Jan
08
2014

Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins

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Toys come home is a book about a stuffed animal stingray that is a birthday present to a girl that loves toys. This girl owns a stuffed animal seal that’s name is Bobby Dot, and acts like a know-it-all. something strange happens to Bobby Dot and he disappears so the girl gets a toy buffalo to replace Bobby Dot. The girl goes to a birthday party and gets a plastic bouncy ball. Plastic the bouncy ball the stuffed animal stingray and the toy buffalo all become friends. the three friends go on daring adventures together rate this book 3½ stars. This book is good for ages 6-12.

Jan
08
2014

warriors by Erin Hunter

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                     WARRIORS: Into the wild      by Erin Hunter

           A Book Review by Oni Thornell

    In this exciting filled book a cat named Rusty, lives in a small house that cats refer to as a twoleg nest. Rusty longs to go into the forest and hunt and be free. One of rusty’s best friend named smudge told him that wild cats lived out there and that there are to many dangers.

    One night Rusty’s longing for the woods was to hard to hold back and went to hunt for fun. While rusty was distracted he didn’t notice another cat sneaking up on him. The unfamiliar cat jumped on Rusty, but Rusty wouldn’t give up without a fight as the cats tussled the gray cat finally stopped and said, “you fight good for a kittypet, my name is Graypaw.” Rusty asked Graypaw where he was from and Greypaw said he was from Thunderclan.

    While Graypaw and Rusty were talking movement came from the bushes and Graypaw said it was his leader from Thunderclan, Bluestar and Lionheart,Graypaws mentor. If you dare to call a clan yours, pick this book up and find which is yours.

    This book I recommend to brave, strong and courageous people and give it *****stars

Jan
08
2014

Girl Meets Ghost by Lauren Barnholdt

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Girl Meets Ghost is about a girl named Kendall Williams who can see dead people. She can hear them and she can talk to them. Sometimes the ghosts need help to solve their problems (even though you would think ghosts don’t have problems because they’re dead, but in this book they do) and since she’s the only person in the world that can see, hear and talk to them, she’s the only person that can help solve their problems. This time around it is a 17 year old (but dead) gymnast, Daniella.

 

Sometimes, for Kendall, it gets really annoying because sometimes the ghosts pop up at really bad timing. For example, she’s really bad at math and Daniella, a lot of the time pops up during math. She thinks her life is really bad and to make it worse she has a crush on someone and she’s not sure he likes her back. And to make that crush situation worse the guy’s mom died. And the mom keeps showing up in Kendall’s bedroom every night. The mom keeps telling Kendall “put yourself on the green paper” but Kendall has no idea what that means. Kendall has to do lots of weird things to help Daniella. She has to lie about lots and lots of things to solve Daniella’s problems and to make her go away.

Girl Meets Ghost is realistic fiction with a hint of fantasy. This book is a medium 3rd grade book and a super easy 4th grade book. I would rate this book ***** because it’s cool to  see what it would be like to be able to talk to ghosts. I really liked this book and I think you should read it too.

Jan
08
2014

11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass

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My book review is on 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass. It is about Amanda and her ex-best friend Leo. Leo is her ex-best friend because they have the same birthday and used to celebrate it together, but on their 10th birthday Amanda overheard Leo saying mean things about her to Leo’s other friends. She hasn’t talked to him since. Now it is her 11th birthday and it will be the first time they have not celebrated it together. Leo is having a party with hypnotists and football players and Amanda is having a lame Hollywood themed party. All she thinks that it is so unfair. After she has the worst birthday ever and she finally goes to sleep to end the day, things take a twist. When she wakes up it is her 11th birthday again! When she realizes someone else is stuck in this day again with her, she has to fight her way out. This book is full of unexpected turns especially when you meet Angelina, ( hint, hint, clue, clue.) I rate this book five stars to people who like a little mystery but not too much. I like this book because it is very fun and full of twists.

