Tag archives for Being Yourself
Posted by BOOK NAME: Tall Story
AUTHOR: Candy Gourlay
This book is about a boy named Bernardo who was very short for much of his childhood and then magically grew to be eight feet tall when he was teenager. When he suddenly grew that tall, the earthquakes mysteriously stopped on the island in the Philippines where he lived with his aunt and uncle. When he was told he could move to England to live with his mother, step-father and half-sister, Andi (who are all pretty short), the people on the island begged him to stay because they were afraid the earthquakes would return with him not there. Bernardo’s sister was both surprised and disturbed by how tall he was. She was an exceptional basketball player, and wouldn’t let her below-average height bother her because she never missed a single shot. Meanwhile, Bernardo could just stand there and tip the ball into the hoop without trying. Life became very hard for Bernardo in school and at home, including his relationship with his sister. He eventually told her the story of how he became so tall and she found it very thrilling. You’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out how he grew so fast.
I liked how the book was written from both Bernardo’s and Andi’s perspectives. Every other chapter was from the other’s perspective, which gave it a lot more voice than if the author hadn’t done this. It was better than just writing it in the third person.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
AUTHOR: Jeff Kinney
This book is the fifth installment in this best selling series, which I personally adored from the first book. These books are always very witty in what they say and always make me laugh. They allow you to enter the mind of a middle school boy and learn how he sees the world. Some people may think that Greg is annoying because he is constantly complaining and being lazy, but the author ingeniously turns these traits into a very likable character who is just trying to get through life. This book features even more wacky situations in which Greg finds himself.
For example, he is excited about going to a lock-in at his school which includes boys and girls. However, it turns out to be a bunch of lame games, so he spends his time with the other boys plotting their escape. Another time he had to be a “flower boy” at his uncle’s wedding and had to wear a matching tuxedo with his little brother. He was supposed to have been at a party thrown by a cool 8th grader, but he had wedding duty instead. Pretty embarrassing stuff!
The books may seem long if you look at the page numbers, but I usually manage to read it in one day. The book is set in a journal format and features comic type pictures that are always well done and simple. I wish the author would write books quicker because they are so good I can’t wait to read them, but I can understand that an amazing book can take time to create and write. I guess I’ll just have to be patient for the next one to be released!
DogEared: Read Isabel’s review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Parker’s review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
AUTHOR: Jeff Kinney
If you want to read a funny book, check this book out of the library and start reading. It’s about a wimpy kid who is going into middle school. His name is Greg Heffley. His older brother, whose name is Rodrick, is going into high school and Greg has all of Rodrick’s old teachers. They think Greg is going to be just as much of a problem as his older brother.
As you might guess, this book is Greg’s diary and is arranged by date. It has neat writing, just like a kid’s writing, and lots of cartoon drawings. It covers the school year and ends in the summer. Since Greg is just starting middle school, he is trying to fit in and be popular. He and his friend Rowley try to hang with the cool kids and talk to them, but they just ignore him and walk away. One time, right after Christmas, Greg and Rowley are playing with a scooter and Rowley breaks his arm. The popular girls make a big deal over Rowley’s broken arm and even though Greg was there he gets ignored like usual.
He also doesn’t get much help from the teachers because they embarrass him because they think he’s going be a troublemaker like his brother. But Greg is a good student and really good in class.
I think you should read this book because it has lot of funny parts that Greg and Rowley do together in their 6th grade year to fit in. It also shows that the best way to fit in to be yourself.
