Category Archives: Animals

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Jan
14
2015

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson

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I read Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson. This is the fifth book of the Moomin series. The main characters are Moomintroll and Too-Ticky. The main problem is that Moomintroll wakes up in his hibernation and can’t fall asleep so he has to survive winter. This book takes place in a House a Bathing House and mostly in the Woods.

 

Moomintroll is curious, kind, and brave. He is curious because he saw someone under the sink and he tried calling out “ it’s ok” and he tried leaving out food he tried really hard to find out who was under the sink. Moomintroll is kind because he was kind enough to let a lot of people stay in his house. Moomintroll is brave because he was brave enough to go and save Little My on the breaking ice. Moomintroll and Too-Ticky have to take care of a lot of people that come over so they have a warm place to stay. Something called a Hemulen comes over and the Hemulen is really annoying to everybody. But Salome, the little creep, likes him. Too-Ticky knows about the lady of the cold so she warned everyone to stay inside. If the Lady of the cold looks you in the eye then you freeze. But when the lady of the cold comes, a squirrel forgets to stay inside, so he gets frozen. Moomintroll makes a big decision to not go back to sleep but to see what winter is like.


I enjoyed this book because it shows you how Moomintroll reacted to his first winter. I also like how Tove Jansson is really descriptive about the snow. I would recommend this book because it’s a really good book for people who like books with animals, adventure, friendship, survival and nature. This book connects to my life  because I bet I didn’t like my first winter either because it’s cold and you have to wear too many layers! I rate this book five stars out of five.

Jan
05
2015

Pie By Sarah Weeks

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10284324I read a book named Pie by Sarah Weeks. The characters names are  Alice  and Polly Portman also known as the pie queen of Ipswich . She is Alice’s aunt too. When Polly passed away no one knew her recipes so they tried to make other pies but none were as good as Polly’s. In her will she left her famous pie crust recipe to Lardo  and that happened to be the name of her mean disagreeable cat Lardo. Then she leaves Lardo to Alice but it doesn’t mean what most people think it means. But luckily for Alice she has a friend that helps her figure out the mystery.It takes place in a town called Ipswich .

Something that I found interesting was Alice’s mother didn’t like her own sister and she thought that Alice loved her aunt but she was still pretty mean to Alice. Alice wasn’t very true to herself when it came to other peoples opinion. That was interesting to me because she  seemed really courageous but when she tried to change who she was that altered my opinion about her. I liked how her friend was always watching her back and helping her when she needed help. I would describe Alice as nice , demanding and funny. Nice because even though she didn’t like a girl from her school named Nora she wasn’t mean and rude to her. Demanding because she wanted to  find Lardo and she was a little demanding  with her friend. Like when her friend didn’t want to ask someone that they didn’t like that much out she was like you have to. Last but not least she is funny because she likes to make funny little songs.

 I liked this book because I really liked Polly’s characteristics like she was wise and she gave good advice.  Alice’s mother went from really mean to nice and they were all happy at the end. I would recommend this book because it was bittersweet. Also the characters were very interesting. I give this book two and a half stars.

 

Jan
05
2015

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

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Chomp is a novel written by Carl Hiaasen. The main characters are Wahoo and his father Micky Cray. The story takes place in Florida and in the everglades. The book is about the adventure Wahoo and his father get themselves into when they are asked to help a reality TV show called Expedition Survival.

In the beginning of the book Mickey gets a life-changing concussion from a frozen iguana that falls from a tree and hits him on the head. Now Micky lies on the couch while Wahoo takes care of all the animals in their house, which is more like a zoo than a house. One day they get a phone call from a reality TV show. The Crays owed thousands of dollars to the bank, so they had to take the job. The star of the show was not the brightest man and was not nearly the best survivalist.  Every day he takes a helicopter to the city and sleeps in a luxury hotel and leaves everyone else at a little camp on Tree Island. The main character, Wahoo is brave because everyday he feeds the alligator who bit off his finger. Wahoo is caring because he takes good care of all the wild animals and his dad who got hit by a frozen iguana. He also seems happy with his life and he does not complain if he has to do something he doesn’t want to do, and he seems to enjoy his life.

