Second-to-Last Review Posting
DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Rome
From the DK Eyewitness Series I picked "Ancient Rome" because I love studying history and culture. This book has 33 chapters and I will be describing two of them.
1) The Bloody Arena: The "bloody arena," also known as the Colosseum, was built for the Emperor Titus in the year 80 A.D., almost 2000 years ago. The Colosseum was used as a gladiatorial arena for fighting and the entertainment of the people of Rome. Interesting fact: Beneath the arena surface were cells and cages packed with wild animals who were released through trap doors into the arena.
2) Death and burial: One of Italy's most horrifying years was A.D 79. That was when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and when Pompeii, a city not far from Rome, was destroyed. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted people ran into sheds and boats.The sheds got so hot that they crumbled into ruins and the people inside died. When I visited Pompeii 2 years ago all what was left were ruins and plaster casts of people who had died.
I rate this book 5 stars.
Porch Stories
So first off is the good stuff. It had nice, short stories, with good humor and good history lessons. I feel it did well in creativity too, especially in the last one! I like how they say who is telling the story and why. Those are just three of many reasons I had fun reading this.
Then we get to the bits that weren’t so sweet. The stories were a bit on the the short side, which makes the whole book too short. Also it was a bit of a book for the early 4th grade (I’m going into 5th). This just generally is a book for younger children. So those were the hard to find bitter feelings I had for it.
So how would I rate this book? I would rate this 4 out of 5 stars on a good day, but it would normally be a 3½. And I would suggest it to people in 2nd to early 4th grades as a nice read, but after that, it’s just a quick read. Only read this book if you are interested in quick stories you won’t be on for long! That is my rating of Porch Stories by Patricia C. McKissack.
The Chronicles of Prydain
Welcome to Prydain, a magical world where Arawn, Lord of the Death Lands, and Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper of Caer Dallben, battle for a magical cauldron. Taran's companions Adaon, Dolli, Gurgi, Ellidyr, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur accompany him in his mission. The reason Arawn wants it is because he wants to take over Prydain. Arawn can use the cauldron to make a powerful army of creatures. Taran is trying to save Prydain and destroy the cauldron.
Arawn is a freaky character without a body. Basically, he is like the Walking Dead. He has horns on his head and a cloak around where his body should be. Taran knows that if Arawn attains the cauldron he will suck the souls out of the life of Prydain. If he succeeds there will be nothing but darkness.
Taran wants to go to battle, but his mentor Gwydion says he is too young and it is too dangerous. Taran decides to seek the cauldron anyway. His adventures include an encounter with a witch, who tries to turn him into a toad. He also escapes from a traitor's prison. The biggest challenge of all is figuring out how to destroy the cauldron.
I feel that this book has a great flow to it. The characters have a lot of life to them. In my opinion, Arawn's evil actions are quite gory. I also think that Taran is a very brave character, for a simple peasant. Eilonwy seems to be very protective and wise. I strongly recommend the book for people who like magical and scary stories.
The Secret of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks
The Secret of the Indian, is a very exciting book that takes place in Omri’s house, in Patrick’s aunt’s house, In the time of the Iroquois native tribe, and the wild west. In fact, this book is mostly about traveling to different times, and places in which, the time of the Iroquois and the time of the cowboys and the wild west were mentioned. There are five main characters in this book, or people are mostly in the the story. one of them is Omri, a ten year old boy, who has a magic key, that can turn any plastic figure into a real life person, with real flesh and blood. What I like most about him, is how he thinks twice before does something. The second main character is Patrick, a ten year old boy who is a friend of Omri, but despite that, is very different. He always wants to jump in and do something right away, without thinking of the consequences. The third main character is Little Bear, who used to be a miniature plastic Iroquois indian. He was turned into a real human with Omri’s magic key. Little Bear can be very demanding, but, he can also have a change of heart. The fourth main character is Boone. He is a cowboy from the wild west, and even if he’s probably too old for that, he cries a lot. He says that he has a soft heart. the fifth main character, is Emma, Patrick’s cousin. She is a twin with her sister Tamsin. She is also sort of like Patrick, she wants to jump in and do stuff, but sometimes, she just does it for herself!. Well, with a variety of different characters, you can tell this book will be exciting when they take a journey!
