BOOK REPORT : Rain Reign

This book is called RAIN REIGN, written by Ann. M Martin. It is about a girl called Rose Howard and she is obsessed with homonyms and prime numbers. Rose had a dog named Rain and she named him that, especially, so that her dog would also have a homonym name. Rose is in grade 5 in Hatford Elementary and has autism, a mental disorder, in which case, she has to have an aid. In Grade 5, her teacher Mrs. Kushel doesn’t think Rose is a very good student and neither does Mrs. Leibler, her aid. Every time Rose cries or has an outburst, Mrs. Leibler says, “Do you need a step into the hall?” and then Mrs. Leibler tells Rose that she doesn’t need to cry or homonyms and prime numbers are not everything and so on. But one day, Rose is watching the television and the Weather forecast says that a big hurricane called hurricane Susan is coming! She tells her inconsiderate dad and he says, “Nothing will happen”. Later, they prepare for the hurricane Susan. Rose is ordered to go to sleep early because she keeps reciting the prime numbers. Rose and Rain are not very happy about this because this is the second time that day they had to change their routine. In the middle of the night, Rose’s dad lets Rain out to pee and Rain gets lost and can’t find her way home! Rose is mad at her father and tries to make a plan with her Uncle Weldon to call every animal shelter in New York to find Rain. The Happy Tails Shelter has Rain but then Rose finds out that Rain’s actual name is Olivia and that she belongs to somebody else. Rose decides that she will give Rain (Olivia) back to her rightful owners and still be happy. After finding the owners she gives Olivia back to the Henderson family and still feels good about herself!

What I like about this book is:

Ø The way that the author included the homonyms of each word where they had it

Ø The way that Rose introduces the different parts of her story while telling it for example: Now I am going to introduce the second main character of my story and her name is Rain

Ø My favorite part of the book was when she was being empathetic and she stood up and said, “This is not my actual dog, the actual owners must be missing her so much” and gave Rain to her actual owners!

Ø The author really sucks me into the story and I feel like I can see and feel what Rose is feeling

Ø My favorite character is Rose because she is brave and has a lot of courage

What I wish the author did:

Ø Well, maybe the author could have added one last chapter describing how Rose and her new friend in school went along and how different her life was without Rain

 

I WOULD GIVE IT A 10 OUT OF 10 RATING! 

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING RAIN REIGN! 

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE FOR $9.71 ON AMAZON.

BOOK REPORT : Diary Of A Wimpy Kid - The Long Haul

This book is called DIARY OF A WIMPY KID – THE LONG HAUL, written by Jeff Kinney. It is about a boy called Greg Heffley and the diary of his road trip. Mum announces they would be going to Disney World but Manny (their little brother) really wants to visit their boring Aunt Loretta. So they have to change their plans and Greg and Rodrick are not so happy! On the day of the road trip, their van runs out of space and so Dad has to take out his boat for extra stuff and tie it behind the van... therefore, the book is called THE LONG HAUL! The trip starts fine, but in the middle things go awry. They stop at a carnival fair and Manny wins a baby pig. It turns out that the pig is big trouble. He eats and drinks all the food and drinks in the two minibars of the two rooms of their Motel. And Greg's mum and dad have to pay more because of this. After that Greg and Rodrick take out their packed lunch and find math flash cards with their lunch in there! And Greg goes “Oh great! Mum is going to make this road trip into another lesson”. So Greg quickly pulls out a card game called "I MUST CONFESS" and cleverly makes Mum so excited that she forgets about the flash cards. The game turns out to be quite fun. Greg gets to learn a little more about what Mum and Dad used to do. Later that day, the pig causes more trouble and Mum is so irritated that she takes him to the farmhouse and leaves him there. Manny is so angry that his pig is in the farmhouse that he tries to escape the family but then has to be put on a leash! Then there is an incident where Greg takes out some Cheese Puffs and starts eating it and some of it escapes through the sun roof, when a seagull comes and gets one and he likes it so much that it starts a whole frenzy of trying to chase them to get more Cheese Puffs. Another adventure is when they stop at a water park and meet an annoying family and when they cannot find the key to their locker they think that the other family stole it to annoy them but actually all the time Greg and Rodrick had it in their pockets! Another fun part was the Spanish lesson’ Greg’s mum had planned by listening to a Spanish CD and repeating “por favor’ and ‘te amo’ after it! And there are other many adventures like this in the book. Greg is good at writing his diary because he always has weird experiences and annoying family members that get what they want but not him. In a way the family is realistic but the events are not so realistic. 

