January 2009 Archives

BOOK NAME: Millicent Min, Girl Genius
AUTHOR: Lisa Yee
 

Millicent Min, Girl Genius is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. The story is about a girl named Millicent Min who is a super smart 11 year-old. She is so intelligent that she skipped grades all the way up to her senior year in high school.  Millicent doesn't have very many friends until a new girl comes into town; her name is Emily Ebers. Emily and Millicent meet when both of them have been forced into volleyball by their moms. They aren't very good so they decide to hang out. 

     Millicent ends up tutoring basketball star, Stanford Wong who is not very smart with a report card full of "F"'s. Millicent doesn't want Emily, her only friend, to think that she is geeky-smart, and Stanford, who has a major crush on Emily, doesn't want her to think that he is dumb. So they agree not to tell Emily, but she finds out anyway. Millicent and Stanford think fast by saying that Stanford is tutoring Millicent instead! Will both Stanford and Millicent be able to face Emily with the truth, or will Emily find out the truth first?
    I loved reading this book. What I liked about it was that the story moved fast - it wasn't boring! The cool part of the book is that its' sequels are from Emily and Stanford's point of view at the same exact time period. I read the So Totally Emily Eber's book a while ago and am planning to read Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time very soon.
    I suggest this to all you readers who like books that are almost like a real teenage life. It's also more of an older kid's book. PLEASE read this book and I promise you that you will like it. Then put a comment of something that has happened in your life that is kind of similar to something that happened in the books.

BOOK NAME: African Critters
AUTHOR: Robert B. Haas

I liked this book a lot! The man who wrote the book really did go to Africa to spend time with all of the animals. He wrote about and took pictures of leopards, hyenas, lions, elephants, impalas, wild dogs, hippos, rhinos, bugs, alligators, dung beetles, and cheetahs. The pictures of the animals were AWESOME! 

I liked the leopards story the best. I liked this story because I thought it was good. The mother cared for her cubs by protecting them from the people when they got too close by growling and she fed them and she let them play on the rocks, tackle each other on the grass under her watchful eye. 

The saddest part was when the mom and the dad lions were hunting and the three cubs were found by the wild buffaloes. One of the lion cubs was found dead on the ground, one cub was hiding in a small bush and breathing hard because it was so scared. The author came back the next morning and found two of the cubs with their mom. This was sad but it is nature's life. I recommend this book because it had good pictures and good words to describe the animals.       

BOOK NAME: Ghost Town
AUTHOR: Annie Bryant

I just finished a book called Ghost Town by Annie Bryant. It's the 11th book in the Beacon Street Girls series.

What happens is, the girls meet up with two country stars named Nik and Sam, and it turns out that they are the same age as the Beacon Street Girls. They decide to go to the ski resort that Nik and Sam are going to; Nik and Sam say they can take two of the girls. Of course, all five of the girls want to go, but since they can't, they pull straws. Isabell and Katani are the winners. Too bad for Avery, Charlotte, and Maeve - they are stuck going to the resort in an old Jeep with Charlotte's dad.

While they are traveling the Jeep breaks down, and the only place close by is an old ghost town. The girls have to sleep in a beat-up old hotel that last functioned 50 years ago. When they go to the kitchen to see if there is food, they are surprised to find that there is some and it hasn't expired. Since no one has been there in 50 years, is it possible that there's a ghost living in the hostel. It sure seems like it when Maeve stays up late and sees a mysterious figure...

Meanwhile, Isabel and Katani are wondering where the heck their friends have gone. Have they gotten lost? The two girls are having a good time with Nik and Sam but they want the rest of their group back, too.

Imagine if you were Isabel and Katani and your friends were missing. How would you feel? I'd feel terrible!

I liked this book. It was especially fun that the author gave two points of view. Also, I thought the whole concept of a ghost town was cool. I'd hate to think there was a ghost wandering around in a hotel where I slept. I recommend this to all girls; you'll like it.