The plot of this book is really spontaneous if you haven’t read it already, I had no idea that the roof of Omri’s house would blow up in the end. But let’s start from the beginning. It all started when Omri’s parents came home a from a party. But when they saw how messy their house was and that the boys were awake, even though they should’ve been sleeping hours ago, they had a lot of questions for the boys. The boys made up a story where there were burglars, and that they scared them of. But if you want to know what really happened, you should read the previous book, The Return of the Indian. Well after an interrogation by the police, two more days passed, and they brought back their friends, Little Bear and Boone. One day Patrick decided that since Omri went back in time , he wanted to go back in time too. This meant he would hold Boone, get inside Omri’s chest, Omri would lock it with the magic key, and Patrick would go to Boones time. But Emma, Patrick's cousin, was going to walk Patrick back to his Aunts house, where the would leave to back to Patrick’s house. But Patrick told Omri to send him back before he left, so that he can see Boone life sized. So Omri did, But he forgot that if you take the Plastic one, Then he’ll become alive in the chest! and then Omri found out that Boone has been suffocated in Patrick’s fist. Boone’s heart stopped beating! Meanwhile, there was another problem, when they brought back Little Bear, and his men, Little Bear had 2 mullet Balls in his back! And all his men were injured. Then Omri knew he had to find a surgeon. He also knew that Patrick had a cousin Tamsin who had a figurine set, where he knew were a team of surgeons. So Emma asked her to give her the surgeons for money, when they got the Surgeons, they put them to work, and then they healed all of the indians. As for Patrick, when he got there, he noticed that something was wrong, so he went to get help. He later on got helped by a friend of Boone, named Ruby Luo, but it was hard because he had shrunk when he got there. Ruby helped to get Boone inside her house before a wicked tornado came. Omri decided to bring Patrick ‘back’ the next day. So, the next day he went to to school, but something nerveracking happened. Mr.Johnson, the headmaster of the school, had made an assembly for Omri and his story that won a competition that Omri entered. Mr.Johnson made Omri read his story to everyone. The story that Omri entered was actually the story of Little Bear, and Boone. Even though the story was supposed to be made up, Omri told them the story of The Plastic Indian. But bad for Omri, a while ago, Patrick spilled out Little bear’s secret to Mr.Johnson, and showed him Little Bear and Boone, alive! Mr.Johnson just thought that he was seeing things, but when he heard the story, he realized that it related to what he thought he didn’t see. Mr.Johnson was about to have a talk with Omri when he got a phone call from his parents, asking where Patrick was, so Omri had to go back home before the talk. But Mr.johnson drove Omri back and said they’d talk later with his parents. But when Omri went to get Patrick from the chest, Mr.johnson was telling Omri’s parents about Omri’s story and how it may be real. When Omri got patrick back, he also got the tornado back into his house that completely blew up his roof which made the Elm tree crash on Mr.Johnson’s new Porsche(*_*). In the end Omri sent everyone back. The Indians, and Boone and Ruby Luo after they were married. It was a happily ever after except for Omri’s room and Mr.Johnson.
I liked this book a lot, as I said before it was spontaneous. I had no idea Mr. Johnson would talk with Omri about the story being true. I had no idea (as I said before) that Omri’s room, would get blown up. But overall this book was really exciting! I like how it switched stories, for example, when Patrick was inside Boone’s land, It would talk about Omri and Emma in the real world, And then in the next chapter, or in the same one, It would start to talk about Patrick in the wild west. Then it would just repeat over and over again, going back to the real world, then to cowboy world, then back to the real world, until it ends. In general, I would recommend this book to anyone 9 or 10 up, not that it’s a complicated book, but things are a little different, and you might not understand. Personally, I would recommend this book to my mom, and my dad. It’s a very interesting classic that I think they would like.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
I liked the Wizard of Oz because of the word choices.The word choices were mostly words like: Orpheum,Podunk,thereof, and bowler. I suggest the wizard of Oz for kids because it has a lot of things that will make you feel like you were there. For example, "Oz followed the mystery women through the dense and lush forest amazed at the plant life and vegetation that grew all around him but he didn't have time to dwell on the beauty or strangeness of the forest-not when they were being chased by flying baboons !" The book was secretive because it made you think Oz was a hero but then Oz told Finley the flying monkey to keep his secret that he was a fake and he was just making them think that he was a hero so he could be king and get money & gold.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Ralph and the motorcycle is a movie and a book, but today let's focus on the book. One reason why I loved the book was my favorite part when Ralph tried to run away from a vacuum cleaner. My second favorite part was when Ralph and the family of mice had a reunion. I thought only humans have reunions but I guess I was wrong! My least favorite part was in chapter 3 called “Trapped”, that's when it started getting confusing for the reader.
