Clean Break Reading Response/ December 14, 2009

I have just finished reading a book called Clean Break by Jacqueline Wilson. This book was very touching and very sweet. Sometime’s things can happen and you don’t expect them to. Em~ the main character was very nice trying to comfort her family even when she felt bad that her step dad moved out. I can relate to that because my friend comforted me when both of us felt bad about an argument with another friend. This connection made me understand what the author was trying to tell me and helped me understand the story. This is a Just Right book for me because I can comprehend the story and there were a few words that I didn’t know.

On Christmas eve, Frankie (Ems step dad) tries to make everyone as happy as possible before telling them he’s moving out. Em eavesdrops a conversation on the phone between Frankie and his other girlfriends saying that he’s going to move out soon. Everyone gets to know about it and is extremely sad. Vita and Maxie Frankies real children miss him and so does Em and her mom. Frankie visited but it was awkward for Ems mom when he did and he would take Em, Maxie and Vita out to carnivals. One day, Frankie takes them out without telling their mom (his wife) and Ems mom gets so worried she calls the police. They came back before the police found them and Ems mom says that they should have a clean break~ meaning not seeing each other again.

Months pass and Frankie misses them so much he comes back and they become one big happy family again because Ems mom misses him too. I think that the author should have made the book make more sense because people just don’t leave their house and then say sorry about it but still leave their house. I think the moral of the story is that don’t leave your family because you can always count on them and you love them more than anyone in the world.

Sign of the Beaver/ December 1st 2009

Matt and his father arrive in the middle of a forest and build a cabin there. As soon as his father set's out to go get his other part of his family, Matt thinks he's all alone. Stupidly, Matt tries to get honey from a bee hive and get's stung all over his body but get's saved by an Indian grandfather named ''Saknis''. When Matt recovered, Saknis brought him to his grandson, Attean. Saknis wanted Attean to be able to read a white man's treaty. Matt would give the lesson's to read to Attean and in return Matt would be provided with food and shelter. Attean didn't like Matt much because he was a white boy. Matt would read "Robinson Crusoe" to Attean and Attean would get highly interested and would tell it to his tribe that night. Throughout the book, Attean and Matt teach each other things. Attean teaches Matt how to fish without getting little fish, get gum from a tree, how to clean the bark from a tree to make that a stick to stick a fish on it and cooking it in the forest without as Attean said "Without, white man's tool's". As both of them meet each other everday, they bond a friendship. Matt get's invited to the Indian tribe for a feast! In the end of the book, Attean find's his manitou so he can become a hunter. Saknis says, "You come with us, you are white brother to us" to Matt. Matt got so honered because he was called "White brother". But he refused to go with them because he needed to wait till his family came back. When Matt's family came, he told them all about the Indian's and when his father told him that they would have neibours Matt didn't really like the idea. That was a sign that he was starting to think like an Indian!

Whipping Boy

Whipping Boy

A simple whipping boy and a very bratty prince known as Jemmy and Prince Brat, escape the castle grounds into the real world full of kidnappers and dungy sewer rats. In the castle, Jemmy got whipped whenever Prince Brat got in trouble because it was forbidden to spank the heir to the throne. Prince Brat did not want to be treated so royaly and did not want to learn his ABC's therefore wanting to escap Jemmy did not want to be whipped also wanting to escape. They escape and find themselves kidnapped by Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater,the two horrible kidnappers. As Jemmy and Prince Brat try to escape them, they form a bond and work together, slowly foming a rather unusual friendship. Escaping the forest and running through the sewers was a tough task but they made it together, trusting each other. Finally, they reach back to the castle grounds leaving behind their huge adventure. The King was happy to see them and became very joyful- which was certainly, not like the king.

The Sisters Club- Reading Response Journal

The Sisters Club- November 16, 2009

 

I have just finished reading a book called The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald. I liked this book because of the message it brought up. This was a pleasant book to read and it was really powerful. I have a lot of connections with this book since I have a sister. My sister is quite different from the sisters in this book although they do have some connections. I think a lot of sisters around the world act like Alex- the oldest sister of the three. They’re really nice but when things at school start affecting their lives they act differently. I can relate with my sister about that for sure. This book is Just Right for me because I can understand it completely but I come across a few words I don’t know. I also liked the plot and could deeply go into the message of the book.

