Tag Archives: best book ever

Jun
09
2017

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer

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The Land of Stories

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When I was little I wondered what happened to characters like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood after their stories ended. Well in the Land Of Stories series, you can find out. The book I read is called the Wishing Spell and it is written by Chris Colfer. This book is about two kids, Alex and Conner, who are brother and sister. They are going through a hard time because there father recently died. For their 12th birthday, their grandma gives them a book called The Land of Stories. One night the book starts humming. Weird right? Alex then starts dropping her pencils on the book and they fall into the book! Eventually Conner and Alex jump into the book! When they land into the different world they realize that all fairy tale characters they knew growing up are real. As much as Alex and Conner enjoy this world they realize the only way back to the old one is to get the Wishing Spell.

Alex is smart, brave and cautious. She is smart because she remembers thoughts and lessons from the past and uses that to help her in the future. She is in the top of her class (unlike her brother) and pays attention to things. She is brave because she takes risks to do things that pay off in the end. She is cautious because she doesn’t trust everyone and makes plan B’s.

I thought the most interesting part of the book is when they realize their family used to live here. I thought it was interesting because the way the two twins reacted differently tells a lot about their personality. Alex is surprised and happy, she feels like she finally has a connection to some place because for the past year the twins had to move around a lot. Conner on the other hand doesn’t want his friends to know and is highly embarrassed. I think that Conner has less confidence and sometimes does things he might not necessarily want to do, for other people.

I enjoyed this book because I thought the ‘after stories’ made a lot of sense and by the end of the book I felt like I knew each character. I would recommend this book as well as the other two books. (A new one is coming out shortly.) Chris Colfer is in many shows and movies such as glee and struck by lightning. I think the Bailey twins are very unique because they share both many similarities and many differences. They each know so much about each other, but respect their differences. A quote from the book that I think would best explain Alex would be, “I think what I’ve learned from all of this is that villains are mostly people villainized by circumstance.” I think this explains a lot about her personality because in the beginning of the book, Alex only thought that the heros or princesses were the good people. But in the end like it said in the quote, they were mostly villainized by circumstance. They were originaly good people and something they did wrong made them an outcast. Even if Alex is wrong, she would usually not admit that she knew she was wrong. She learned that its OK to be wrong after her experience in the fairy tale world. I would rate this book 5 stars because of the creativity and the bonds between characters.

 

 

 

May
04
2017

Ghost, By Jason Reynolds

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The book I read is called Ghost. It takes place around now in a small neighborhood. It is by Jason Reynolds. The main character is named Ghost (Castle). He loves basketball but finds himself on a track team. Ghost finally has something to take his mind off of his dark past. One night, Ghost is in his bedroom sleeping when his mom comes in screaming for him to go. When he is running down the hallway with his mom, he sees his dad with a pistol pointing at him. That was the night Ghost learned to run. Several years later, Ghost is on a track team, considered a newbie. His father went to jail, leaving his mom to take charge. They are very poor so Ghost can’t afford track gear, much less anything that he needs for track. His Coach creates a strong bond with Ghost throughout the book, and they find out later that they have more in common than they think. The main question in the book is, Is Ghost running for his life or from it?

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Ghost is brave, smart and mischievous. He is brave because he is willing to do almost anything, and he is determined about it. He is smart because he finds his way out of things, in a clever way. He is mischievous because he steals a pair of sneakers, without getting caught.  He dosen’t have enough money to buy track shoes, so he cleverly does it. He also is one of those characters that you don’t know if what he is saying will happen or not.

The most interesting part was when Ghost created bonds with the other ‘newbies.’ They told each other their biggest secrets, they were surprisingly similar. A famous quote from the book is from Coach “Trouble is, you can’t run away from yourself.” Coach snatched the towel from his shoulder, folded into a perfect square, and set it in the space between us. “Unfortunately,” he said, “ain’t nobody that fast.” I  think this quote is important because it shares a lot about Ghosts life. He wants to run away from his past but can’t, so this track team helps Ghost a lot. When you read this book, that quote will stay with you throughout the whole book.