Overall if you're in the mood for an adventurous but funny book I strongly recommend that you read this.
Where the Sidewalk Ends By Shel Silverstein
HA HA HA. Hunky is a funny word that stuck with me from this book. Now this is a book that you can read over and over again! Be aware that each poem is different but always funny. Here are some names of my favorite poems in the book: Dancing Pants; Captain Hook; ickle me pickle me tickle me too. Well I'll stop being a blabber mouth now so you can go read it for yourself!
Blizzard! By Jim Murphy
There are many things I like about this great work of nonfiction. First off, it is about the Great Blizzard of 1888 and several different stories about real survivors and victims. Also, it had my brain thinking about how bad our weather service was and how nothing was blizzard proofed or anything. Here is my opinion:
The thing I liked the most was how the author took what could have been a boring subject and turned it into a fascinating story. Jim Murphy did this with many things, including his amazing style, interesting pictures and more. Second, I like how, instead of only explaining the big subject, he incorporates little-known accounts into his work. Lastly, not only does he tell you all about the blizzard, he also tells, in the end of the book, about our weather service today. It even says a bit about modern storms and that our forecasts are now normally 95% correct!
There is not a lot that I dislike about this book. I guess one bad thing is that there were super long chapters that took what seemed like FOREVER to read. Another small disliked feature was… nothing! The reason why I love this book is that it is a perfect read for me-- history, events, good writing-- mixed all into one. Maybe there isn’t so much critics can say about this book.
If I were to suggest this book to someone, it would be a very specific group of of people. That group consists of: Historians, Nonfiction readers and-- Teachers! First off, historians would love this (I’m not kidding!) because it’s about history.(Duh) But the real reason is that it tells history in a really good way. Second, nonfiction readers NEED books like these-- the author can write nonfiction really well and of course, it’s full of information. Finally, you’re probably wondering why on earth teachers are on this list. Well, there are many things a teacher could use this for-- a read-aloud, lessons-- but those are TOO obvious. We need to go deeper. The reason is that it’s good reading for the teacher! It’s good reading for EVERYONE! That’s it for today and that ends our SRR series!
Rating: 4.6
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The main character in the book "The BFG" is Sophie, a little girl who would soon be taken by a giant. The BFG (=Big Friendly Giant) took Sophie to a country of giants which is around England somewhere. The BFG is one of 10 giants: 1. Fleshlumpeater 2. Childchewer 3. Bonecruncher 4. Manhugger 5. Meatdripper 6. Maidmasher 7. Gizzardgulper 8. Bloodbottler 9. Butcher Boy 10. BFG. The first 9 giants only eat human beings. The BFG only eats disgusting vegetables called snozzcumbers. Every night the first 9 giants go out to eat humans. The BFG either goes to a dreamland and collects dreams or he visits children and blows the dreams into children's heads when they sleep. Sophie thought that it was horrible that so many humans were getting eaten by the 9 horrible giants and then she had a plan to stop it. The BFG was able to mix several dreams into one dream. The plan was to give the Queen of England a dream that 9 giants ate children every night and that a little girl named Sophie was sitting on the Queen's windowsill who would show the Queen the BFG and how to capture the other giants and put them into a 500 feet hole. When the Queen woke up from her horrible dream and learned from her maid about the news that many children had vanished over night like in her dream she then saw indeed Sophie on the windowsill telling her about and showing her the BFG and explaining the rescue plan. Sophie and the BFG convinced the Queen and with the help of an army force and helicopters the giants were carried into a hole filled with snozzcumbers for food.
I disliked the beginning of the book because there was no action. I loved the end of the book, especially the royal breakfast with Sophie, the BFG and the Queen, and then all the action at the end when the 9 giants were captured. I also liked how the BFG talked mixing words and inventing new ones, like ringbeller, human bean, frobscottle, and whizzpopping.
I rate this book 5 stars on a scale from 1 to 5.
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine
Secrets Of a Civil War Submarine was really a great book. I think anyone who wants a good book that tells you not only about submarines but also about excavating and people in the Civil War should read this book. The people who were on the Hunley were not super-important people that you would hear about every day. Most of them were just regular people. I'm pretty sure a couple weren't in the army. There were also a bunch of really cool facts in this book, like did you know that the Hunley's real name was The Horance Lawson (HL) Hunley? Also, did you know that the engineers of the Hunley built 2 other submarines before building the Hunley? A really interesting fact is that the Hunley sank 2 times before it sank for the final time in 1864. Also, did you know that George Dixon (the captain) was carrying a gold coin that saved his life while, when fighting, he got shot in the hip. The coin was hit instead of him.