What I like about this book is:

• It is really funny and it has some funny pictures to describe all of Greg's thoughts and experiences about how mean and weird his family is. Not many people actually write a diary about how mean, weird and bossy their parents are
• This book is different from other books for children the same age because it is in a diary format and it is the first person but also because he illustrates little pictures in between to explain what the author means. I like the fact that the format of the book is a notebook. The notebook format is good because the writing is in the lines and it is more organized. Also I like the way that there are little illustrations in between 
• I like the line " If there's something I’ve learned from my years of being a kid it's not having ANY control over your OWN life" because it means that his mum and dad are always bossing him around and that was funny to me because normally parents don't just plan trips without letting their kids know or start bossing their children around just so they are comfortable
• When I read this book it made me think about having a big van (in the book it was a RV but I don't what that is) and having a giant bedroom in it to myself because then no one will disturb me in it so I can do my own thing! LOL!
• One of my favorite parts in the book is when Greg is in a line and the boy behind him pokes the lady’s butt in front of him while she is kissing somebody! !  That is funny because the lady’s butt was so big that the boy behind Greg poked her butt and Greg has to take the blame for it. 

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 7 OUT OF 10 RATING. 

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING DIARY OF A WIMPY KID THE LONG HAUL!

I would recommend this book to younger readers because it is more of a simple but nice book.

You can buy it here for $8.15 on Kindle

Book Report : SAVVY

This book is called SAVVY, written by Ingrid Law. It is about a girl named Mississippi Beaumont. Ingrid Law named this book Savvy because Savvy means knowledge and your savvy is something you own and can control. Mississippi’s nickname is Mibs and she lives with her Father, Mother, Brothers and Younger Sister. Their family is very special because, after they turn 13 they get their special power, their Savvy. Mibs is about to turn 13 when her father has an accident in a car crash. Her mother has to go to Kansas, Salina Hope Hospital and she and her brother Fish are left alone to stay with Miss Rosemary, the preacher’s wife. Ms. Rosemary’s kids Will and Bobbi are not really Mibs friends but Will starts to like Mibs and slowly they become friends. On the day of Mibs birthday at first she thinks her savvy is waking people up because she woke up her sister and her little brother Samson’s turtle. Then she realizes that she really needs to get to Salina Hope Hospital to save her father. So she decides to escape from her birthday party and hide at the back of a book delivery bus that she thinks is headed to Kansas. At first she only takes Will with her to the Pink Bible Delivery Bus but Bobbi spots them and in order to not get scolded for not keeping an eye on them she comes along too. Fish comes as well and their little brother Samson is already in the bus! So, they all set out on a road trip that turns out to be quite an adventure. But when the bus takes a turn away from Kansas, it is hard to hide! Lester (the deliveryman) turns out to be quite kind and welcoming and asks them where they needed to go. The kids tell him about Mib’s father’s crash and Salina. He listens to all of this and says that he will drive them there after he makes one more delivery. Meanwhile, Mibs, Bobbi, Will and Fish are on the T.V. as “Missing”. Also, turns out that Mib’s savvy is not waking people up. It’s reading thoughts through a mark or a tattoo on people’s arms. Mib’s savvy hurts her to hear negative things about Lester from his mom and from his boss, Carlene. When Lester stops to drop off money to rude Carlene she turns out to be dangerous and recognizes the children as the missing kids on television. Carlene starts to call the police and kidnaps Samson but the kids manage to find him and escape just in time as the police come and after an interview and some waiting they continue to Salina with the police and are reunited with their whole family. Mibs uses her savvy to talk to Ms. Mermaid  (her dad’s tattoo) and reads her dad’s mind. She then communicates to her dad through Ms Mermaid and says that even though he thinks he doesn’t have a savvy, he does, and it is never giving up! In this way, Mibs uses her savvy to read her dad’s mind and encourages him to wake up! This is my favorite part of the story because they are all reunited and finally after all that hard work Mississippi put in she finally saves her dad and meets her family once again.

I think this book is very special:

Ø  I think Ingrid Law has been able to bring out the different personalities of the characters really well. And something I learnt is that everybody has a unique personality and that is what makes you, you!