I definitely enjoyed Ghost. I loved every character’s personality, and how they were all so different yet the same. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports, a fast-paced book that you can’t put down and a book that you make connections with everyday. Ghost is very unique and has his own, teen, spunky and slang-talking personality. I would rate this book 5 stars because the book is all about sports and has a very unique setting. 

 

Jun
14
2016

The Little Prince, By Antoine de Saint Exupéry

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The book I am reviewing is The Little Prince By Antoine de Saint Exupéry. The main characters are the Little Prince and the man. The Little Prince is telling the man about his planet in the sky. It takes place in a desert in around 1943 I think but I’m not sure. The book was written in 1943. I would give this book 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆ because it was a super good book and I would recommend it to 3rd/4th graders through any adult. This is my script:

Narrator–  Hi. This is a part of the little prince. I really liked this book and I would give it 5 out of 5 stars. It is about a child who draws a snake and shows it to his parents and they said don’t draw, just learn math and spelling. So when he got older he became a pilot. One day his plane crashed and he met an extraordinary boy. That boy was the little prince. I hope you enjoy the performance!

Man– Tell me the story of the fourth planet you visited,

The Little Prince–  The fourth planet I visited, belonged to a businessman. This man was so busy in all his work with numbers, he didn’t even raise his head when I arrived. ‘Hello’ I said ‘Your cigar has gone out.’

Businessman–  ‘3 and 2 make 5. 5 and 7 make 12. 12 and 3 make 15. Hello.15 and 7 make 22. 22 and 6 make 28. No time to light it again. 26 and 5 make 31. Whew! That amounts to 501,622,731,’

The Little Prince–   ‘Five million what?’

Businessman–  ‘Hmm? You’re still there? 501,0000… I don’t remember… I have so much work to do! I’m a serious man. I can’t be bothered with children! 2 and 5 make 7…’’

The Little Prince–  ‘Five million what?’

Businessman–  ‘For the 60 years I’ve lived on this planet, I’ve been interrupted only 4 times. The first was 37 years ago, when a roach fell on my desk from god knows where. It had made a terrible noise, and I made 4 mistakes in my calculations. The second time was 19 years ago, when I was interrupted by a fit of rage. I haven’t time to get angry. I’m a serious person. The third time was 10 years ago when, I started thinking about how many stars there are that I can’t see and, I lost my place and had to start over. The fourth time…well… is right now! Where was I? 501,000,000…’

The Little Prince–   ‘Five million what?’

Businessman–  ‘Oh, the little things you see in night.’

The Little Prince–  ‘bugs?’

Businessman-  ‘No ,those shiny things.’’

The Little Prince–  ‘Fireflies?’

Businessman–   ‘No, those little golden things that make lazy people daydream. Now, I’m a serious person. I have no time for daydreaming.’

The Little Prince–  ‘Ohh. You mean stars.’

Businessman-‘Yes, stars.’

Narrator: To me, the point of this book was to tell the reader, ‘You don’t always have the perspective of a child, but, try to see things the way they do because children are the next generation, so, if you crush their dreams, they will never happen.’This was one of my favorite scenes because it makes you think about the stars and stars are beautiful. I hope you enjoyed watching! Bye!

Jun
07
2016

George, By: Alex Gino

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For our last book review we were aloud to show an important part of our book, we could make a diorama, or even a newspaper! I made a newspaper of some important parts in my book. I looked at newspaper templates on Google and used my favorite. I decided on a question and answer interview with the play director and the actor (George). I also threw some ads in there along with an editorial.

 

The Daily Journal
Breaking News! April 2016
Boy Wants to Play Girl In Play But Teacher Will Not Let Him

By: Elijah Floyd

.

Interview with teacher, Mrs. Hernandez:

Reporter: So, why can’t he play charlotte?