I recommend this book to people that like humor and adventure. It is also not too long but it’s not too short either. I think this book is similar to a TV show called Man VS Wild which is about a survivalist that goes into remote places and tries to get back to civilization. I give this book four out of five stars because I loved the book, but I don’t want to read it again.

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Jan
05
2015

The Fourteenth Goldfish Believe In The Possible By Jennifer L. Holm

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      The title of the book is The Fourteenth Goldfish Believe In The Possible. The Author of the book is Jennifer L. Holm. The main character in this book is a girl named Ellie. The book is about Ellie an eleven year old girl who thinks her goldfish, Goldie has lived since she got the fish.  Her mom kept buying goldfish so Ellie thinks Goldie is still alive. Also the book is about an old boy. That mysterious boy in her house is a boy who Ellie doesn’t know. So Ellie isn’t sure about him. So then Ellie’s mom, tells her who that boy is and it is apparently her  grandfather. The book takes place in several places, One is school because Ellie goes to school throughout the book with her grandfather. Another place is a little bit of the lab, the lab is one of the places because Ellie’s grandfather has a lab but he doesn’t work in it. So they try to steal something out of the lab but it is hard too. They have many attempts trying to steal the mystery object. There are two parts of the book that I liked. One of them is when there was a man that Ellie didn’t know but when it was her grandfather, I thought that was an interesting part of the book because you should know what your grandfather looks like and who he is. Another interesting  part of the book is when they try to sneak into the lab to steal an object. Because,it isn’t good to steal and why do they need it? Three adjectives I would use describe Ellie would be sneaky because she snuck  into a lab without anyone noticing. Another one would be abundance because Ellie really, really misses 5th Grade and her best friend. The last adjective I would call Ellie would be kind because Ellie didn’t know the boy in her house so she was kind and nice even though she didn’t know him. I enjoyed this book because It has science In It and I do like science.I know that this book has science because they try to sneak into a lab with science test tubes. I also enjoyed this book because I liked how the characters were being acted out in the book. I liked how the characters were being acted out because they were nice they had kind personalities. I would recommend this book because it has two main parts in this book and they are sneaking into a lab with science related objects. Also that it tells you something’s about science in some parts of the book. The second is you learn what not to do, the thing not to do would be not sneaking into a lab to try to steal objects. There is one more thing it  would be spending time with your family. In the book Ellie’s grandfather always has lunch with Ellie at school. Also talking and making a conversation being together   that is spending time with family members.“There aren’t any movies that i’ve seen that are like my book review.”A rating for my book would be Five *. (* that means stars)

 

Jan
05
2015

Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle by George Hagen

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My book is called Gabriel Finley and the Ravens Riddle by George Hagen. The main character is Gabriel. His friends are included a lot too and they are very important in the story. They are Pamela, Abby, and Somes. The book is mainly about Gabriel and his friends traveling to an underground city, Aviopolis. They are trying to find Gabriel’s father who disappeared a long time ago. The setting of the book is Aviopolis and believe it or not, the cemetery. Aviopolis is an underground city of birds, specifically ravens, even more specifically, valravens. Valravens are evil ravens.

One of the many interesting parts of the book is when the ravens greet each other by asking riddles. If the raven laughs after the riddle, they are good old ravens, if the don’t laugh they are the well known, evil valravens. Another important and interesting thing is when they are in Aviopolis and then you have so much suspense about if they are going to find and bring back Gabriel’s father. Those are just two of the many interesting things in this amazing book. Three adjectives to describe Gabriel would be Brave, curious, and selfless. He is brave because he went with only his friends (no parents) to Aviopolis (a city full of evil birds) to find his father.  He is curious because he actually went and was being curious about where his father went many years ago. He would be selfless because when he had a chance to do something that he could be greedy with he didn’t use it on himself or be greedy with it, but he gave it up for his friends. I could give so many more adjectives to describe Gabriel besides these. But these are the ones that really stood out.

