LIST OF REVIEWS:
LIST OF REVIEWS:
All Creatures Great and Small
The BFG
The Cat in the Hat
Ella Enchanted
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Giver
Lady Bugatti
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Music of the Dolphins
The Stone Fox
Weasel
The Giver by Lois Lowry (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993,
180 pages. I would have to say that The Giver is the most
excellent book I have ever read. It's amazingly well written,
has a phenomenal story-line and over all it's just a fantastically
superb piece of writing.
The Giver is about a boy named Jonas. He lives in what could
be called a perfect community. But there is no true feeling. No
love, no hate, no happiness, no fear, no joy, no anger, no anything.
Jonas trains to be the Receiver of Memories and learns the
misfortune of his community. What he does about it is up to you
to find out.
I believe the book makes statements in many areas, some hazier
than others. I think communism is a big one though.
I found the book nearly impossible to put down and I highly
recommend it to anyone, 5th grade to adult.
by Tyler P
Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine (Harper Collins
Children's Books, 1997, 232 pages). This book is about a girl
named Ella, and when she was a newborn baby this small fairy put
a spell on Ella to make her obedient, and never disobey anyone.
She also had her ownfairy whose name was Lucinda. She was very,
very nice.
Ella didn't know she had a fairy, because she was just a baby
when the spell was caste. Ella could only listen to direct orders.
If someone said a wish or request it had no effect to her. She
wouldn't have to obey.
When Ella grew older she learned a song, and her mother said she
should sing the song whenever she would wake, so she did, and
she liked it. Her mother said she used to sing that song when
she was a kid.
Whenever Ella's family and she went to a restaurant, right before
they walked through the door their mother commanded them that
they should act like little ANGELS, and Ella had to, but of course,
her siblings were terrible.
Ella has a best friend, and
her mother says that she has to end her friendship with because
they are the exact opposites and Ella is very mad, but she was
ordered to break their friendship apart, so she had to. She was
very, very disappointed, but she got over it. She met new friends
and lived happily, enough, but that's not where the story ends.
To find out what happens in the end of the book, read it!
by Christi B.
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss (Random House,1957, 61pages).
This book is about two kids who were bored. The cat in the Hat
showed up to play with them. He balanced a cup on his hat. He
balanced an umbrella on his finger, and a fish bowl on the umbrella,
too. A book was on his other finger and he was standing on a ball.
I thought this book was great but this book is a little bit hard
for me.
By Britny B
Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl (Alfred A. Knopf, 1970,
90 pages). This is a book about a fantastic fox, named Mr.Fox,
who is enemies with three farmers named Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.
Boggis is a chicken farmer. Bunce is a duck and goose farmer.
Bean is a turkey and apple farmer. But he just drinks cider. The
kids hate them. On a hill above the valley there was a wood (a
forest). In the wood there was a huge tree. Under the tree there
was a hole. In the hole lived Mr. Fox and Mrs Fox and their four
small foxes. Boggis Buncen and Bean want to kill Mr. Fox because
he steals food.
I liked Fantastic Mr. Fox because it was funny. 
by Josh D
The BFGThe BFG by Roald Dahl ( Scholastic Inc. 1982, 208 pgs).
This book is about a little girl called Sophie who sees a giant,
The BFG. At one part of the book the giant reaches into Sophie's
window and takes her away to the mountains where the BFG hides.
Sophie is scared at the begining of the story, but towards the
end Sophie understands what the BFG does and that the giant is
not a bad one. The butler for the BFG, has to climb up a ladder
to get to the BFG's table. Another cool part is when the BFG and
Sophie were trying to catch dreams so that the BFG could blow
them into people's windows, that's what the BFG does.
I really liked this book. Roald Dahl is a great writer. I think
he is the most creative author in the world. He uses really neat
words like "whizzpopper" or "snozzcumber."
This book isn't really high level. I think this book would be
perfect for a nine, ten or eleven year old. I also think this
book is a really good book that kid's parents could read to them.
by Zach D
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
(1971, Simon & Shuster, 233 pages). In this book a widowed
mouse named Mrs. Frisby needs to take care of her youngest son,
who is sick with pneumonia. Mrs. Frisby is desperate to move him
to their summer quarters quickly, or they all will face an almost
certain death. Soon she meets the Rats of NIMH. These highly intelligent
animals have a solution to her problem.
This magical fantasy has a lot of adventure and suspense. I found
it hard to put down. I especially like the description of Mrs.
