wanted. No they aren’t bad people, the Dark Lord has taken over and his first target is Harry and his friends.

In the beginning of the story, they were at a wedding and they had to run because they were attacked. When they were the ministry’s last hope of Voldemort not killing everyone they fled, so they have to make it right. If they don’t, Voldemort will take over once and for all. They have to get the Horcruxes that will destroy Voldemort, but when they start hearing about the Deathly Hallows they get a bit side tracked. So you’re wanted by half the world and you have to kill their leader, it is going to be a lot of hard work. Hermione is smart and tough. Once when she was 13 she punched a bully in the face. Without her, Ron and Harry would of been dead six years ago too. Ron is nice and not a blood boaster. Most people that are pure blood brag and say stuff like mud blood and half blood. Harry is good at duels and is kind plus brave. He gets his incredible kindness from his mother.     

I liked the book because it was long and I like long good books because they last me a long time to read. I also like the magic and imagination. It just makes the story come to life. I also LOVE the nineteen years later. It’s the best. I would recommend it to someone who likes action and adventure. It is just adventure written all over it. Exploring and magic. 100% perfect. Five full stars to this book.

 

★★★★★

So does he die? You’ll have to find out.  

 

Jan
14
2016

Sisters Grimm 2, By Michael Buckley

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I read a book called The Sisters Grimm 2 by Michael Buckley that was commendable. This book is part of a series called The Sisters Grimm. The central characters’ names are Daphne Grimm and Sabrina Grimm. This book takes place in Ferry Point Landing. The complication in this book is that there are monster problems at Ferry Point Landing Elementary, Daphne’s and Sabrina’s school. The girls try to solve the mystery of their school and go on an adventure.

Other characters in this book are Mayor Charming, the Mayor of Ferry Point Landing, Snow White and Mr. Grumpner.  Snow White is Daphne’s teacher and Mr. Grumpner is Sabrina’s teacher. Sadly Mr. Grumpner meets his death by a giant spider and is replaced. Other characters are Mr. Sheepshank, a teacher, and Relda Grimm, the girls’ Grandma and Puck, a “friend” of Sabrina’s.

Sabrina is tough and angry because in the first few days of school she already got in many fights. Another example is that she is always getting mad at people. Daphne is goofy, silly and kind because she tried to ground her older sister. Another example is that she loves making silly faces. The last one is that when her sister got a broken arm she gave her sister a big hug. I enjoy that the two sisters have very different personalities.

The plot is fascinating. One part that is very interesting is when a giant frog girl starts chasing them. It was very interesting because I did not expect that to happen. Another thing that was interesting is when Sabrina gets in a fight with someone she loves. That was interesting because those people had never fought before. The main character made a big decision when Sabrina tried to fight something much bigger than her.

I enjoyed this book very much because there were a lot of twist and turns and when you think you know something it ends up being much different than you thought. Another reason I enjoyed this book is because there were some classic fairytale characters like Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White. I would recommend this book to people who like twisted fairytales because this book is like a fairytale book just with lots of things you would not expect. At the beginning of this book you think it is going to go one way when it actually goes another. A connection I have with this book is that my personality is very similar to Daphne’s. I think it is a four out of five stars.            

 

        

Jan
14
2016

I Even Funnier, By James Paterson

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f906044348db44a554e9e441e04869ddThe book I am reading is I Even Funnier  by James Patterson . The main characters are Jamie, Pierce, Cool Girl, Gaynor,and Gilda. The story takes place in Long island in the present time. The book is about how Jamie’s friends are trying to help  him become  a good comedian. Jamie’s parents died in a car crash. Jamie survived but his legs do not work anymore and he was in the hospital for almost a year. In the hospital the nurses told him laughter is the best cure, so he watched comedians, he read joke books and he did everything he could to become funny.  When he was released from the hospital he hoped to become a comedian.  

When Jamie was released from the hospital he went to live with his aunt and uncle and his cousin, Stevie, who was the biggest bully in the world.  Stevie beat him up every day.  In the town where he lives there is a Planet’s Funniest Kids Contest.  Of course, Jamie entered the contest. The contest consisted of   several rounds of stand-up comedy to get to the finals. Jamie entered the first round not knowing anything about how the contest worked. He ended up winning the first round and the second, but then his uncle (a different uncle than the one he lived with) got sick so Jamie withdrew from the contest. Then Gaynor’s mom got sick and so he decided to make a Youtube video to help Gaynor’s mom feel better.