I enjoyed this book because it is an adventure and mystery book. I also really loved this book because when Pamela got the idea to use the raven as the violin, it was an amazing idea. Another example is when the author leaves you hanging about whether they found the father or not. I would recommend this book because many people like mysteries and adventures. Also because it is a very descriptive book, and that makes it easier to understand the story. I think this book is like the movie by Tim Burton  A Nightmare Before Christmas because they both go to a different world and they experience different things than what they are used to. I would give this book FIVE STARS! This is an amazing book, and if you like mysteries and adventures you will love this amazing book!

 

Dec
12
2014

The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applgate

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Book Cover - The One and Only Ivan

                The book I read was The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. The main character’s name is Ivan, he is a gorilla that is personified and he’s a really smart when it comes to logic and noticing all the little details in his life like the fingerprints of children on the glass of his terrain.He’s also good at seeing things a different way like how the sun reminds him of a ripe nectarine and how some humans are like chimps. The book is about Ivan doing the same things in his cage  or  terrain  then his life takes a big turn and it’s time for him to to step up and protect someone he said he would protect and be the mighty Silverback he’s supposed to be with the help of his friends and artistic vision. He lives in a mall called the Big Top Mall where he has many nicknames and a few neighbors none of which are gorillas. For 9855 days he was alone.

  Some things I liked in this book was the author’s use of language and how she was always making similes and really thinking about  how a gorilla might feel about his life and the things around him. Another thing I liked was how people in the story gave him many different names with different  meanings like The One And Only Ivan or Ivan, Mighty Silverback . The two last things  I really liked about this book were, one – I love the big feelings Ivan has in this book and the strong opinions he has and two – Ivan is a really great friend with a big heart that he’s always sharing with the animals and people around him. Three adjectives I would use to describe Ivan are; interesting, because he always has very strong opinions that I find interesting like the idea people talk to much and I really wanted to read on to see what he thought about the matter. I would also consider Ivan a little bit gross because of the stuff he likes to eat like banana peels and yogurt raisins . The last word I would use to describe Ivan is Patient, because he doesn’t always freak out when people our being mean to him by spitting, throwing rocks, and some other mean stuff but he always keeps his cool.

 I really enjoyed this book because it was full of big feelings like how he felt about being in a cage. It was cool to see how other people thought about what was going on inside a gorillas head. I think it would have been cool if I could hear it from someone else’s point of view maybe Ivans mom or dad or someone else he was close to . My teacher Jen recommended it to me so if you like it talk to her about more books. I have never read a book like this it was phenomenal  and a delight to read. I loved it I want to read it again so i give it 5 stars!

Leah

 

Dec
11
2014

A Star Discovered by JoAnn S. Dawson

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I read A Star Discovered  by JoAnn S Dawson. It’s about a yearling foal. His name is Star.  Also two girls named Jody and Mary. The problem is that Star’s father is top quarter horse (which means he won lots of 1st place and is good at competing and people voted for the horse) and the owner (man in black) lets people breed their mares. If they pay the breeding fee. But Jody does not understand because it was a surprise to Jody she didn’t know that the Quarter horse even bred with Lady. The owner wants to take him because he wants the money but Jody doesn’t have money. No one has money that they want to share. It is summer and the whole summer they tried to figure out the Star incident. Jody was really worried when she heard that the man in black wanted Star.

 

A change is that Jody was supposed to watch Star grow up but a man in black said that he wanted Star because Willie needs to pay the breeding fee. To the man in black or lose Star because the man wants money.Jody wants to avoid seeing Star.So that she doesn’t burst into tears in front of Star.I bet Star got lonely without the girls. He always stuck his head out when Jody came.

 

I really enjoyed this book because it was really descriptive and I couldn’t put this book  down. I would recommend this book to people who like animals(who like horses),  I would give it 4 stars because not everyone likes horses if they do then I would give it 5 stars.

 

Dec
11
2014

Pie by Sarah Weeks

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I am reading Pie by Sarah Weeks. The main character is Alice. Her aunt’s name is Polly. Polly makes the best pies in town and everyone knows it. Polly’s pie shop is called Pie. Everyone LOVES her pies. When Polly dies everyone is sad.

