Tag archives for School
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The mighty Zambezi was calling our name so we ventured up river to see The Falls from a different perspective. Our tented camp was right on the edge of the river. We spent our days listening to the one million liters of water thundering each second and watching the smoke it created hover over our heads.
One afternoon we went into town and visited a school. It is hard to imagine 60 students in one class with just one teacher, but in Africa there are often larger classes. Even though the school was built of four simple walls, all the kids were happy and learning. We wanted to do our part to help so we went to the school supply store and bought tons of paint sets, pencils, colored pencils, exercise books, erasers, and glue sticks. They all seemed so incredibly happy about our small contribution.
While we were in town we also went to the craft market. At every stop in Africa we have seen extraordinary crafts, but in Zambia the collection of artists and crafts was outstanding. To our right there were vibrant fabrics, to our left there were intricately woven baskets, and in front of us were wildlife oil paintings so real you thought the animals might hop off the canvas and bite (and of course my mom fell in love with one).
Aubrey’s mom with an artist.
The patterns and colors of the fabrics are so beautifully African. The women use the fabric for everything; for their skirts, for their bags, and for their baby holders. Something else I noticed as we wandered through the shops is their creativity and the fact that nothing goes to waste. We saw people playing checkers with some rusty bottle tops in the sand. We also saw people taking old pieces of plastic and weaving them into bags and dresses.
Women carrying jugs and bundles.
Our final night in Livingstone was really special. We went out for an evening boat cruise. The sunset that night was stunning. The sky turned a fiery orange and the reflection in the turquoise water made it even better. Then to top off a perfect night we saw a herd of elephant (instant smile) at the water’s edge. They were admiring the awe-inspiring night just like we were. The Smoke that Thunders wowed us and will always be remembered, but the time had come to move on, so we are off to Malawi, the warm heart of Africa.
A colorful sunset.
Posted by 
Hi, I’m Lucy Gammon, 13-year-old NG Kids reporter, and on Monday I got the chance to visit the Vice President’s residence for a reception honoring the National and State Teachers of the Year. Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, an educator herself, welcomed all the teachers to her house and talked about how important teachers are in the world.
Jeff Carbonneau, the 2013 National Teacher of the Year. Photograph by Anna Irwin
I got the chance to talk to the 2013 National Teacher of Year, Jeff Carbonneau, a high school teacher from Washington state. Jeff told me he was planning to be a vet, but took a tutoring job and “was hooked” on teaching. So he switched his major and became a teacher. He teaches science and engineering classes.
He also enjoys the outdoors. I decided to ask him what animal he would be if he could be any animal in the world. He said he would be a giraffe, because giraffes are able to look over everything and see things in a different perspective.
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BOOK NAME: The Secret School
AUTHOR: Avi
Ida Bidson is devastated when she hears that her teacher, Miss Fletcher, must travel to take care of her sick mother, and therefore her one-room school is closing. Since it is almost the end of the school year, Mr. Jordan, the mean head of the school board, decides to save money and refuses to hire another teacher to substitute. This ends all of Ida’s dreams of taking her exit exams, and maybe going to high school! But wait… could there be a solution?
Tom Kohl, Ida’s best friend who is in eighth grade with her, tells her that he thinks she should be the teacher. At first, Ida is quick to decline the idea. But as she thinks more about it, she starts to convince herself that maybe, just maybe, she could be the teacher! After all, that is what she wants to do in life! So after voting with the class, Ida Bidson, who is only 14 years old, becomes the teacher. Yet the kids know that if they tell the school board, Ida will not be allowed to be the teacher, so they make it a secret school. At first, Ida has some troubles. It’s not easy to teach seven children in one room, especially if the kids are from first to eighth grade! Yet soon enough, Ida begins to get
used to playing the role of “Miss Bidson”, and is a great teacher.
One day, the school board finds out about the secret school. Will they close the school down? Or will Ida speak up and find a way to allow the school to continue?
I really enjoyed this book. Although it is an easy reader, I would recommend it to anyone. The book is great for ages eight and up. The characters are well developed, and sometimes the suspense of the story is unbearable!