Frisby's husband. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes
exciting adventure stories.
by Jim S
The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White (Harper & Row, 1970,
205 pages). The book is about a boy that lives next to a pond.
One day a swan comes and has babies. When the babies are a week
old the mom flies off. One of the swans is named Louis.
The boy wants to understand the swan so Louis goes to school
and learns how to write but the swan can't understand him. Louis
has a problem. Louis can't trumpet so his dad looks for a trumpet
and finds one and gets hurt but he makes it to Louis!
I like when Louis learns how to write and when he gets his trumpet!
I think it is a good book.
by Lida M
Lady BugattiLady Bugatti, by Joyce Maxne (Lothrop, Lee, Shepard,
1991, 32 pages). This book is about bugs. The bugs' names are
Bupji Beetle, Dragonia Fly, Madame Flutterby, Bumbly Bee and Lady
Bugatti. They all go to a show. I like the book because it is
very funny. The bugs talk. They are very smart. They live in Nevada.
Their houses are made of wood. Lady Bugatti was missing the whole
show. Their costumes were pretty and colorful.
This is a really neat book. I like the drawings and the story.
It was fun and easy to read.
by Mia T
Stone Fox, by John Reynolds Gardiner (Harper
& Row, Publishers, 1980, 81 pages). The story is about a teenage
boy whose grandfather gets sick and doesn't have the money to
pay his taxes. There's a dog sled race every year. The boy needs
to win the race to pay his grandfather's taxes and if he does
win the race he gets five hundred dollars.
The boys name is Little Willey. His dogs name is Searchlight.
On the race track when he went by his house he saw his grandfather
standing up. It made the boy happy because he hadn't seen his
grandfather stand up for a long time. If his grandfather doesn't
pay his taxes the people will take away the farm. The boy has
to race a big indian. I like the book because of the exciting
parts.
by Denis J
The Music of DolphinsThe Music of Dolphins, by Karen Hesse (Scholastic, 1996,
181 pages). This book is about a girl who had lived in the ocean
for 13 years with dolphins. Then people found her and brought
her to the hospital. When the doctors met her they didn't know
what her name was because she didn't know how to talk. The doctors
gave her the name Mila.
When the doctors found Mila she was talking in the dolphins' way.
The doctors think that she is the girl who was in an airplane
crash 13 years earlier. That means that her real name is Olivia.
The government bought a house beside a river for Mila to live
in with the doctors. They were trying to make Mila be a normal
child and be happy living with people.
I really like The Music of Dolphins because I can understand
how Mila felt. She did not know English just like I did. She was
also trying to get used to new people. Mila missed her old dolphin
family like I missed my friends in Russia when I came to America.
I think other people will like this book because it's interesting
that the girl has a chance to have a new life.
by Vika J
All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot (St.
Martin's Press, 1972, 372 pages). this is the first in a series
of books by Scottish veterinarian Herriot, recollecting his experiences
as an animal doctor in the Yorkshire Dales of northern England.
With lighthearted warmth, Herriot weaves an interconnected collection
of tales that takes the reader alongside him on his rounds over
the sprawling hills and dales of the rugged agricultural countryside,
where he first began his practice in the years prior to World
War II. the colorful cast of characters, both animal and human,
glow within the backdrop of the landscape which the author details
with a mysticism and reverence that are truly captivating. Herriot
vividly displays the affection he has for his work and surroundings,
bringing out the humor and charm in even the most seemingly trivial
aspects of his life as a veterinarian.
The sixty-seven chapters contained within the book read predominantly
as individual stories, yet inside of their unique tales herriot
reveals a highly engaging world view and an overall optimism that
gives the book a unity above and beyond the common thread of recollecting
his practice. There is a beautiful philosophy to be taken in in
these pages, a celebration of the simple pleasures in life and
an appreciation of the small moments that we can so easily let
slip by unnoticed. Herriot has the wonderful gift of fully recognizing
those moments, and in All Creatures Great and Small he
has shared that gift.
Len Bogh
WeaselWeasel, by Cynthia DeFelice, (Macmillan Publishing Company,
1990, 119 pages). This book is about a boy named Nathan and his
sister Molly. Their mom died and their father went out hunting
a while ago, he has not come back yet. Their dad always has their
mom's locket with him. One night this man come's to their door.
He has their mom's locket. Nathan and Molly fallowed the man.
He takes them in to the woods and to his house. read farther in
to the book to find out ho Weasel is. I recommend this book because
it is very exciting and suspenseful.
by John A. Summa