Jan
08
2014

Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave by Deron R. Hicks

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by Jack

What I liked about Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave was that it was a mystery. I liked that when I thought something good was going to happen it didn’t.

 

I thought this book was really well written and I enjoyed it.

 

My favorite character in Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave was Julian Letterford. I liked him because he started the whole mystery, and he would quote Shakespeare in parts of the book. He was smart, and funny, and really nice in the book.

 

I would give this book four out of five stars because it was a really good book, but the book could’ve used a couple more pictures and a little more action.

 

I am excited to read the second book because the first book was really exciting and that the first book left me at a huge cliffhanger.

 

Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave takes place in Manchester, Georgia and England and Stratford upon-Avon. This book is exciting, and mysterious! I would recommend this book to kids from ages 8+.

Jan
08
2014

The House of Hades by Rick Riordon

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The House of Hades

 

This book takes place for two of the characters in Tartarus, a place where the monsters go when they die. The other characters are on a boat trying to find them. When they are in Tartarus they have to fight a bunch of monsters because thats where the monsters are re-born.

 

The main character is a boy named Percy Jackson and his dad this is Poseidon the god of the seas. Percy is sent out on a quest to kill Gaea the god of the earth with 7 others named Annabeth, Nico, Hazel, Coach Hedge, Piper, Jason, Frank, and Hazel. At the end of the book before this Annabeth and Percy fall into Tartarus.

 

This was really good and I would rate it a 10 out of 5 since it was so good And I would definitely read it again.

Jan
08
2014

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is a book about a girl, Meg, who doesn’t really fit in with all the other kids. One night she cannot fall asleep because of a hurricane and goes downstairs and finds her little brother Charles Wallace. Charles Wallace knows everything about everything and was expecting Meg to want hot cocoa. Meg actually did want hot cocoa. Their mother Mrs. Murry woke up, also wanting hot cocoa. The twins stayed asleep. All three of them had sandwiches and after a while, a visitor arrived, Mrs. Whatsit. Mrs. Whatsit lives in “the haunted house” in the woods.

 

Charles Wallace, Meg, and their dog, Fortinbras go into the woods to see Mrs. Whatsit the next day. Suddenly they find a boy who’s name is Calvin. Calvin is a couple of grades above Meg. He is on the high school basketball team. They all introduced themselves and headed towards the house. Charles Wallace knocked on the door. A woman named Mrs. Who was knitting on a rocking chair inside the house. Mrs. Who is a friend of Mrs. Whatsit. They live together. Mrs. Who can only speak in quotes because it is too hard for her to verbalize her thoughts. Mrs. Whatsit wasn’t there so Calvin, Meg, and Charles Wallace went home.

 

Calvin stayed over for dinner. After dinner, Calvin took Meg on a walk and in the middle of the walk, Charles Wallace appears and says, “we’re going.” Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin head to the house in the woods. (Charles Wallace thinks that they’re going to find their father). When Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin are walking to Mrs. Whatsit’s house they find Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and a little silver shimmer in the air. The little shimmer start’s to talk, “ Alll rrightt, girrllss. Thiss iss nno ttime forr bbickkerring.” Charles Wallace says to Meg and Calvin, “That’s Mrs. Witch.”

 

That’s all I’m going to tell you because after that comes the part where you don’t want to put the book down. I loved this book because during a few of the chapters I couldn’t put the book down. When I stopped reading, I felt dizzy.

 

My favorite part of the book was when Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Witch all travel to a woman named Medium. And as they’re approaching Medium’s house, Mrs. Witch says “WWEE ARE HERE!”. I like that part because it is a little funny. (You will understand it if you read the book.)

 

I would recommend this book to people who like books that you can really get into because when I was reading it I literally could not put the book down. I would also recommend this book to people who like to read a book and want to be surprised because trust me, there are a lot of surprises. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy that is kind of realistic because the characters are easy to understand but what happens to them is fantasy. I think that ages 9+ should read this book. If you have read When You Reach Me you will love this book.

 

I would rate this book five stars!