  The contest was still going on and two other people got to move on to the semifinals. However, there was also a wildcard slot and the judges picked him to fill that slot thanks to his Youtube video. When his uncle got better, Jamie went to the semifinals and then on to the finals, which was held  in Las Vegas. Jamie is very determined because he keeps on trying to win the contest and he does. He is also very nice because he helps other kids become good comedians. Also when people are bullying other kids he stands up for them.

I enjoyed the book because it was very funny and helped me understand that if someone is disabled, he or she can still do things like if they can not walk they can still play a game just in a wheelchair. I  also liked the book because Jamie got to the finals of the contest  by working hard and doing things for others like making the video for Gaynor’s mom to help her feel better, which was how he was able to move on to the finals. I would  recommend this book to somebody who is determined,somebody who likes comedy, and  somebody to whom friendship is important. I give this book four out of five stars. 

 

   

 

 

 

Jan
14
2016

Rose and the Magician’s Mask, by Holly Webb

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I am reading Rose and the Magician’s Mask by Holly Webb which is part of The Rose Series. The main character of my book is named Rose. There are also other characters like Freddie who is Mr. Fountain’s apprentice and Bella who is Mr. Fountain’s daughter who is very spoiled and screams a lot. The main problem of this book is that Gossamer stole a mask from the king’s palace in England but the worst part is that the mask can do anything! Rose and the gang have to stop Gossamer and the mask before they build an army to take over the world! This book takes place in Venice and England in 1943.

When Gossamer steals the mask from the King’s palace in England, Gossamer runs off to “The City of Magic” (Venice) to unleash the power of the mask. Mr Fountain, Freddie, Bella and Rose chase Gossamer in Venice where nothing is quite what it seems. Some of the events that change the direction of the story are when Mr. Fountain almost does not bring Rose, Freddie, Bella or Gus (the really wise talking cat who guides them through magic) but at the very last moment he changes his mind. I think this really changes the direction of the story because if Mr. Fountain did not bring them they would not be as successful in the end.

I think something very surprising is that Bella screams so loud and it combines with her magic. She does not realize it is so loud that she knocked down a big boat and makes a few people’s ears bleed (actually). I think that Rose has a really hard life because when Mr. Fountain chose her to be his apprentice she still wanted to be a maid. In the book she has to be a maid and a magician’s apprentice and it is hard to find time to do both those things when she is trying to chase Gossamer.

Another thing that makes Rose’s life hard is that all the servants act weirdly around her because they feel weird about magic. When the people you always clean with barely talk to you it does not feel very good. I think Rose is very brave because she was not very scared until the end because unexpected things happen then.  Also, Rose is not very self confident because although she is brave she always doubts her decisions. I think Rose should believe in herself more. Rose is also very shy because she didn’t talk to kids very much in the orphanage.

I really liked Rose and the Magician’s Mask (and the rest of the Rose Series) because Rose has a really strong personality. Rose also has the courage to take risks, which is a good trait to have. I also like Rose and the Magician’s Mask because everyone has a part in saving the mask. I would recommend this book to readers who like unexpected surprises because there are a lot of surprises. I also recommend it if you like magical realism. I would do this because this book is all about how Rose learns how to use her magic. One connection between me and my book is that it is usually loud in the Fountain Mansion and it is like that in my house. If I had to rate this book it would definitely be five stars (out of five)!

Jan
14
2016

The Isle of The Lost, By Melissa De La Cruz

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51u643G2a9L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_My book is called The Isle of the Lost. It’s by a woman named Melissa De La Cruz. The main characters in my book are four children of evil people in fairy tales: first Jay, son of Jafar who is always stealing things, second Evie, daughter of Evil Queen who is obsessed with being pretty, third Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, and lastly Mal, daughter of Maleficent who is obsessed with being the most evil. I would describe Mal as cruel, mean, and cool. The time is once upon a time like in a fairy tale and the place is The Isle of the Lost, Auroudon and the Isle of the Doomed. It’s about the children of evil people from fairy tales and how they have to go on a mission together to get their parents and themselves off The Isle of the Lost.

An important thing that happened in the book is that when Mal forces Carlos to throw a party that Carlos’s mother knows nothing about so Mal can get revenge on Evie for not inviting her to a party when they were three. They are not friends at the beginning of the book. The way Mal gets revenge on Evie is that she locks her in a closet with lots of traps to keep people out of Cruella’s (Carlos’s mother) fur closet. Another important thing that happened is when the four kids go to the Isle of the Doomed to succeed in doing their mission. If I say anymore it will ruin the book.