I'm very glad that I picked this book for me.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The LION, WITCH, and the WARDROBE Is but one of the magical books in the Chronicles of Narnia. In a world called Narnia, which is known only to youngsters Peter, (the oldest of the siblings) Susan, (the second oldest) Edmund, and Lucy (who both are youngest at the same age). The way they arrive in this book is through a wardrobe located in their Uncle’s mysterious mansion, which they have been sent to by their mother during the dangers of WWII.
Lucy Is the first to discover this beautiful yet strange land, when she tells the others about it. They don’t believe her but Edmund soon follows her into Narnia to see for himself, where he meets the evil and terrible White Witch. Edmund eats some of her (evil) enchanted Turkish Delight and becomes hypnotized and unable to see through the witch’s darkness.
Peter and Susan join in to find out that they are all “sons of Adam and daughters of Eve” (that’s what they call human royalty in Narnia) making them the next kings and queens of Narnia. They soon meet the mighty, kind and rightful ruler of Narnia as well as the surrounding areas: The Great Lion Aslan.
Aslan gives them all gifts to prepare for the battle to save Edmund from the witch who plans to kill Edmund and stop the children from becoming kings and queens of Narnia. Peter gets a sword that never misses, Susan gets a horn that can summon Aslan when she needs help, and Lucy gets a magic bottle of what looks like oil that can heal any wound—whether hers, or someone else’s—with a few drops.
When the witch’s troops realize that Aslan had defeated her, they popped out of existence, just like that, poof! Aslan and Lucy were busy reviving fallen soldiers of the Good side. Edmund was saved and crowned king with Peter, Susan, and Lucy. Once a king or queen, always a king or queen!
Years later they come back home and just a few seconds had passed since they entered the magic world of Narnia.
The BFG
The BFG is not like any of the other giants, he is the Big Friendly Giant! He is 22 ft tall (nothing compared to other giants) he only eats Snozzcumbers; a horrible and gigantic version of a cucumber and not “human beans” unlike the others. He’s a good giant, all he does is blow good dreams into the heads of sleeping children.
One night he catches Sophie, a little orphan girl, staring at him and he brings her back to his cave. He’s fearful that she would tell everyone else about him and have them hunt him down, but they soon become good friends on a mission to stop the bad giants from eating every last human on the planet.
The the book ends when the BFG stops the bad giants (with a lot of help from the army and the queen and every other important person in the world) and makes them eat horrible snozzcumbers for all eternity. Then he writes a book about it, Where is this book? You just read a review about it.
While it’s a funny book I feel like it was way too short and most of it took place in the BFG’s cave with a bad giant occasionally coming and Sophie almost being eaten by it. The only other thing that happens in the cave is when the BFG is showing Sophie some stuff like dreams inside a bottle or certain plants that grow in special places.
Stranded
If you are like my friends then you would look at the book Stranded, and think; “Jeff Probst? as in Survivor?” In this book, a group of kids who’s parents got married go on a boat ride as a time to bond as a newly blended family. But when a hurricane passes directly overhead, Vanessa, Benjamin (or Buzz,) Carter, and Jane have to count on each other to survive until somebody comes to save them.
If they want to make it off the island, they need to learn to survive with each other, without any adults. Buzz (age 10) and Carter (age 11) are always paling around and talking about the latest tech and sports. Vanessa (age 13) is too old to be interested in the same things as the boys while Jane (age 8) is too young.
Later on in the story, the four siblings are now finally getting along and things are working out when the second big storm hits. Their shipwrecked boat, (the only shelter they have) is being washed away. For the youngest, Jane knows her stuff, she suggests they take refuge in a nearby cave while they figure out what to do next. With no water or food, they struggle to keep calm. Buzz and Jane try to stick together and comfort each other meanwhile Carter and Vanessa argue about who should be in charge. They finally figure out a plan. Buzz and Jane find nearby things and the equipment they managed to save to improve the cave (their new home), and Carter and Vanessa look for water and fruits.
Will they live until they are rescued? You’ll just have find out in the next book!
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Mr. Fox and his family are trying to get away from the farmers because the farmers are trying to kill them. I didn't like the book because I thought that it was too short. It was only 81 pages. I didn't feel like there was enough of a story to it. I thought that it was funny because the three farmers were fat, tall, and short. The pictures made them look funny. I thought that it was interesting that to get away from the farmers, the fox family had to dig. I didn't know that the foxes could dig. I think that's it.