 

Jan
08
2014

This Isn’t What It Look Like by Pseudonymous Bosch

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I recently read a book called This Isn’t What It Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch. It is a very mysterious book. One thing that makes it mysterious is that the author shows you chapters sometimes that seem random when you are reading them but by the end of the book, you know exactly why he showed you that chapter at that time.

 

The book is about a girl named Cass, who by eating a piece of chocolate, hopes she can find one of the most important pieces of information in the world. Then she falls asleep and goes into a coma, but in her brain, she is on a mission. Will she find out the information, or will she not? Will she get out of her coma, or will she die? I am leaving that for you to figure out. At some times, the book is really relaxing and funny, but at some times, you are not sure if the main characters (Cass and Max-Ernest) will make it back alive.

 

I rate this book four stars because the book is mysterious, but not quite a mystery.

Jan
08
2014

The Lemonade Crime by Jacqueline Davies

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A book review by Meadow Magee.

This book is great! I relate to it because I have a brother just like Jessie does. I got to learn a lot about how court works because the setting is just like a real court but in the playground, outside of school using recess equipment. Every start of a chapter has a definition of the title which is all about court. For example, “Trial by Jury: a legal proceeding in which the guilt or innocence of a person accused of a crime is decided by a group of his or her peers, rather than by a judge or panel of judges.” This book picks up after the first book which is The Lemonade War. There is one more book after The Lemonade Crime called The Bell Bandit that I have not read yet!

 

Jessie and Evan are the main characters of this story. They are siblings, Jessie is 8 and Evan is 10. I am 9 and my brother, River is 11 which is why I feel so connected. Jessie is very smart but she has some trouble connecting to other kids. Evan, on the other hand, is very good at connecting to kids but has a little trouble with his math. Jessie is now in Evan’s class because she skipped a grade on account of how clever she is. They live in Manhattan with their mom because their mom and dad are divorced and their dad lives somewhere else.

 

In the first book there was a war to collect $100 by the end of summer break by selling lemonade. At the end of the first book money was stolen and this second book is all about finding out who really stole the money and Jessie makes a court scene about this and makes it very official. Scott is also a main character and he is the one accused of the stealing the money. Megan is a main character too as she is Jessie’s best friend. It’s Jessie’s first best friend ever so it means a lot to her. (Just like Oni means a lot to me) Megan helps out Jessie with the lemonade stand. Megan doesn’t know there is a war going on. Megan is involved in the court proceedings as a member of the audience. The crime occurred at Jack’s house with a couple of friends including Evan and Scott.

I don’t want to give you all the details as it will give away a lot of the book. You just have to read the book yourself! It’s a great book and I would rate this book five stars. This book is ideal for 8-11 year old boys and girls because the court stuff makes it a little hard to understand for anyone younger. I think that you should read The Lemonade War first because you won’t understand this otherwise. I would also give The Lemonade War five stars. I hope you enjoy the “Lemonade” series!

 

Jan
08
2014

Frogged

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Frogged

By Colette Leong

The book I read over the weekend is called Frogged, and the author of Frogged is named Vivian Vande Velde. The main character, Igmone, Princess Igmone. Igmone lives in a castle with her mother, father and her younger brother. Her mother told Igmone to read a book called “The Art Of Being A Princess,” before her thirteenth birthday, so she can be a real polite princess.

Igmone goes to one of her favorite places of the courtyard. Igmone meets a frog prince by the pond. The frog prince is really a poor boy who lives on the streets, The boy Igmone left food for, who she felt bad for. But he is just not very nice person. Igmone thought she was just helping him but Igmone, herself got turned into a frog in the boys place. Later on, Igmone met some teenagers in a barn. They’re names are Lulla and Bertie. Lulla, an farmer.Bertie, an actor. Lulla and Bertie capture Igmone and She goes on an adventure with Lulla and Bertie.

If you read this book you will find out what happens out later in this book.I rate Frogged  **** four stars. Frogged is funny and surprising and I hope you think so too!