Category Archives: Dan & Shayna’s Class

Jan
15
2016

How To Handle a Bully, by Nancy Wilcox Richards

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imgres-1My book review is on How To Handle a Bully by Nancy Wilcox Richards. There are several main characters in the book. They are Rilla, Cameron, Olivia, Oliver, Lauren, and Nicholas. The book is about Rilla, her friends, and enemies. Rilla and her friends are training at the playground to win a new Xtreme bike in a fitness competition. Cameron and his gang, Olivia and Oliver, bully Rilla, Lauren, and Nicholas. Cameron and his gang hog all the playground equipment. If Rilla and her friends can’t train on the playground equipment, they won’t be able to improve and win the fitness challenge. The book takes place at Rilla’s school and the playground near her house in the springtime.

 

Kids learned about the fitness challenge at school. There were a lot of events at the fitness challenge including monkey bars, pull-ups, tire run and bike riding. Rilla did not know how to ride a bike without training wheels. Training wheels were not allowed at the challenge. Rilla was very scared of riding a bike without training wheels because the last time she tried, she fell and hurt herself. Lauren and Nicholas convinced Rilla that they could teach her to ride a two wheel bike. Rilla decided to be brave and try. By the fitness challenge, Rilla could do it! Rilla had another big challenge. Cameron and his gang bullied Rilla and her friends and scared them away from the playground. It was hard to train when they were scared away from the playground equipment. One day Rilla and her friends were riding by the playground. They saw that Cameron was alone and stuck. Rilla knew this was her chance to get back at Cameron and she took advantage of it. The next day Rilla, Lauren,  and Nicholas went to the park with more of their friends in case Cameron was there. When Cameron told Rilla and her friends to get lost, Rilla stood up to him. Cameron and his gang decided to leave the playground when they saw all of Rilla’s friends. This was important because Rilla wasn’t scared anymore. She believed she could win the fitness challenge.

 

Rilla is a really nice and fair girl. Instead of trying to scare Cameron and his friends away from the playground, she told them that they should share the equipment. In parts of the book, Rilla was really scared. She was afraid of riding a bike without training wheels and she was also afraid of being bullied by Cameron and his gang. Rilla showed that she was confident too. She was the best in her class at doing pull-ups and was one of the fastest kids on the monkey bars. One quote that really shows who Rilla is, is “I’d love to win that bike. But you know, I don’t really care who wins, as long as it’s not a River Rat.” The River Rats are Cameron and his gang. This quote shows who Rilla is as a person because she says that she doesn’t care who wins. She would be happy for anyone who wins as long as they are nice.

 

I loved this book because it’s a cute story about a group of kids trying to win a fitness challenge. This book is an awesome book for kids in third and fourth grade to read. How To Handle A Bully is a good book for people who like sports and for anyone who’s had an experience with bullies. I would recommend this book because anyone can read and enjoy it. Also, it’s a good book for schools and students because it teaches kids important lessons about bullying. I haven’t read any other books or seen shows that have bullying. I would give this book a five star rating.

 

Jan
15
2016

The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies

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imgresThe book I am reviewing is titled The Lemonade War. It was written by Jacqueline Davies. The book was based on a real story because the author has two children that had lemonade wars all the time. It is about two siblings that used to get along really well but then they got into a fight, so they decided to have a lemonade selling contest because they both loved selling lemonade together. Their lemonade war meant whoever sold the most lemonade by Labor Day which is towards the end of the summer won all the money they earned. The main characters in my book are Evan and Jessie Treski. Evan and Jessie are going into 4th grade but Jessie is eight and Evan is nine. They live in a suburban neighborhood. This book takes place in the five days before Labor Day.

 

Evan is kind because whenever he is mean to his sister he tries to make-up for his mistake. There was one part in the beginning of the book where he was embarrassed because he would be in her class and he wanted to scream at her but he didn’t because he did not want to hurt her feelings. Evan is also jealous because when Jessie was selling lemonade with his crush, named Megan, Evan wanted to do the lemonade stand with Megan. Evan is also understanding. He is very careful about other people’s feelings. That is why he doesn’t like to yell at his sister.