I enjoyed this book a lot because it gives you a chance to see how the bad guys feel in fairy tales and it gives you a chance to root for the bad guys. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy and fairy tales because it has a lot of both. I would rate this book five stars (being the best).  

Jan
14
2016

From The Notebooks Of A Middle School Princess, By Meg Cabot

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5600cad5539b4.image-1I’m reading a book called From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot. The main character is a girl named Olivia. Olivia lives with her aunt in New Jersey. She lives with her aunt  because her mom died when she was very young. She doesn’t live with Her dad because he lives in New York City, and her aunt doesn’t want her to meet him because Olivia is unaware that he is royalty. Olivia’s family wants her to have a normal life without knowing she’s a royal. A mean girl named Annabelle, who also attends Olivia’s middle school, doesn’t like her. Olivia tries to figure out why, and also how to fix it and become Annabelle’s friend.

She draws in her free time, loves animals and is a very positive person. She is also very kind. For example, she was not mean to Annabelle when Annabelle was being mean to her, and she is a very good friend. Olivia is also smart. For example, she gets very good grades in school. This quote helped me understand Olivia’s personality more, “Middle school has not been going great, but of course my expectations were very high.” It helped me because she was thinking about how great middle school could be and not how bad it could turn out to be. This means that she always hopes for the best, even if it doesn’t turn out that way.

Olivia had a surprise visit from her royal sister Mia, who she hadn’t known about. Olivia’s sister said she could pick one place she wanted to go and her sister would take her there. Olivia chose to meet her dad for the first time ever in New York City. When Olivia finally met her dad, he asked her to move in with him. They would need to live in a different country, and that means leaving Olivia’s best friend Nishi. Olivia’s aunt does not want her to move in with her dad. You will have to read the book to find out if Olivia moves in with her dad or not!

I love this book because Olivia has to make a life changing decision, like meeting her dad, moving in with her dad, and living in a whole new country with people she had only met a few days ago. I would recommend this book for people who like books about adventures . I would also recommend this book for people who like books with life changing decisions in them. I would give this book five stars out of five stars.  

Jan
14
2016

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani

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The book I’m reading is called The School for Good and Evil written by Soman Chainani. There are three books in the series. There are two main characters in the book. One is named Sophie and she’s the witch. The other main character is named Agatha, she’s the princess. Sophie has always wanted to be a princess in the school for good. Then Agatha got in the School for Good and Sophie was stuck in the School for Evil. Sophie got really jealous and confused that Agatha is a princess and she’s not. This book takes place in two schools, The School for Good and the School for Evil.

Agatha is nice in the inside but pretends to not be nice in the outside. Sophie is the opposite of Agatha. She is cruel in the inside and pretends to be nice in the outside. Together they’re unique in a bad way. When you first start the book, Sophie and Agatha are normal girls in Gavaldon the town where they’re from. Everybody in Gavaldon thinks Sophie is good because she pretends to be. They think Agatha is evil because she wears black and lives in a graveyard in the woods. But it’s the opposite of what you think.

Sophie wants to be good so badly she believes she’s a princess, but she doesn’t know she is being selfish and cruel. One example of this is when Sophie was not grateful that her friend got something she didn’t.  Agatha thinks Sophie is good, and Agatha has been a true friend to Sophie. Sophie does good deeds to impress the schoolmaster so he thinks she is a princess. Tedros who is a prince, thinks Sophie is supposed to be in the School for Good because she’s pretty. He thinks they confused her with Agatha and that Agatha is supposed to be evil because she is ugly, has a negative attitude and wears black. You never know what’s coming next with Sophie and Agatha.

I really enjoyed this book because it has a twist in it that might surprise you. I also liked how much the author described the magic within the book. For example, how one of the teachers can talk to animals. I recommend this book because it’s a sweet story with a lot of magic and I like magic a lot. You really get pulled into the book and it’s really fun to read so I would definitely recommend it. I have a connection to one of the main characters in the book, Sophie. I’ve always wanted to be in a fairy tale and be on the good side. I rate this book five out of five stars.            