 

The three sisters Alex, Stevie and Joey have a sisters club. They do all kinds of fun stuff inside there and have meetings. But when Alex auditions for the play “Beauty and the Beast” and her mom gets a new job in a cooking show, things get crazy. Alex doesn’t let Joey and Stevie in her room anymore only practicing her lines because she so badly wants to be Beauty and kiss her crush Scott Howell- The Beast. Alex gets mad at Stevie for stealing her coat and soon It’s time for Alex’s play.

 

Halfway through the play, Alex breaks her leg after Joey say's “Break a Leg!” literally and so she asked Stevie to do the rest because Stevie had heard Alex reciting the lines so many times it was in her head now. Stevie ends up kissing Scott Towel- as she and Joey called him. Alex was happy and so was Stevie and Joey. Joey was the youngest so I thought she wasn’t very smart and embarrassed Alex a lot. Stevie is the main character and I think Stevie is like me. Alex was much like my sister but even more nicer. My favorite character was Alex because I really liked her personality. I think the message from this book is that your sisters are your best friends you could ever have and that you will always have fights with them, but you can always count on them!

 

 

Book Bytes October 2009

Here is my book talk video.

Matilda- October 12,2009

I've just finished reading a book called Matilda by Roald Dahl. I found this book humorous as well as interesting. It's a very enjoyable book and has a good message in it. There are many messages in this book. I think this is the message the author was trying to tell me: Even though we are tiny people compared to humongous people, it doesn't make a difference. Some people don't care about their children and Matilda's parents didn't seem to care about her at all. This book made me feel happy but surprised in the end and made me a tiny bit mad in the middle because of an EXTREMELY mean and rough person called Mrs.Trunchbull. I think this book is a just right book for me because I can understand it and I came across some new words I had never learned before.

A character named Miss.Honey changed dramatically from the starting of the book to the end of the book. Before, she was all timid and feeble. Then Matilda gives Miss.Honey a lot of courage. Matilda helps Miss.Honey a lot by helping her get her house back . Miss.Honey loves Matilda and Matilda loves Miss.Honey so when Matilda's parent's say they have to move to another country Miss.Honey repays Matilda by letting Matilda stay with her. It's a very, very happy ending.

The problem in this story is that Mrs.Trunchbull-the principal- is very mean and extremely rough with little kids. Well that is not exactly the problem but I'll come to it. Matilda is very smart and Miss.Honey tries telling that to Mrs.Trunchbull but Mrs.Trunchbull won't listen to her. Miss.Honey brought Matilda to her cottage and she talked about her life with Matilda. She never had done this with anyone else but she thought Matilda was very special. Matilda understood Miss.Honey. Miss.Honey was a little girl called Jenny when she was young. Her mother died so she only had her father. Her father was a doctor and his first name was Magnus. When Magnus was out, he called Jenny's aunt to babysit Jenny. It was terrible. She was horrid to Matilda, scary, threatening, whatever you name it. One day Magnus died. So Jenny had to be with her aunt from then on. Her aunt treated Jenny like a slave. Jenny did all the washing, cooking, cleaning, all the chores. Jenny never dared to talk back to her aunt. Matilda asked who the aunt was. "Mrs.Trunchbull" Ms.Honey replied and ever since, Mrs.Trunchbull owned the house and Miss.Honey lived in a tiny cottage with 2 stools and a table. That's all. So Matilda helps Miss.Honey with her powerful eyes that can lift things with these invisible hands that pushes and lifts things. At class when Mrs.Trunchbull was in her classroom, Matilda lifts up the chalk with her eyes and starts writing: Agatha, give my daughter Jenny back her house, I'm watching you. Agatha, who is Mrs.Trunchbull's first name, faints and she never comes to school again. Miss.Honey gets her big house back and lives with Matilda.
I think the author should have made more sense because Matilda's parents provided her with food and a bed but at the end they just left Matilda with Miss.Honey so it shows that they didn't really care about Matilda. That means they shouldn't have given her a bed and food because they didn't really care about her. I had some doubts about that.