Teacher: Because he is a boy and charlotte is a girl. It would not sound the same if he played her in the play.
Reporter: But it really sounds like he wants to play her.
Teacher: I do not care I will not let this happen.
Reporter: Thank you for your time.
“I want this play to be the best it can be!” – Mrs. Hernandez
Bob’s Gas only 6.99 per gallon!
                                            url

The book George takes place in a small school. In the school they are having a play. In the play they have a character named Charlotte who is a girl but George wants to play Charlotte but he is a boy! Then George’s friend Kelly steps up and changes everything.

I really think that this is unfair. I am on George’s side because I also stand up for the transgender community. I am on George’s side because I live by the words BE WHO YOU ARE.
Boy Wants to Play Girl In Play But Teacher Will Not Let Him
By: Elijah Floyd

Interview with boy, George:

Reporter: So why do you want to play a girls part?
George: Because on the outside I might appear a boy but on the inside i am true to who I am.
Reporter: You don’t think people will laugh at you?
George: I know they will but I have to be strong and support the transgender community.
Reporter: Thank you for your time.
“Be who you are”- George
Williams Beans only 2.99!
Page 1

Mar
16
2016

The Surprise Attack of Jabba The Puppet: A Origami Yoda Series by Tom Angleberger

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51qv88fYzCL._SX317_BO1,204,203,200_The book I read is called The Surprise Attack of the Jabba the Puppett. It is part of the Origami Yoda series. The book was written by Tom Angleberger. In my book, the main group (because there are a lot of main characters) is the Rebellion. But the character I’m focusing on is Dwight, the owner of Origami Yoda. The big problem is that on the capital state test, Mcquarrie Middle School is doing really bad. So to pass the grades, everybody’s activities are taken away and instead replaced with FunTime. This doesn’t sound so bad, but it’s just  short  for Fundamentals. FunTime is a boring, head spinning, cheesy video with a singing calculator (Gizmo),  Professor Funtime, and a break dancing dictionary.

The Rebellion of little Star Wars finger puppets are going to stop FunTime and make their principal (Mrs. Rabasski) give back their activities. Some of the puppets are Han Foldo, Fortune Wookiee, Darth Paper, and Art-2-D-2. The setting of this book is on Earth at their middle school.

One big event was when the Rebellion sent a letter to Mrs. Rabbasski to ask for their activities back. When she called the main Rebellioners (including Dwight) to her office, they were definitely in trouble. When the Rebellioners got to the office, Mrs. Rabbaski tried to compromise. Since that did not work, she decided to call their parents. Dwight really did not want his parents to know about this. But Master Yoda (Dwight’s puppet) still believed in the Rebellion, so he stayed in the Rebellion. Another important event was when the head people of the Rebellion did not know that Jabba the Hut was behind the FunTime screen and kept turning FunTime on when Mrs. Rabbaski was speaking! It was a silent victory but Mrs. Rabbaski thought it was them!

The one of the words I would use to describe Dwight is weird, because Dwight has his own finger puppet and believes that it is alive. Dwight is incompetent at having manners and listening to people, like when Dwight started to try to kiss his elbow in the middle of class. He is also passionate  at being himself, and going with the flow. Dwight is very passionate in what he does, which is being the leader of the Rebellion, known as Captain Dwight.

I enjoyed this book because the plot was very interesting, and all of the characters had really great finger puppets and were great at playing them. I recommend this book to readers who love Star Wars, comics, chapter books, and funny, fantastic plots. I think this book that is similar to the novel Archie, because the main characters are both going through similar issues in school. Like that sometimes in the book Archie (the main character) would go against their principal in situations. Like when Veronica and Betty (Archie’s friends)  wanted their newspaper a different way and had to have this whole trial with their principal. That is very similar to what’s happening to the Rebellion at their school I would rate this book 5 stars *****.

