The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me is a 79 page amusing book by Roald Dahl. It tells about an adventure Billy takes when he meets some unexpected friends. A giraffe, pelican, and monkey with special powers start a window washing business on Billy's street, and become friends. Their first job is to wash the 677 windows of the Hampshire House when they are the heroes of a robbery. The owner of the house, the Duke of Hampshire, cannot thank them enough and lets them spend the rest of their lives in his mansion and they lived happily ever after. :)

Matilda

Matilda is a 240 page enthralling book that tells about a little girl with extraordinary powers. Matilda was adopted into the Wormwood family, and was anything but the center of attention. All her parents cared about was money and TV, so Matilda was ignored especially when she was digging in to a high level book. Her talents were never regognized until she started school in Ms. Honey's class when Ms. Trunchbull as the insane Headmistress. Ms. Trunchbull is a true torcherer, so Matilda uses her powers to try to take her down. Does Matilda conquer "The Trunchbull" without being sent to the Chokie? Read this masterpiece by Roald Dahl to find out.

90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven is a 207 page novel that will keep you wanting to keep reading. Don Piper died in a car accident in January of 1989, but miraculously came back to life by prayer. This story tells about the crash, his hour-and-a-half trip to heaven, recovery, and finding the purpose God had for him when Don went to heaven. If one does not believe in Christ, this book will get them to believe not only in God, but how through Christ, anything is possible.

The Phantom Tollbooth

The 256 page thriller, The Phantom Tollbooth, tells about a boy who experiences the ultimate adventure. Milo has never been interested in anything, but one day, he came home from school expecting just another boring afternoon filled with nothing. That all changed when a box holding a majical tollbooth showed up in his room. This tollbooth took him on an adventure to a weird world, where he was set on a quest to restore peace to the world. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a weird novel filled with suspense and exitement.

Track and Swimming

So I know all I talk about on this blog is books, but now I will talk a little bit about me. Today I ran at the Junior Fresno Relays track meet. I was only running the last event, so I got there later. Sasha, Cierra, Cecelia, and I were on the 4 by 400 relay together, but Sasha, Cierra, and I had not seen Cecelia all week. When I got to the meet, I thought I would see Cecelia ready to run the race. It turns out that no one could find her anywhere, so we needed a substitute. Thankfully, Alexis was still there doing triple jump, so we asked her to run first. The order was Alexis, me, Sasha, and then Cierra as anchor. We were all ready and lined up about to take the track, and then Sasha vomited. I was so worried that we would have to find yet another sub. Sasha was really tough and said," I am just nervous. I'm fine." She ran the race, and did very well. Our team got 3rd, and we qualified for the Valley Championships!! Although a few obstacles popped up, we performed fantastically!! I am so proud of my teammates!!
As you might have guessed from my user name, I am a competitive swimmer. Last weekend, like I usually do once or twice a month, I competed in a swim meet out of town. This weekend, the meet was held in Bakersfield by the swim team there. On Saturday morning I hit the road with my Mom at seven o'clock to be there at nine for warm-ups. When were we half way there, I realized that I had absentmindedly forgotten my swim bag that had everything I needed for the day. My five towels, cap, and goggles were all sitting at home after I forgot to pack them into the car. Smart me.
We arrived in Bakersfield, and I just asked my friends for stuff to borrow. I had a cap, pair of goggles, and a towel, so I was set for the meet. Normally there is a warm-up warm-down pool separate from the competition pool to swim in before and after races to warm-up and warm-down, but the pump was broken in this one, so it was really cold and contaminated. We couldn't swim in it, so the races were stopped after each set of events for about two minutes when everyone quickly warmed-up or warmed-down.
The main goal in swimming is to improve on your time, or, in my case, qualify for the Junior Olympics. I am in the 11-12 age group, and the competition is tough. I swam four events, and had not qualified for JOs yet. My fifth event was 100 back, my best event. I was one second away from qualifying. After I hit the wall, adrenaline rushed through me as I looked at the score board to see my time. I had made it by one whole second!! This day, again, had a few obstacles, but I turned out good and I am going to JOs!!

The Giver

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is 180 pages about a community excluded from all normal life. No color, feelings, pain, or fear inhabits this community. Jonas was just another one of these people, but when he was chosen to receive all of the memories of Elsewhere when he turned 12, his life changed forever. Much pain, fear, and feeling are in these memories, and Jonas learns all that his community is missing out on. Gabriel, a little baby, is living with Jonas' family unit, and when he is about to be released, Jonas runs away to explore Elsewhere and takes Gabe with him. Do they make it to Elsewhere, or die trying? Read this weird, exciting, interesting thriller to find out.

Dragon Road

Dragon Road by Laurence Yep is 285 pages of a bumpy road called life. It was always Calvin of "Flash's" dream to play basketball with the big guys. When he gets his chance, he travels the west with the all Chinese team, the Dragons with Jack as the head coach. Bieng Chinese in this time also was an obstacle. Life wasn't always nice on the road, but it all worked out, and the team stuck together and rode the Dragon Road.

The Seer of Shadows (book review)

Do you believe in ghosts? Horace Carpentine didn't until he started to bring them to life in his photography in the 202 page The Seer of Shadows by Avi. Eleanora Von Macht passed away by torture from her parents, and has now come back to haunt them in New York City. Her living spirit becomes more vivid as Horace takes pictures in the Von Macht home and Eleanora's tomb. This science-fiction novel would appeal to children ages 9-12 who enjoy creepy and exciting novels.

I would definitely recommend this book to my fellow classmates. This book really kept me wanting to read on. Avi grabs the reader and keeps them intrigued with action. Avi tries to get the idea across that you should not do bad things because carma will catch up with you. Although I enjoyed it, at times the drama in the story covered up the main plot. For example, Horace at one point got very dramatic about a plan to carry out and I forgot what the plan was. Other than that, the novel had very few weak points.

This is a wonderful masterpiece by Avi. It was exciting, interesting, and kept me wanting to read on. I encourage my classmates to read The Seer of Shadows. I feel they will enjoy this sci-fy novel as much as I did.

Sea Glass

Sea Glass by Laurence Yep is a 248 page novel about a relationship between Craig and Dad and how they see the world differently. Craig and his mom and dad moved to Concepcion's Chinatown from San Francisco, and are an ordinary Chinese-American family. Craig is the new kid and is too Chinese at school, but too American for their home in Chinatown. His dad pushes Craig to be good at sports to be like the other kids and be a star like he was. Craig meets his old Uncle Quail and finds peace in Uncle's cove by the ocean at his home. Although Craig doesn't fit in at school, he makes one friend named Kenyon and she and Craig become friends. How will Craig cope with all that is going on? Read this wonderful book to find out.

The Tale of Depereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo is a 269 page story of a small mouse, troublesome rat, a princess-want-to-be and how their stories all come together in the castle of the Kingdom of Dor. Despereaux was born a small mouse and the only living one of his litter. He does not do what other mice do, and falls in love with a human princess which is against the mice law. He is sent to the dungeon by the Mouse Council, where he meets the rat, Roscuro. Miggery Sow, also known as Mig, has always wanted to be a princess and moves to the castle. She and Roscuro take the Princess Pea to the dungeon so Mig can be princess when Despereaux saves his true love, the princess, from being stuck in the dungeon forever. This book is quite complicated to explain, but I recommend it to anyone.

My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is 177 pages of an adventure that Sam takes in the Catskills. He ran away from a home with 8 brothers and sisters, and lived in an old tree that was what he called home. Along the way, he meets and somewhat saves a falcon that becomes his companion and hunter for food. This book is about his experience in the mountains that was his home for a few years of his life.