BOOK NAME: Two-Minute Drill, A Comeback Kids novel
AUTHOR: Mike Lupica

This time I'm writing about a sports book on football. Two-Minute Drill is about a kid named Scott that meets a kid named Chris, and they both love football.

Scott showed Chris his backyard football field that even had goalposts. They practice every day. They both try out for the Eagles and make the team. Chris is the quarterback and is one of the best players. Scott sits on the bench most of the game, but likes to practice drop-kicks in his backyard. A drop-kick is like a punt except it bounces before it's kicked, and you can get three points or an extra point after a touchdown.

Scott is the brainiest kid in his sixth-grade class. Chris is the best football player in the school. Chris isn't a very good reader, and Scott isn't that good at football. So they made a deal. Scott would help Chris with his schoolwork and Chris would help Scott with football.

At the championship where the Eagles play the Lions, the Lions scored a safety to make the score 2-0. And that's how it stayed until the 4th quarter. On third down Chris was sacked and got injured and the Eagles used their last timeout. The Eagles' coach wanted to try and get a touchdown, but Chris told the coach that Scott could make a drop-kick. There were 2 seconds left in the game and Scott made the kick to make the score 3-2 - a baseball score! The Eagles won the Championship.

I liked the book because it was all about sports and I like sports too. Look in stores, because Mike Lupica has other books like Miracle on 49th Street and Hot Hands. I'm reading Hot Hands next. It's about basketball.

BOOK NAME: My Last Best Friend
AUTHOR: Julie Bowe

   
Ida May has just lost her last best friend. Her name is Elizabeth and she moved away because her dad got a new job in a new town. Now she doesn't have anybody who is nice to her. She decides it might be easier to be lonely rather than make new friends. But, Ida's plan to stay lonely fails when the new student comes to their class.

   Even though she kind of likes the new girl, Stacey, she isn't allowed to hang out with her because of the 4th grade bully named Jenna. But Ida May figures out a way to fool Jenna. She begins sending secret notes to Stacey. They create new names and talk to each other by sending secret notes to each other. They also have a secret hiding place to exchange the notes. Even if gets discovered, Jenna wouldn't be able to figure out who they were from because they used different names. In the notes, Stacey is Anastasia and Ida May is Cordelia.
 
    For a while, the secret note friendship works well until Jenna discovers their secret hiding place. Ida May has a tough decision to make. Does she reveal her secret identity and risk the mean things that Jenna might do, or does she tell everybody who she is and stick up for her friendship with Stacey?
 
    I think that this book is SO good that I wanted the story to keep going and going.  It's really cool how Ida May and Stacey figure out how to stay best friends even when one of them was about to move away.

BOOK NAME: Ivy + Bean    
AUTHOR: Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

This is a story about two kids who were never meant to like each other, but became best friends. You see, Ivy and Bean are total opposites. Ivy is a girly girl, a bookworm and always wears pink.  Bean is a tomboy, sporty and is always getting into a little bit of trouble. They are total opposites. 

This book follows Bean as she plays tricks on her older sister. During one of these tricks, Bean escapes into Ivy's backyard. This is where the unlikely friends meet. Soon, Bean discovers that Ivy thinks she is a wizard and can put spells on people. Bean tries to get Ivy to put a spell on Bean's older sister, Nancy. Bean wants the spell to make Nancy to embarrass herself in front of all her friends. 

Ivy & Bean go try to collect all the stuff they need for the spells. On the list were worms, dead frogs and lots of cool other stuff. But in the end, they see Nancy having a tough time and decide that a spell isn't such a good idea.
 
I liked this book because it seemed like real life. I have an older sister just like Bean does.  And sometimes I pull tricks on her just like Bean does to Nancy. But in the end, I don't really want my sister to be hurt, sad or upset and that is also what Bean decided. It was also fun because even though Ivy and Bean were very different they stayed good friends.