BOOK NAME: Calli Be Gold
AUTHOR: Michele Weber Hurwitz
Calli Gold is the youngest in a family of overachievers. Her sister is an ice skater and her brother
is a basketball champion. The family calendar has different colored Post-it notes on it; one color
for every member of the family. The one who has the least Post-it notes is Calli. She doesn’t
have ice skating practices or basketball games. As a matter of fact, she doesn’t have a specific
talent. Calli’s parents keep tossing her into different activities, hoping that one day she will
find her life’s dream. But Calli thinks she’s fine just the way she is! Yet that’s not enough in her
family. “Be Gold” is the family motto, and if you’re not an expert at something, it’s almost like
you’re not part of the family.
When Calli’s teacher informs the class that they will begin a “Peer Helper Program” with the
second grade, Calli is paired with a boy named Noah Zullo. At first, Noah seems impossible to
be with. But something about him makes Calli not give up, and try her best to be patient with
him. Sure, he may be strange, but that doesn’t stop Calli from working with him.
Can Calli work with Noah, and find her talent at the same time?
I really enjoyed this book. Although many books have the same basic story line, the author uses
many details that make it different and exciting. I definitely recommend this book to anyone
ages 8 and up.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Stuck on Earth
AUTHOR: David Klass
Stuck on Earth is about an alien that gets the mission of coming to Earth to study human
beings and and decide whether or not they should be exterminated. To do this, the alien
takes over the body of a 14-year-old boy named Tom, who is such a misfit at this school
that he already has the nickname “Alien.”
The alien becomes confused by the random acts of hatred that humans constantly do
to each other like bullying at school, teasing of siblings, and warfare. However, the alien
becomes intrigued by the humans’ strange talents, like the ability to make money.
The alien believes Earth is a beautiful planet compared to the others, but is upset that
humans aren’t treating it right. He finds out that a company is dumping waste into a river
where an endangered species of fish lives, and he is determined to put an end to the
pollution.
What makes this book hilarious is the little things that we take for granted that the alien is
confused by, like reality TV shows and junk food. It was also funny how he describes those
things and the way he speaks to others. For example, when he takes over Tom’s body, he
starts talking with an advanced vocabulary that most people wouldn’t use, like referring to
everyone else as a “homosapien” all the time.
I highly recommend that you read this book because not only is it funny, it will help you see
and think about the world in a new way.
BOOK NAME: Beacon Street Girls: Worst Enemies/Best Friends
AUTHOR: Annie Bryant
Try being a girl who has lived in Australia, Africa, and Paris, and is now moving to Brookline. Try having no friends. Try accidentally zipping the tablecloth from the lunch table in your pants on the first day of school, and humiliating yourself in front of the entire cafeteria! You would not want to be Charlotte Ramsey.
Charlotte has just moved. She is going into seventh grade, and she doesn’t know anyone. On the first day of school, her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez, assigns lunch groups. Charlotte is put with three girls; Maeve, Katani, and Avery. Lunch doesn’t go too well. The girls don’t get along. Things only get worse when Charlotte zips the tablecloth into her pants and walks off, drenching the girls in milk and French toast!
Katani tells their teacher that the lunch group is not working out. They finally settle on an agreement: the four girls will have a sleepover. After that, if they still don’t get along, they can switch lunch groups. The sleepover turns out surprisingly well, and Charlotte starts thinking that, just maybe, she has found new friends. But then Charlotte tells a big lie, and her friends find out the truth. Will Maeve, Katani, Avery, and Charlotte ever be friends again?
I really loved this book! I can relate to a lot of the troubles that the characters have (though I can’t relate to zipping a tablecloth in your pants!). The book is extremely well written, and makes you feel like you are in the story, experiencing the troubles of friendship and moving, and the excitement of finding new friends.
BOOK NAME: Mason Dixon: Basketball Disasters
AUTHOR: Claudia Mills
This book is about a fourth-grader named Mason Dixon who never wants to try anything new, and
describes himself as someone who “isn’t really a sports type of person.” It sounds like the only time he
tries something new is when his best friend Brody talks him into doing it.
Well, this time Brody talks Mason into playing basketball. You would think that since Mason is tall, that
would be easy, but he has no basketball skills of any kind, or at least he keeps telling himself that. The
thing is, Brody is the complete opposite, trying everything he can.
Overall, I didn’t exactly like this book because it keeps switching between basketball and what Mason
is learning about in school, as if all readers care about his fourth-grade social studies class. It also talks
too much about the old lady who lives next door to Mason and how she hates dogs. The book’s title and
cover would make you think it’s all about basketball, but it is only around 60 percent about the sport.