They are desperate to find out her secret pie recipe. In her will she leaves her pie recipe to her cat Lardo. She leaves Lardo to Alice. Now Alice is trying to figure out the pie recipe.

One night while Alice is sleeping she hears a noise. She just rolls over and goes back to sleep. But the next morning she can’t find Lardo. She thinks that someone took him to try to get the pie recipe. So Alice and her new friend Charlie try to find who took Lardo. They live in a small town called Ipswitch. Alice is the most sad out of everyone when Aunt Polly died because she enjoyed hanging out with Polly. Alice likes writing little songs. When she has a problem it cheers her up.

I really enjoyed this book because the characters are like detectives because they try to figure out who took Lardo and they won’t give up. I think everyone will like this book because it is about pie and adventure and everyone likes pie and adventure!!!! If five stars is the best I would give it 4 ½ stars!

Dec
11
2014

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilo

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Winn-Dixie is very smart for a dog I think, because when Opal pretended that Winn-Dixie was her dog, Winn-Dixie played along.

Winn-Dixie was also very well behaved, because when Opal scrubbed Winn-Dixie down he stayed put. Opal said that he could tell that Winn-Dixie didn’t like it by his facial expressions. But he’s not very patient for example Winn-Dixie’s problem is that he isn’t staying still in the park outside of the preacher’s church. So he thinks that the preacher might not allow Opal to keep Winn-Dixie. So dogs aren’t allowed in Opal’s dad’s church. So Winn-dixie has to wait outside (kids aren’t allowed to be in this park with R.V.’s but they made an exception to Opal for three reasons 1. She is very responsible 2. She is very trustworthy and 3. Her dads the priest of the church on the park)

 One time Winn-Dixie saw a mouse in the church, so he did what any other dog would do ; he chased it… but this was in  the church so of course it distracted everybody in the church who were praying Winn-dixie is hoping that she can stay with the preacher and Opal because he is really having a good time with opal (aside from waiting outside of the church.)

 I really enjoyed this book because it grasps you in the beginning with scary, sad, and exciting moments. Like in the grocery store when Opals trying to save Winn-Dixie from the dog pound. And when Opal and Winn-Dixie are trying to get the preacher to like Winn-Dixie,it takes a long time for him to make his decision. Also when there is a thunder storm and Winn-dixie gets super scared and its really dramatic.

If you like exciting and gripping books Because of Winn-Dixie is for you!

And its really modern. And doesn’t give you a lot of information so its making you think a bit too!

I rate this book :

****

because there are some sad parts that I don’t like but………. otherwise its AMAZING!!!

 

 

Dec
11
2014

Poppy by Avi

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           I read Poppy by Avi. The main characters are Poppy and Mr. Ocax. Poppy is a mouse and Mr. Ocax is an owl. The main problem is that the mouse population is growing and there isn’t enough food to feed them all. They have to move to a place with more food but Mr.Ocax won’t let them move. It takes place in the woods.

                  At the beginning of the story, one day Poppy and her boyfriend Ragweed go to Bannock Hill because Ragweed thought that it would be romantic if he asked Poppy to marry him on Bannock Hill. Then Mr. Ocax flies down and eats  Ragweed up and Poppy feels really sad. After that Mr. Ocax wants to eat Poppy but Poppy saves herself and only gets a little scratch on her forehead. Poppy makes a big decision to go through Dimwood Forest all by herself. Mr. Ocax made the mice think that he is the boss and he protects them from porcupines but. Then Poppy figures out that he’s lying and that he’s the one afraid of porcupines and porcupines are vegetarian. He doesn’t want them to move because then he will lose his food.

         I enjoyed this book because sometimes it leaves you at a cliffhanger when you just want to read more and find out what’s going to happen. I also think it is fun when the animals are talking. I also really enjoyed this book because it has a lot of feeling at the end of the book. I would recommend this book to people who like books about animals or books that are a little scary or people who like mysteries. I rate this book 4 stars out of five stars.