     

Jan
14
2016

The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After By Soman Chainani

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My book is called The School For Good And Evil: The Last Ever After. It is the third book in the series The School For Good And Evil. It was written by Soman Chainani. Sophie and Agatha are the main characters. The main problem is that all of the fairy tales that everyone knows are getting changed and rewritten by the evil Schoolmaster. Instead of good winning, evil is winning. Evil is killing all of the good characters because it has love on its side. Evil got love because Sophie married the evil Schoolmaster. As long as she wears his ring, evil will win all of the fairy tales ever to come and good winning will just be forgotten.

My book is set in two places. One of them is the Blue Forest. The Blue Forest is a forest that students from the school for good and the school for evil used to train in to prepare for the real forest, which is where they would go and live their real fairy tales. The second place that my book is set in is the school for new evil, which includes the school masters tower. The School For New Evil is the School For Evil but in a different and bigger building. The Schoolmaster’s tower is like the Schoolmaster’s house, but it doesn’t have any stairs to go down, you have to fly up and through a window to get in.

Sophie and Agatha were best friends. That was until a boy, Tedros came between them. Tedros is the prince of Camelot. Sophie and Agatha both loved Tedros. Tedros picked Agatha to be his princess. So, Sophie went seeking love. She came upon the evil Schoolmaster and found out that she loved him but he was evil. She married the Schoolmaster and became evil. The Schoolmaster wanted to change all of the fairy tales so that evil would always win and it seemed like evil was right and good was wrong.

Evil characters that have been killed by their good nemeses rise from their grave and find their enemies to kill them. Everything starts dying including the sun. If the sun dies, everyone in the world will die as well. The only way to stop everything dying is if Sophie destroys the Schoolmaster’s ring with Excalibur, Tedros’ father’s sword. Sophie must decide who she wants more. Her best friend, Agatha or her true love, the Schoolmaster.

Sophie is a confused person. She doesn’t know what is right and what is wrong because she always tries to be good, but no one appreciates it so she turns evil. Sophie doesn’t want to be evil, she wants to be happy. The only way for Sophie to be happy is if she finds true love. Sophie found true love but it is evil. For example, on page 2 it says “Sophie reddened, remembering she was all alone in this world. Everyone else had abandoned her. Every desperate effort to be good had been punished with betrayal. She had no family, no friends, no future.  And now, this ravishing boy in front of her was her last hope for love. Panic burnt through her muscles and dried out her throat.  There was no choice anymore. Sophie swallowed and slowly stepped towards him.”

Sophie is also desperate for love. She has always wanted to be good but when she fell in love and it was evil she wasn’t willing to sacrifice love for good. She was too desperate. For example, Sophie once had a choice. Her choice was love or friendship. She could have gone to Camelot with Agatha and been good just by destroying the Schoolmaster’s ring but she couldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t get a second chance at love and by destroying the Schoolmaster’s ring it would mean giving her happy ending to Agatha and losing hers.

Agatha has a very strong personality. She doesn’t let other people take her over or do things for her. For example, on page 147 it says, “If anyone can make Sophie see what love really is…it’s her best friend, isn’t it?” said Agatha. “The league’s old faces melted to childlike stares, as if finally seeing the young girl with hope instead of disdain. Tedros stepped next to his princess, chest proud. “Exactly. Leave Sophie to me.” Agatha’s smile vanished.”

Agatha is also very independent. For example, before she went to the school for good she lived in a small house in a graveyard with her mother and her cat. She did most things by herself and didn’t have any friends. But, Agatha stayed strong and was good even though everyone including herself thought she was evil and a witch.

One of the reasons that I really enjoyed this book was it was very descriptive and it makes you feel like you are experiencing everything that the characters are experiencing. For example, on page 542 it says, “Slowly their eyes drifted upwards, pinned to the trees, and as they adjusted to the darkness, they began to make them out… bony, vulturous shadows, eerily still on the elm branches, not making a sound.” Another reason I really liked this book is that every time they solve one problem it leads to another. It keeps it filled with excitement and action and makes the book very interesting. The last reason is that it doesn’t start with just Agatha or just Sophie, it alternates every chapter and when both of the girls are in the same place, the book says both of their thoughts so that you can actually understand what is going on and why.

I would recommend this book to someone who loves reading fantasy and fractured fairy tales. It is filled with both of those things and makes the book what it is. This book is about good against evil and which one is right and if you like changing concepts you would probably like this book. I would definitely rate this book five stars out of five stars (five being the best and one being the worst.)