Depending on your age, you might think this book is better than I do. I’m in sixth grade and I found it off
topic at times, but it actually might be much more interesting to fourth graders or younger readers. My
favorite parts of the book were when it was about Mason and Brody playing basketball.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Every You, Every Me
AUTHOR: David Leviathan
Evan is wracked with guilt. He feels responsible for the disappearance of his friend Ariel and as a result, is engulfed by waves of depression and regret almost everyday. Everything changes when Evan is walking to school one morning and discovers an envelope with a photo inside. The photo shows nothing but the exact spot he is standing on! Soon afterwards, more envelopes begin to appear with more photos of him, his friends, and even the private places where he would hang out with his friends! Evan soon begins to grow suspicious and paranoid and begins to ponder what the photos could mean. Has Ariel returned and is haunting him with photos to remind him of his actions? Or could it be someone else who’s been close with Ariel before? As Evan conducts his own investigation to reveal the truth behind the photos, he must find the photographer before he is completely trapped within the walls of lies, conspiracy, and unreality that threaten to tear him apart. Read Every You, Every Me to find out what happens to Evan as he combats the ever-growing darkness clutching at his heart!
Every You, Every Me by David Levithan was a decent book. On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 7.5. I think it’s unique that the author employed the photographic novel concept in his story, but the story also lacks crucial elements. For one thing, the author fails to begin to draw in the reader’s attention in the beginning/middle sections of the story and only succeeds in doing this by the near end of the book. The story was also a bit enigmatic and secretive for most of the time, as readers can’t really understand what happened to Evan’s friend Ariel during the course of the story.
However, I enjoyed the end, when the the story reaches its climactic point. The author excellently came in strong by generating suspense that would make readers be at the edge of their seats. The main character is well depicted in the story and readers get to comprehend Evan’s inner feelings throughout much of the text (even the “crossed-out” ones). For example, Evan will recall random moments with Ariel such as their eccentric, philosophical conversations and their romantic dates. This book was neat in its own way and it was the first time I had the opportunity to acquire a glimpse of a photographic novel. The plot of the book also resembled that of an epic drama.
Posted by BOOK NAME: I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You
AUTHOR: Ally Carter
If you like books with lots of action, adventure, and most of all, girl power, then
you will love, I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.
This novel rolls spies, romance, and friendship all together to create a story about
young women who have some very surprising talents.
15 year old Cammie Morgan is a sophmore at the Gallagher Academy for
Exceptional Young Women. From the outside, the school appears to be a just
another snooty, private school for rich, stuck up girls, but if you dodge all of
the lasers, sneak past the armed guards and don’t get caught on any of the 50
security cameras that surround the campus, you will discover that the Gallagher
Academy is actually a school for spies. Instead of learning basics about cells and
atoms in science class, Cammie and her friends are taught the latest in chemical
warfare. Instead of just having to learn one language, they have to be fluent in
fourteen, and instead of doing dodge ball or capture the flag in P.E., they learn
how to kill a man seven different ways with their bare hands. However, when
Cammie meets an ordinary boy who doesn’t know she’s a spy, she has no idea
how to express her true feelings about him without revealing her secret identity.
Sure, she may be able to crack CIA codes, take out someone twice her size, and
save the world from ruthless dictators, but can she handle a relationship with a
normal guy who can never know who she really is?
I loved this book and would definitely recommend giving it a chance. It’s a really
fun read with lots of suspense and drama but also with humor as well. Although
some boys might like it, it’s aimed towards a female audience and I think girls will
probably enjoy it more. So, if you want a humorous read full of action, romance,
and espionage, then I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You is
definitely for you.
BOOK NAME: The Meanest Doll in the World
AUTHORS: Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin
Annabelle Doll, Tiffany Funcraft, and the rest of their families are dolls with secret lives. When the Palmer family, the people that own them, are asleep or away, the dolls move around and visit each other’s houses.
One day, as Annabelle and Tiffany are on their way back from an exploration in the attic, they suddenly hear the Palmers coming home. Caught on the spot, with no idea what to do next, Tiffany and Annabelle see one of the human’s backpacks, and hide in there. They stay there for the night, but in the morning, they find themselves in a place no live doll would ever dare go to: SCHOOL. They realize that they will be stuck there until the Palmer’s daughter finishes school. Tiffany decides to tour the building. Although Annabelle is a little hesitant at first, she agrees to tag along.