Mar
01
2016

George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

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51ctcmuIfFL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_I am reading George’s Marvelous Medicine written by Roald Dahl. It is a story about an eight-year-old boy named George who is an only child who lives on a farm far far away from other kids. One afternoon after his mom and dad left, George and his Grandma were left alone. George has one major problem; his Grandma is evil (really really mean). She punishes George for growing so much he tries to shake her up a bit by making her a new medicine.

George dumps out Grandma’s medicine and makes her a new one out of all types of stuff.  He puts in shaving cream, soap, hair removal cream, nail polish, nail polish remover,  toothpaste  and deodorant from the bathroom. Next, he goes to the kitchen he puts in three bottles of gin (a type of alcohol which makes Grandma go crazy), chili peppers and a bottle of dish detergent. This is one of the funniest parts of the story because I can not imagine eating any of these things. The effect of this medicine is that it makes Grandma grow and grow and grow. This is very shocking to George and makes him have the idea to feed it to the animals.

Even though George was not too kind to his Grandma, he is really a kind person. He said  “I would not dare touch the medicine, mom said It could kill a man.” Even Though he wanted to shake Grandma up a bit, He did not want a dead body on my hands.” This is kind because he does want to kill Grandma. He is a bit of a scaredy cat for example he is scared of his own Grandma. George is creative. He is creative because he made his own medicine.

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book. I enjoyed this book because it is really, really funny.  I would recommend this book as a book review book because it is the perfect length. This book is similar to most Roald Dahl books because it have a evil grandma. I would rate this book 4.9 stars.

By JAck BARKER

Feb
24
2016

The Sorcerer’s Secret by Scott Mebus

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The series my book is in is called, The Gods Of Manhattan and it’s called Sorcerer’s Secret. It is by Scott Mebus and it is the 3rd book in the series. The main characters are Bridget and Rory Hennessy. But there are many other secondary characters. Rory and Bridget are trying to save Mannahatta from an evil god named William Kieft and his spirits that want to kill all the gods in Mannahatta. Rory and Bridget try to kill him by exposing his deep dark secret that no one knows but him. This book takes place in Inwood, Manhattan and the time period goes from the 1600s – 2008.

One big event that happens is when Rory decides between killing Kieft or saving his mom from death. This was important because his mom means the world to him but if he doesn’t kill Kieft, all good gods and good spirits will die. If the good gods and good spirits die, then the normal people will have no protection from evil. One part I found most important in The Sorcerer’s Secret is when Bridget sees her dad for the first time. This is important because it is amazing that since she was born, her dad ran away, then when she was 9 years old she saw her dad for the first time and later on in the book something very important happened around her dad. One part I also found the most interesting was when Rory finds out his dad’s name. This was interesting because his dad is/was so famous but you would never think that that was his dad. It surprised me that his dad’s name was _______because out of every person in the world, I would NEVER guess that that was his name.

Rory is brave, happy, and angry. Rory is brave because he almost died for his sister to protect her. Rory is also brave because he does not let people push him around. Rory is happy because his family reunited with each other. Rory is also happy because he is a optimist. Rory is angry because someone tries to kill his mother and he loves his mother with all his life. Rory is also angry at his father but also filled with love for his father because he didn’t know his father for a long time and was just getting to know him when he died. “I forgive you, too,” he whispered down his father’s ear “I love you,” and then his father died in Rory’s hands.

I really enjoyed this book because it is a action book. I also enjoyed it because it is about a boy in fourth grade and you can relate to him. I would definitely recommend this book because it makes you want to jump right into the next page. I also would definitely recommend this book because it is a trilogy and it will consume time (if you read quickly) A few books and movies like this are the Percy Jackson series/movie, the Harry Potter series/movie, and The City Of Ember series/movie. It is like these books/movies because they are all action adventures and friendship stories. I would give this book 5 stars ★★★★★ because it is SO good I would actually consider reading it 100 times!  