 

One part of the book that I liked was when Jessie tells Evan that Megan likes him. She asks, “Evan, Megan really likes you. Do you know that?” I liked that part because the reader gets a lot of information about how Evan feels. I think that Evan felt very relaxed because he likes Megan too. Evan’s reaction to that was a blush. I think he was very happy to hear that Megan liked him.

 

Evan made a big decision when he said that he would do the competition because he says in the book that he was not made for competitions. The competition brought the two characters farther apart but at the end of the book they are closer than ever. Jessie asked if Evan wanted to play a game with her and Evan said “You ruin everything. You ruined my summer and now you are going to ruin school!” that shows that he is uncomfortable with her in his grade. Through the competition, Evan learned that he could trust Jessie. He realized that Megan and Jessie were honest with each other. He learned from them, that he still had things to learn, even from his younger sister.

 
I enjoyed this book because it reminds me of me and my other because we have fights sometimes, but we always make-up at the end. The book also reminds me of the summer because I sell a lot lemonade at my own stand outside of my building. There was one time I was selling lemonade and a group of tourists from India had a selfie stick and wanted to take a selfie with me. I recommend this book to kids that are interested in business. There are things in this book about business that are good to know. This book is kind of like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing because it is about siblings that fight a lot. I would rate this book three stars because it was pretty good.

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.                                                            

Jan
15
2016

Gods of Manhattan

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gmlgThe title of my book is Gods of Manhattan and the author is Scott Mebus. Also there are two more books. The main characters are Rory, a magician trick reader and his sister Bridget, a normal girl who doesn’t like girly stuff. This book took place on a hot summer day on Bridget’s birthday in Manhattan. The main problem of this book is they were trying to help save the American Indians from a trap that was set by a god. The god did it because the  American indians were annoying him and disturbing him. They don’t do it alone they get help by a magician named Hex that Rory does not trust.

The only reason Rory and Bridget got help, because on Bridget’s birthday, Hex did a unbelievable trick. Hex did a trick where he made a card that Rory wrote on go into Bridget’s present. The card said, “Hex is full of crap.” After that Rory was thinking about he did the trick ever since. Until five to ten minutes later he heard a voice call out, “I live on Raisin street.” Those are the two most important things in the book. Also they are my two favorite parts in the book. The most important thing he did was that he actually listened to Hex and went to Raisin street. Also when to Raisin street it was hidden and scary.

 

Some things about Rory are that he is smart, brave, and strong. He is smart because when he was in a tunnel of running water and he was about to lose his friend, he found a place that could make him safe. He is brave because when a demon attacked him, he stood his ground and fought against him after he lost the first time. He is strong because he pulled an alligator 10 feet against the river current flowing at 30 miles per hour to save his friend. After he did all of that he said “Thank god I did that right or else I would of been dead.”  

I loved the book it was really good. It was really good because it was always surprising. It was surprising because in one part someone that was a watch guard was a god. Also it had a happy ending. It is really good, so I would recommend it to other people. Only read it if you like surprises. This book does not remind me of anything. But it shouldn’t because it’s so unique in its own way.It is unique because I have never read a book like this before because non of them had a cockroach ridding a rat before.   I would rate this book 5 stars!!! Because I loved it and I would want to read it again.

Jan
15
2016

Gods of Manhattan

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gmlgI read Gods of Manhattan from the Gods of Manhattan series by Scott Mebus. The book is about a special boy who has a unique gift. The book takes place in the present day in Manhattan, but there are characters in the story that have lived throughout New York’s History, some who remember it as Mannahatta. These characters are the Gods of Manhattan.Gods of Manhattan

The main character is a boy called Rory Hennessey. Rory is a Light, a Light is someone who can see what regular humans can’t see, they see what is “really” there. Regular people just see normal stuff and what is happening in the present, Rory can see details and things that other people can’t see.  For example when Rory watches a magic show he can see how they do the “magic.” He can even see the Gods and all the other strange creatures and going ons around them. You might want to be a Light but it is very dangerous being a one. When Rory first found out he was a Light he was upset and didn’t want to be one, because he was worried about the safety of himself and his family. The main focus of the story is that Rory is the only Light left alive in Manhattan and he is the only one who can save the city and perhaps the world even if he doesn’t know it. To become a God you have to do something that everyone remembers. For example John Jacob Astor, a real person is the God of Success. All the other Gods and other worldly characters in the book were created by the life they led in their real life.

