Tag archives for Vacation
Posted by BOOK NAME: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
AUTHOR: Jeanne Birdsall
While reading The Penderwicks, I was wishing I could be as lucky as these girls in the book. Four sisters get to spend their summer vacation at a new rental cottage that turns out to be a large estate called Arundel. It is home to many amazing and strange finds. While living there, they meet a boy named Jeffery Tifton who is the son of the owners. He becomes their friend and guide. They also have a cook who makes the best gingerbread in the state of Massachusetts and a house with an attic full of treasures. Finding these treasures provides endless entertainment and fights any days of boredom for the Penderwicks and their new friend.
But all is not rosy at Arundel. Mrs Tifton has a keen sense of knowing when trouble is going on and she thinks that all children should be in military school ASAP. She is not a lady to mess with! When the girls find out about Jeffery’s miserable military school future, they are determined to make this the best summer ever because it may be his last. Where the Penderwick sisters will get themselves they don’t know, but you can be sure they bring trouble with them.
This is a very carefree book that captures the simple things in life that give us many fond memories. My favorite character was the youngest daughter, Batty, who wears fake butterfly wings almost all the time. When I read this book I especially loved the special bond between the sisters despite all their differences. I can’t wait to read their next adventure!
BOOK NAME: All the Lovely Bad Ones
AUTHOR: Mary Downing Hahn
Have you ever taken a trip and stayed at a place that was kind of creepy? Well guess what, the Fox Hill Inn is that kind of place! You know the type of place I’m talking about; the one with a run down look, creaky doors, windows that can’t open, big chandeliers, and strange noises. Nothing says “welcome home” like a mysterious figure in the courtyard!
The welcoming group is actually a team of paranormal investigators trying to find the source of all this strangeness. I guess it’s just dumb luck that Corey and Travis get to join them by spending their summer at this inn run by their grandma. They are there because their parents are gone for the summer. Corey and Travis started the summer at camp, but got kicked out for playing hooky and starting food fights. They weren’t that close with their grandma and she didn’t seem like your typical cookie-baking type. She was friendly enough though, and allowed them to explore the inn.
The brother and sister are pranksters and like to scare the guests by doing things such as banging on windows and doors. But things get really interesting when suddenly it’s not them making the strange noises. Apparently they’ve managed to arouse some unwanted guests, the resident ghosts! As you can imagine, their summer vacation goes down hill from there. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it turns out that Corey and Travis are pretty good at solving mysteries. So give it a read–if you dare!
Posted by BOOK NAME: The Mystery at Disney World
AUTHOR: Carole Marsh
Christina, Grant, and their grandparents were getting ready for their first day at Disney World. Just as they were ready to leave for the park, they were greeted by Mick and Crystal, who were going to give them a personal tour. When they got to the park, the kids and grandparents parted. Mick and Crystal would be giving Christina and Grant a tour, and their father would be giving the grandparents a tour. To keep in touch with their grandparents, Christina and Grant were given walkie-talkies. “Stay on channel twelve,” their grandmother said. “That way you can stay in touch with us.” Grant then decided to change the channel to thirteen. “Then we won’t bother them with our talking,” he said. Christina agreed.
But it wasn’t such a good choice. Christina started getting weird messages on her walkie-talkie. As they went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Grant disappeared! When they got off the Haunted Mansion ride, Crystal disappeared! And as they exited Mickey’s house, Mick disappeared, too! Now Christina was left to find them all before the fireworks at 8:30!
The Mystery at Disney World is a great book. It’s appropriate reading for all ages. Carole Marsh used real places and real people which make it seem so… real! This was the third time I read the book, yet I never get tired of it. Every time I read it, I can never put it down. For people who have been to Disney World, like me, reading this book is so cool because you know exactly what places they’re talking about. And if you haven’t been to Disney World, I think you’ll know the next place you want to go for vacation.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Nature Girl
AUTHOR: Jane Kelley
Being stuck in Vermont with no internet, cell phones, best friends, or TV was NOT on Megan’s summer to-do list, but it was on her parents’. Megan leaves home with her family to go to Vermont, only to find that her days will revolve around hiking, watching her sister and her boyfriend flirt, and drawing for hours upon end.
Megan isn’t so sure she will survive this vacation, especially when she gets lost on the Appalachian Trail. Once lost, she has a choice; she can wait for help or hike the whole trail to prove to everyone she can survive.
I think the author created a typical family in this book and the characters were so predictable. Although I did like the book, it wasn’t good enough to read again. In the book, Jane Kelley kind of re-created and modernized My Side of the Mountain, using a girl instead of a young boy.
In this book, Megan learned a lesson about not giving up and being brave. When she got lost in the woods, I thought that maybe she’d come to love nature and the woods. It seems like Megan just learned her lesson and the Appalachian Trail was used to make her lesson more interesting. Megan DID learn and understand her wrong doings in the end, but it was rough getting there.
This book is recommended for girls ages 9 to 12. It didn’t have any crude language or anything frightening in it. Nature Girl is a calm, humorous book with a few illustrations drawn by the character, Megan, on her journey through the Appalachian Trail.