Jan
15
2016

The Candy Smash by Jacqueline Davies

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imgresThe Candy Smash, by Jacqueline Davies, is a book about siblings named Jessie and Evan Treski and their friend Megan. They are in fourth grade in room 4-0. Their teacher is named Mrs. Overton. One day at morning recess, Jessie is working on her newspaper, The 4-0 Forum, when she accidentally knocks over her Valentine’s day box and something falls to the floor. Candy! Then Jessie won’t rest until she knows who put the candy in the box.

One day when Evan comes home, he discovers a new way to write poems. He goes into his room and locks the door and looks around the room. Then he picks up some Post-it notes and a #2 pencil and sits down at the desk. He starts to think about his Grandma and then writes words on the Post-its. Then he creates a poem about his Grandma from the notes. This is important because Evan finds something he’s good at, but he doesn’t want anyone to know about his new ability because he thinks that people will make fun of him. One big thing that changed the story is when Valentine’s day comes and The 4-0 Forum is published. This is important because Jessie is under a lot of pressure to get everything right. This changed the story because if Jessie doesn’t get the The 4-0 Forum ready, she will have an angry class of fourth graders to deal with.  

Three adjectives that describe Jessie are smart, kind, and persistent. Jessie is smart because she skipped third grade to be in fourth grade. Jessie is also smart because even though she is younger than everyone, everyone asks her questions if the teacher isn’t there. Jessie is kind, because she watches out for her friends. She does this by helping them and others.  Jessie is a very persistent person, because she does not quit until she gets her story. For example, she kept on asking questions to Megan about her crush in public to get a good cover story. When her brother calls her a pest, Jessie tells him, “I’m not always a pest, only when I really need something.”

I really enjoyed this book because it is about the friendship between two fourth graders. I also like this book because I can relate to this book a lot. I relate to this book because I am in fourth grade too. I think people should read this book because  it makes you think about what could happen if you were in Jessie’s shoes. It also makes you think about what would happen if you were a reporter. A few books like this are: Seaglass Summer by Anjali Banerjee, The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming, Calli Be Gold by Michele Weber Hurwitz, and Bobby vs. Girls by Lisa Yee. I would give this book four out of five stars.

 

 

 

Dec
15
2015

Einstein The Class Hamster, By Janet Tashjian

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imgresMy book review is about EINSTEIN THE CLASS HAMSTER SAVES THE LIBRARY by Janet Tashjian. The main characters in the book are Ned and Einstein. The book takes place at Boerring Elementary school. The students in Ms. Moreno’s class are trying to reopen the school library because it is closed. It closed because they didn’t have enough money to keep paying for  books for so many kids.

Einstein and his friends don’t want the library to close. Einstein’s friends are Ned, Ricky, Bonnie and all of the students and one turtle named Marlon. They need to raise money to save the school library. They were trying to save the school library by making videos of the class pets. They film videos of Marlon the class turtle chasing an olive. Since that didn’t work, Einstein had to save Twinkles (the snake that keeps trying to eat him) and it was a real save. Twinkles was actually in trouble. That save accidentally got on video and they posted it online. When the video was posted online, so many people liked it that they decided to bring it to a studio. The studio really liked it and they wanted to put it on TV. That is how they got all the money to save the school library.

Einstein is a very smart hamster because of his game show. Einstein is smart because he knows a lot of trivia facts and because he sometimes pays attention in school. Unlike most game shows, Einstein’s game show is not on TV. He pretends to have a game show. He shares lots of trivia facts and tasty tidbits. Einstein is a very brave hamster. He proved it when he saved Twinkles.

I really enjoyed the book because it was a really funny book and all of the trivia facts were actually kind of funny.  Einstein is a really funny character in the book. I read the 1st book of EINSTEIN THE CLASS HAMSTER. I thought the 1st book was really good so I thought I would read the 2nd book.  I can’t wait to read the sequel to this book. I loved this book a lot so I gave it a 5 star rating.