Rory begun to figure out he was a Light on his sister Bridget’s birthday. She had a magician come to their house whose name was Hex. In the past Rory had always been able to see through every magician’s trick no matter how complicated they seemed to be and Hex appeared to be like any other magician. However this time Rory had no idea how the magician had been able to do the trick. This disturbed Rory because he couldn’t work out how the trick was performed so he went to Central Park to think about it. When he was in the park he noticed a squirrel and a mouse having a kung fu fight, which is ridiculous and he thought he was going crazy. Next a Native American from another time period appeared in the park and chased him out. Rory ran straight into Hex and when Rory explained what had happened to him Hex explained he was a Light…

Another important part of the book is when Rory met a “Stranger” for the first time. A Stranger is a monster that looks like a kid but it has very sharp metallic teeth like knives. It walks up to you like a little child and asks you to come and then it attacks and kills you. Luckily for Rory he managed to escape the vicious attack but spends the rest of the book avoiding these horrible creatures.

These two events changed Rory’s life positively and negatively. As a result of these events Rory decided to go with Hex and try to save the world

Rory is very responsible; for example he takes his sister around New York by himself. He also made sure that Bridget was safe at home when he ventured out to save Manhattan. Bridget is brave because she fought a Plug Ugly (a gang member) and when someone tried to shoot Rory she jumped in front of him. Even though her brother left her behind at home, she decided to go after him to save him. Rory is very cautious and does not trust anybody. Throughout the story Rory is uncertain which side he should be on and questions everything. He thinks twice before he does anything and it took him a week before he joined Hex.

A good example of Rory’s responsibility is displayed when he said to bridget, “You can not come. It is too dangerous.”

I really enjoyed the Gods of Manhattan, but I got confused at times because the book has two different but parallel stories being told in each chapter and it was difficult to follow along all the time. I enjoyed the suspense in the book often created by the two parallel stories leaving you at cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. I would recommend this book to someone who likes Percy Jackson books because it has many similarities like Gods living with humans. It is a long exciting read and if you have problems remembering storylines in books this maybe too complicated for you. Rick Riordan the writer of Percy Jackson said, “it’s a fast and exciting read,” I think he commented on the book because it is has a very similar theme.

I would rate this book four stars.

 

By Jack Bbarker  

Jan
15
2016

Robin Hood, by Grahame Baker-Smith and David Calcutt

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imagesRobin Hood by David Calcutt and Grahame Baker-Smith.Robin Hood is the main character in the story of Robin Hood. Robin Hood’s main idea is to free poor people from having to pay huge taxes. This is because the king of England, who everybody loved, was away and his brother took over the country. This happened in the early 1100s. Part of the reason why it is such a big problem that the king was giving such big taxes is that some of the poor people could not pay the taxes. Then they got hung or  tortured and then killed. Robin Hood builds a band of outlaws to stop all of this nonsense.

One big part of this book is when Robin Hood goes to an archery tournament between the head sheriff and his guards. Robin Hood is there and he is a very very skilled archer. While the sheriff’s guards are shooting, Robin Hood has a hood over his face and he is standing and chuckling with his grin hidden under his cloak. Although the sheriff does not know it is Robin Hood, by the first sight of him he knows this man is trying to make fun of them. So, he calls him over and asks him to join the contest and bet some money. Now the sheriff shoots a very, very good shot, but Robin Hood shoots right down the middle of the bullseye and splits the wood of the sheriff arrow for the win.

This book has a ton of action too. One place that shows it has a lot of action is when Robin Hood sees a man on the other side of a bridge that he is crossing. Only one man can cross the bridge at a time, so Robin Hood challenges the man to a staff duel. Although the man does not know that Robin Hood is only saying this to see if the man is a good fighter and maybe a good recruit for his outlaw band. They have their duel, and little John, after a little while, knocks Robin Hood off his feet and into the water. This is when Robin Hood invites Little John to join his band of outlaws.

The biggest decision that Robin Hood makes in the whole book is to become an outlaw. This is so important because now the government is after him and he cannot live freely. He makes this decision because he feels it is wrong that King John is making such a high tax rate and then torturing people if they can’t pay for it.