Oh no! The kids start getting out of class, so Annabelle and Tiffany jump into a backpack that they think is the right one. Very quickly, though, they realize that they are not in the Palmer’s house. They learn that in this new home, the dolls are alive as well, and there is one doll, named Mimi, that thinks she rules over all dollkind. When Annabelle and Tiffany are able to decrease Mimi’s power, they jump into the backpack they came in, and hope that when they get to school, they will find the right backpack and get back to the Palmer’s house. Little do they know that Mimi wants revenge on them, so she follows them all the way home. What will the dolls do about Mimi in their home? How will they catch her? How will they stay safe?
I really loved this book! It provides you with a look on the human world from a different perspective. When I read the book, I felt as though I was a doll with a secret life as well, going on all the adventures. I would recommend this book to anyone ages 9 and up.
Sylvia Mendez never imagined that she would be forbidden to attend Westminster Elementary School because of her Mexican ancestry. Aki Munemitsu never imagined that she would be forced to go to an internment camp because of her Japanese ancestry. And most of all, both girls never imagined that their worlds would one day collide.
In this book, which is based on a true story, Sylvia and Aki both face different challenges during World War II. Sylvia’s family moves to an asparagus farm that they are renting. Sylvia’s father, Mr. Mendez, wants her and her brothers to attend the closest school to where they live, Westminster Elementary School. Yet he is told that because his children are of Mexican descent, they must enroll at Hoover Mexican School, quite a distance from where they live. Aki Munemitsu lives on an asparagus farm and attends Westminster Elementary school. But when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Aki and her family are forced to go to an internment camp and abandon their farm. That’s when the Mendez family rents the farm.
One day, when Sylvia accompanies her father to the internment camp to deliver the rent payment to the Munemitsu family, she meets Aki and sees how terrible life is for the Japanese-American people. The girls become friends, and send letters to each other. At the same time, Mr. Mendez goes to court against Westminster Elementary School for its segregation against Mexican-American children. Will he convince the court that segregation in schools is wrong?
This is a great book! Many kids look at a book and say, “If it’s history, then I’m not reading it.” Yet although this book is based on history, it is amazing. I would recommend it to anyone ages nine and up. Sylvia and Aki taught me so much about the history of our country and of the injustices that went on during World War II.
BOOK NAME: Boom!
AUTHOR: Mark Haddon
This is the first eBook I have ever read, and I have got to say, it makes reading a lot easier. I read it on a Pandigital Reader that I received for Christmas. What’s great about it is you can annotate, quickly do Google searches of words in the book, look up the meaning of words, highlight, and even put in multiple bookmarks. The eReader also is lighter than most books, and it can still hold way more than just one book. I highly recommend that you get some type of eReader.
Boom! begins as a realistic fiction story told by a kid named Jimbo and his overconfident, but genius friend, Charlie. His teenage sister has a redneck boyfriend nicknamed Craterface, for obvious reasons. One day, Jimbo and Charlie decide to listen to what the teachers are saying at a staff meeting at school. After the meeting, they hear two of the teachers speaking a language even the police couldn’t decode.
Everything realistic stops here. I am afraid that I can’t tell you anymore without giving away what’s so fun about this book.
I will say that my favorite character in this book is Charlie. He kind of reminds me of Ferris Bueller. (If you haven’t seen that movie yet, I strongly recommend it.) They are both overconfident and always seem to have a plan for everything.
BOOK NAME: Rumors From the Boys’ Room: A Blogtastic! Novel
AUTHOR: Rose Cooper
You may have read my previous review on Gossip From the Girls’ Room. Now, I am so excited to review its sequel, Rumors from the Boys’ Room!
In this book, Sofia Becker is back! She is the blogger of a school blog, but no one knows that the blogger is her. She and her best friend Nona have the same dream that one day, after Sofia’s blog becomes popular, they will be cool. Sofia’s got a new spying place: the outside of the boys’ bathroom.
On one of her spying missions, Sofia hears two teachers talking about a foreign exchange student coming to the school. She immediately listens in, and blogs whatever she knows.