Robin Hood is very, very brave. One place that shows this is when he is brave enough to shoot down seven government warriors. This is so brave because it is a death penalty for murder. His reason for doing this is that these government warriors were trying to kill him and they were bad men who had tortured and killed many people. One of the biggest words that I would use to describe Robin Hood is strong. He is probably the strongest character of any character I have ever come across  in all the books I have ever read. There are many places that show he is extremely strong. One of them is how he can climb up to the top of trees almost as tall as apartment buildings. Climbing up a tree may seem easy, but it takes tons of core strength. Another big part of Robin Hood’s personality is that he is very polite for an outlaw. Even though he is a little violent, he does these things for a good cause. He also has very good manners and is polite. One place where Robin Hood is polite is when he says,  “You’d have to go a long way to find a better swordsman than Little John.” He is quick to notice the good in other people.

I like this book very much. One of the reasons why I like it is because I like a lot of action. If you like action, this book has a lot if it. Another thing that I like about this book is that it is not too long, or too short. I would recommend this book to people who like action. This book is also very interesting because you don’t just read a story, you feel like you are there in the story. One thing to know about this book though, is that if you cannot handle a little bit of drama and suspense then this book might have too much of that for you. One thing this book reminds me of is the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. This reminds me of Sleeping Beauty because there are very many versions of this book and movie. If I were to rate this book, I would give it a four ½ out of five.

Jan
15
2016

Take The Reins by Jessica Burkhart

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2865641The title of the book I read is called Take The Reins by Jessica Burkhart. Take The Reins is part of the series called “Canterwood Crest.” The main character is Sasha Silver. The setting is at Canterwood Crest, a boarding school during the school year. The main problem is that Sasha has to try to get Heather, the mean girl, out of her mind because they are competing for the advanced riding team.

In this book there is a lot going on. Sasha goes to a new boarding school and meets a girl named Heather. She’s trying to get Sasha to go back to a different school again, because she thinks that Sasha is better than her at riding. Sasha wants to be on the advance team in riding. On the advance team there are only five people who can get a spot on the team. That’s why Heather is afraid that Sasha is going to get her spot in the team. During this book you learn a lot about how boarding school is. Sasha has two best friends who stand up for her all the time.  In film class Sasha meets a boy name Jacob. In the beginning she thinks he’s cute. Later on in the book they start hanging out.  Closer to the end of the book the intermediate team which Sasha is on have to plan the winter party. Whoever wants to participate puts their name in a hat. Sasha’s name got picked out of the hat. She had to plan the party with one of her friends Page and her other friends Callie and Nicole. The day before the party she logged on to her email and asked Jacob to come out to the dance with her. One big event in the story that changed what happened is on Parents Weekend the parents finally found out about Heather. They were quite surprised. This changed the story because Heather started being nicer to Sasha because she knew she was going to get into so much trouble if her parents knew about her being mean. Sasha is nice because when her friend Nicole did not get on the advanced team she was not bragging about how she did. Sasha talked to Nicole to make her feel better. I also think she is brave because she went to boarding school and no one knows what could happen at boarding school because you can meet new people everyday. I also think she is brave because in the book she asks Jacob out to the dance. A good quote that helps me understand Sasha is when Page says “Do you like the furniture if not we can change it” and then Sasha says “I think it looks great”. I think that helps me understand the character because she is very loose about things and she goes with the flow.

I enjoy this book because it’s very fast and a lot of ideas keep popping up. One example for this idea is of the party that Sasha had to plan, and then a page later there’s a new idea of the advanced team. I also enjoy this book a lot because I feel really good when I hear stories that are specific about what they mean. One example for that is they describe how many coats of lip gloss Sasha puts on. This book reminds me of this TV series called The Saddle Club because it’s about horseback riding and in that story there’s a mean girl just like Heather. A rating of my book is 5 stars because it just is amazing and I want to read it again.

Jan
15
2016

It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville

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818095The book I’m reviewing is called It’s Like This, Cat, by Emily Cheney Neville. The main characters are a cat named Cat and a boy named Dave. Cat is Dave’s cat. Dave is trying to achieve a lot of thing but one is to get his own pet. The book takes place in the 1950s in lower Manhattan.