Also during this time, Sofia’s mother is pregnant with what they call “The Peanut.” Sofia won’t admit it, but she’s very excited to know what gender the baby is! Sadly, she won’t know until it’s born, because her mother has decided that she wants to be surprised.
Through the whole book, Sofia goes on different adventures and spy missions to find out information. At the end of the book, Sofia discovers many things, including the gender of the newest addition to her family!
I really loved this book! The characters are very well developed, and kids can relate to the situations in it. It’s full of surprises and laughs! I totally recommend Rumors from the Boys’ Room!
BOOK NAME: The View from Saturday
AUTHOR: E.L. Konigsburg
The View from Saturday is a book that tells of four brilliant sixth graders in New York–Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian-who get to know each other better at weekly Saturday tea parties organized by Julian, a boy from England. While they meet, they decide to call themselves, “The Souls.” Soon after, they are all elected to represent their school at the Academic Bowl, which is like a spelling bee but they ask questions of trivia, math and about every subject you can think of.. Their team ends up beating all the other 6th grade teams and eventually all the 7th and 8th grade teams too to become state champions.
What I really liked about the book was how each of the four main characters told a different part of the story from their own perspective. It was interesting to read what each character was thinking as the story unfolded, while each one revealed more about the story. The author really made you feel you like you knew each of the main characters and after reading all four of their versions it all comes together in the end.
I would rate this book as having “the most voice” of any I’ve ever read.
Posted by September is the month when lots of kids go back to school, and so we’ve been posting a ton of reviews of books about school. Our bloggers relate to a lot of these stories as they begin a brand-new school year in a new grade.
What’s your favorite book about school?
BOOK NAME: Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
AUTHORS: James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts
Rafe Katchadorian was an ordinary boy. Yet after this book, he was no longer ordinary.
Rafe started Hills Village Middle School. As many of you can imagine (especially those who just entered middle school like me), he wasn’t too excited. To him middle school was the start of three years of prison. At the assembly on the first day of school, everyone had to follow along as the principal read the handbook. Rafe’s imaginary friend, Leo, gave him the idea to try to break all the rules in the handbook. He started with the first one, pulling the fire alarm.
You’ve probably guessed by now that things only went downhill from there. This rule breaking game started having a points system, and Rafe tried to get as many points as possible. That fired up Miller the killer, the school’s biggest bully. Miller thought that Rafe was trying to prove to be the worst boy in the school.
Throughout the book, you’ll join Rafe on his adventures through school, family, and even girls! And at the end of the book, you’ll discover that Leo may not have been just an imaginary friend after all.
I really loved this book. Rarely do books make me laugh, yet this one had me cracking up on almost every page! One of my favorite parts was the illustrations. They look like real doodles in a notebook. My other favorite part was the surprising ending. But I’m not going to tell you that part….. you’ve just got to read the book…..
BOOK NAME: Julie Story Collection
AUTHOR: Megan McDonald
In this collection of six stories, Julie Albright, a nine year old girl, must face the difficulties of her new life after her parents’ divorce. She has to move to a new home with her mom, and only gets to see her dad on the weekends. She has to switch schools, and she’s pulled away from living across the street from her BFF, Ivy. And if none of this was bad enough, her parents don’t really seem to understand the pain.
But slowly Julie learns that the best way to deal with change is by making some changes of her own. She makes a petition which convinces the school to let her play on the boys’ basketball team. Her family (yes, both mom and dad!) participates in Ivy’s family’s Chinese new year celebration. She’s even the first fifth grader to run for student government president. It takes some time, but Julie makes some great friends at her new school, and soon gets used to her new life.
Read about Julie’s good times and hard times in the Julie Story Collection.
My favorite character in the book is Julie. She works so hard to make changes, and I think that her persistence is a true example. I also like Ivy, because I love to see all her Chinese customs. They are so different from our customs! I really loved them!
We have been planning for our trip around the world for several months and now I am super excited it is finally happening. The first stop was Singapore where we visited my friend from Santa Barbara, Sophia, who just moved there with her family.
Sophia goes to Singapore American School, and lives in a high-rise resort with a swimming pool, a gym and lots of other kids. Singapore is a big city that feels like America but it is a steamy and tropical place at the end of the Malaysian Peninsula in the South China Sea.
We went to an awesome water park and a place called Sentosa where we went zip lining and on a luge.
They were all extraordinarily fun. While we were at Sentosa, we went to Candy World, with a huge candy tree outside the store. It was overwhelming there was so much candy. Yum!