One very big part was when he and his best friend Nick had a fight and wouldn’t talk to each other for a week or two. The fight was about Dave being grumpy about the movie they had seen with some girls. This is really important because Nick and Dave do pretty much everything together and now won’t talk to each other or hang out. One thing that is important is that Dave goes on his first date with a girl named Mary. This is interesting because Dave doesn’t seem like a kid who would go on dates because he is calm and low key. He doesn’t seem like a guy girls would want to go out with, or like a guy who would want to go out with girls. The date is also important for the plot because he can share everything going on at home with Mary. Another thing that is important is that Cat runs away into a cellar of a building and gets stuck in a cage. When Dave got down to the cellar a college age boy freed Cat.

An adjective to describe Dave is that he is brave. He is brave because he fights his best friend when his best friend insults him. Dave is also good in school. He is a good good in school because he took extra classes because he was smart. Dave is also friendly. He is friendly because a lot of kids want to hang out with him. One quote that helped me understand Dave better is he said “Do I have to pay for the girl at the movies,” said Dave. This helped me learn about Dave because it meant that he liked the girl but he was not willing to pay for her.
 I really liked this book because it told me a lot about the 1950s and the story was told very well. I also really liked this book because I never spaced out because the book was boring. I would recommend this book to someone who likes history.  I would also recommend this book to someone who likes Historical fiction. This book doesn’t really remind me of anything because I don’t read a lot about the past. I would rate this book four stars.

Jan
15
2016

Evil Spy School, by Brandon Mull

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imgresMy book is called Spy School. It’s by Stuart Gibbs. The main character in the book is named Benjamin Ripley. The main problem is that there is a double agent in Spy School. A double agent is someone who acts like they’re on one side but they’re really on the other. Spy School is a school for future CIA agents. The setting of the book is Spy School in modern day.

I think that an important part of the book was when Ben met Erica Hale because Erica helps Ben throughout the rest of the book. Erica is the best student in Spy school. Another important part of the book is when an assassin comes to Ben’s room and threatens him because that’s when you figure out there’s a double agent in the school. One big event that happened in the book was when Ben gets captured by an evil organization that’s called SPYDER.

One adjective to describe Ben is SMART! He has a gift for math and can do problems like 1,235×3,478 in one second. Another adjective to describe Ben is brave. I think he’s brave because he goes to a school for spies, you go on mission and have gunfights! One last adjective to describe Ben is friendly. I think Ben is friendly because he was only in Spy School for a semester and he makes a lot of friends. Here’s a quote about Ben’s personality: Erica’s dad said about Ben, “For example you’re a straight-a-student who speaks three languages and has level 16 math skills.”

I really enjoyed the book because it has a LOT of twists. I also enjoyed the book because there’re a lot of cool characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to  be a spy because, well, it’s in the title. This book really similar to James Bond because there are exploding buildings and awesome gun fights. I rate this book five stars.

Jan
15
2016

Freaky Friday By, Mary Rodgers

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      unnamedThe book I read over winter break was Freaky Friday, by Mary Rodgers. The main character in this book is Annabelle Andrews. Annable is 13 years old has brown hair and brown eyes. The problem in the story is that one night Annable and her mom get in a big fight about freedom. So the next morning when Annable woke up she was in her mom’s body, her mom’s room and her mom’s clothes. The story takes place mostly in their house.

  The fight Annable and her mom had was a big bad one. It was about everything food, clothes freedom, electronics, school, and more. Annable said that it was not fair that she could not eat marshmallows for breakfast. That’s when the whole fight started. Later on in the story, Annable loses her son (little brother) and she calls the police.  In the beginning of the book, I didn’t think that anything crazy would happen like life’s switching but it happened and when it happened it turned the book into a whole different story.

 

Annable Andrews is brave, nice, and awesome. Annabel is brave because when she found out that she was her  mom, she didn’t panic she was excited to be a mom. Annable is nice because she cares for her children (siblings).

I really enjoyed the book, because I love all of the Freaky Friday books, stories, and movies. I also really enjoyed the book, because I always wondered what it would be like for a child to be a parent. If you liked the movie Freaky Friday  you’re also going to like this book. I rate this book 4 and a half stars, because it is a fun, short, easy book to read and it’s a really good book.