One night Sophia’s mom took us to a fish spa where there were little fish that ate the dead skin off our feet and made them nice and soft. We also went to a great Indian restaurant where we got to make Naan bread with the chef. It was delicious!
SINGAPORE IS AWESOME!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
AUTHOR: Rachel Renee Russell
Dork Diaries is a charming book that accounts the story of a “dork” trying to survive middle school, which just about anyone in middle school (like me) can appreciate. It recognizes the very hard lives of tweens everywhere. No character type is overlooked in this book: mean popular girls, embarrassing parents, annoying little sisters, dorky best friends, and let’s not forget those heart -throbbing crushes.
I first heard of this book because it was a nominee for Favorite Book Series for the Kids Choice Awards. Since I was running out of book ideas, I gave it a try. Looking at the cover and format I initially thought I was holding a bad version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But it actually turned out to be an amazing book that was very unique from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Since the main character of this book, Nikki Maxwell, is female, the target audience is mostly girls. But I think guys should read it too! I fell in love with Nikki and I could relate a lot to what she said. It is a real page turner that will have you charmed and waiting for the next one. I love the adorable drawings that they since the really help you visualize the story a lot better. I read at the end of the book that the author has daughters that help her with the pictures and story, so no wonder it is so good! I like the idea that the story is coming from real tween dorks! After reading these books, I hope you will enjoy being a dork too.
BOOK NAME: Gossip From the Girls’ Room: A Blogtastic! Novel
AUTHOR: Rose Cooper
Sophia Becker knows that one day, she and her best friend, Nona Bows, will be ultra-cool. They will be right at the top with Mia St. Claire and the other cool kids. But the only thing that’s keeping her from that is her position as a blogger for one of the school blogs. She is the secret “blogstastic blogger”, but if people knew it was her, she would be so cool, probably even cooler than Mia St. Claire!
Sophia lives her life blogging about events that happen in the girls’ room. Sometimes she uses real names, but sometimes just initials. She blogs about people’s embarrassing moments, crushes, and other stuff.
People start to suspect Sophia of being the “blogtastic blogger”. After all, she is the only person who is never blogged about! But while Sophia is trying to protect her identity, she never stops blogging the gossip from the girls’ room…
I really enjoyed reading this book. I love these kinds of stories about people who like to write, because as you can see, I also love writing. Something I disliked about the book was that it was all Sophia’s writing. I feel it’s a little too much, and maybe the author should have put in parts about things that happen to Sophia, not let her write about it all. Overall, though, I think the book is worth reading. It’s totally BLOGTASTIC!
BOOK NAME: Adam Canfield: The Last Reporter
AUTHOR: Michael Winerip
This book is one in a series about a student newspaper called the Slash and its coeditor, Adam Canfield. The newspaper used to be paid for by Harris Elementary/Middle School, where Adam goes to school. But the school stopped paying for it when the paper wrote a story that offended a big company called The Bolands and the company took the paper to court and forced the school to stop paying for it. Now the paper is paid for by the school’s students, mainly Adam and his coeditor and girlfriend, Jennifer.
What I really like about this book is that there are countless problems solved and stories written by the newspaper’s staff. There’s issues with finding the money to keep the newspaper running. There’s the Ameche brothers who are good at making money for the paper by selling ads but they don’t understand anything about newspapers so they get into trouble by offering to sell stories to businesses. There’s problems with the state test scores. There’s a school election where a candidate promises to give 100 free iTunes songs to every person who votes for him. Adam’s bike also gets stolen and then he has troubles with his girlfriend. There’s a lot going on in this book.
I like this book because there’s more going on in it than any other book that I’ve read. It is hard to stop reading.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Liar, Liar
AUTHOR: Gary Paulsen
What’s up my readers? How are you all doing? I know I’m good. Today I get the honor to tell you about Gary Paulsen’s book, Liar, Liar. As you know, I love Gary Paulsen and this just adds to his long list of great books. I really enjoyed it and hope you enjoy this review.
This time, Paulsen came up with a great book for kids between ages 10 and 13. Liar, Liar is about a boy named Kevin who is great at telling lies and he uses his gift for bad things. It all started when Mr. Crosby assigned him a project. This project was to be done with assigned partners and Kevin got the worst partner, Katie. He didn’t want to work with her so he told her that he had some crazy disease and it would be mean to make her work with him.
In his mind, he is a really good liar. But what happens throughout the book is that his lies become bigger and bigger until he is in a very tough situation. All of a sudden he has made all of these lies to all of these different people and has a lot of explaining to do.
Most of his lying is because of this girl in his school named Tina, who he has a crush on. He makes up excuses and lies to get out of class so he can see her. And when he is finally with Tina it doesn’t look too good because of all of his lies that he told.
I think that if you liked Mudshark by Gary Paulsen then you will love Liar, Liar. They’re both great comedies.
Well guys, that is all that I’m going to tell you. See ya!
BOOK NAME: Nothing But the Truth
AUTHOR: Avi
I had to read this book for school. Even though I had to read it for an assignment, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Sometimes reading for homework isn’t that bad, because you can end up reading some amazing books.
We already know that telling a lie is never good, but in this story we see that a lie can quickly escalate as more and more lies are added on to cover for the first one. Philip Malloy is in 9th grade and he dislikes his English teacher, Miss Narwin. Because of this, he purposely tries to do things to get on her nerves. As part of the daily morning activates at his high school, the national anthem is played. One day, Philip started humming along while it was being played. Despite warnings, he did this two more times during that same week, and ultimately was kicked out of the classroom and suspended from school.
Philip claims that this was an act of patriotism, but he’s really not a very big patriot in the first place. But many people jump on his bandwagon which leads to a series of events that result in some unfortunate consequences for almost everyone involved. It would seem that no one wins this battle.
Nothing But the Truth is a very intriguing book in that you’ll find yourself asking what is a lie and what is the truth? Sometimes it falls somewhere in between. I like the documentary style of this book’s writing because I found it easy to follow. It was also a great way to lay out the different viewpoints of the characters.
I would recommend this book for middle schoolers as I think they would find the subject matter the most interesting. This story will really make you stop and think and realize that there is always more than one side to a story, and that there can be some dire consequences to telling a lie.
BOOK NAME: The Girl Who Could Fly
AUTHOR: Victoria Forester
Piper McCloud lived on a farm in Lowland Country. Nothing was out of the ordinary there. Yet Piper, she was out of the ordinary. She could… fly. Her parents, Betty and Joe, kept Piper private in their home. But one day, when they finally let her out, Piper revealed her flying ability in public. Suddenly, reporters started surrounding their home, wanting to know about the girl who could fly!
Then, a black helicopter landed on their property. The McClouds found out that this helicopter came from a secret facility, called I.N.S.A.N.E., that helped kids with extraordinary abilities. Betty and Joe ended up agreeing to send Piper to the facility.
At the facility, Piper met many kids with weird abilities like hers, like Lily, who was telekinetic, Violet, who was able to shrink, Conrad, who was some sort of freaky genius, and so many more. Soon, though, Piper found out that the facility was dangerous for her, and the rest of the children. But was it to late to do anything now?
I loved this book! The part I most enjoyed reading was about each child and their special ability. If I was most similar to one character, it would be Piper. In the book, Piper is always trying hard, and is so persistent, which is something I mostly try my best to be like. This book would really be one of the most interesting books I ever read, so thanks to the people who suggested that I read it!
BOOK NAME: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
AUTHOR: Tom Angleberger
Hi guys, I’m back. I read a book that was just hysterical: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I think that you guys are going to like this book.
This book is about a kid named Dwight who is the strangest kid ever. He made this origami Yoda and he puts it on his finger and walks around school like that. Origami Yoda starts to give advice to people about their personal problems. Dwight puts Origami Yoda up to his ear and Yoda “whispers” the advice and then Dwight says the advice in a Yoda accent.
Tommy is the main character in the book and he wants to get to the bottom of this, so he starts a file and asks people who got advice from Origami Yoda to write a paper to add to his file. The whole book you are reading are the papers from Tommy’s file. It is very interesting.
One of the stories in the file is about Tommy’s best friend who doesn’t believe in Origami Yoda so he makes another Origami Yoda. Dwight’s Yoda says that there will be a battle of the Origami Yodas. You are going to have to read the book to find out what happens next but I guarantee you that you are going to be surprised at what happens next.
Thanks for reading my review I hope that you enjoyed it. I know I did. Thanks again, and bye! See you next time!