Ø  The way that the author made turning thirteen and becoming a teenager a real something to look forward to and get excited about. I know that becoming a teenager is exciting but she made it feel like that it is this specific day that you get your power and real personality!

Ø  Made me feel that having a savvy - my own special power - would be great! I would make it always helping people in need.  I am trying to practice that in my daily life.  

Ø  I really liked the line “Scumbling a savvy is like spreading a thick layer of paint” because it made me think. I liked the connection between the two because it means holding back your special power or savvy takes some hard work.

Ø  If I could go on a road trip I would take my mum, my friend Rio, my friend Carla and my friend Ashlee. I would want to go on a road trip to Amsterdam but then my van would have to turn into a boat or a submarine I think...   

I wonder what it would be like if they had Rocket Beaumont the oldest brother on the road trip?! Because if they did then there wouldn’t be a big commotion of sparks in Kansas and there would be a little more action adventure combo on the road trip!

When I finished reading this book, I did a fun thing and made a playlist to describe my favorite characters: Mississippi, Fish and Bobbi – let me tell you the songs I picked and why!

So for Fish I put in “ We’ve got it going’ on”, by Backstreet Boys because it is a nice and groovy song and the tune feels kind of like wind.

For Bobbi I chose “Wide awake”, by Katy Perry, because Bobbi is a teenager and I figured this song would be good. Also, because at the beginning she doesn’t like Mississippi  but later they start to like each other when Bobbi ‘wakes up’ and realizes that Mississippi is trying to help her.

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And last but not least for Mississippi chose “The words”, by Christina Perri, because the line “and all of the noise I hear inside, restless and loud, unspoken and loud” relates a lot to her savvy and actually describes how it feels.

I hope you have the chance to listen to these songs and understand what I mean.   

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING SAVVY!

YOU CAN BUY IT HERE ON KINDLE FOR $7.99 ONLY

  

  

BOOK REPORT : KENSUKE'S KINGDOM

This book is called KENSUKE’S KINGDOM, written by Michael Morpugo. It is about a boy called Michael whose father has an idea to travel the world on a ship when he lost his job. He made this decision because he wanted to spend more time with his family and because of their love of water. Michael and his mum were not too sure at first, but then really started looking forward to their adventure. On the day they had to go, the Peggy Sue (their ship) was loaded with their things, Michael had his best friend Eddie’s football and they all had their dog, Stella Artois. When they started on this trip they had a lot of fun going to Brazil, Africa and other countries that they had never had a chance to visit before. Michael’s Mum and Dad began to love playing chess and Michael was enjoying writing a Ship’s log recording experiences of everywhere he went… But bad things are going to happen! One night when Michael’s dad and mum were in their rooms, Michael and his dog Stella got swept overboard and Michael started swimming hard to cope with his ship, but, couldn’t because it was too fast! Michael starts to see sharks coming and one of them bites him and he becomes unconscious. In his unconsciousness, he and his dog drift to an island where a very old but considerate man lives. His name was Kensuke and he was living on this island on his own because his home got destroyed and he thought that his family was dead. In the mean time, Michael wakes up to find that his wounds are better but he also feels scared because he didn’t know this place and had not seen the man who healed him, relieved because he was quite happy to be out of the water and to be alive and surprised because he didn’t know how he got there. Michael finds fire glass, sticks and thin leaves to make a fire to get the attention of passing ships because he really wants to get out of there! Kensuke apparently had a problem with people lighting fires on his island and even worse he had a problem with Michael being there on that island with him. He had an incident with a few shooter men before and they hurt the Orang-utans and Gibbons. So, since then, he didn’t want anybody else other than his Orang-utans and Gibbons on his island! First he started shouting “Abunai! Dameda! Dameda!” (it basically means “ Danger! Forbidden! Forbidden!” in Japanese) because he thought that it would attract the men again. Then, he banished Michael and Stella to one end of the island. Michael found a cave and started to stay and sleep there, but the only problem was that there were mosquitoes around and they bit Michael a lot. Even though Kensuke had banished Michael, he took care of him by giving him clean and fresh water and food like raw fish and red bananas. And, after seeing the red sores on his leg, Kensuke gives Michael a wrap-around blanket that he can use to protect himself. One hot day, Michael was swimming in the sea and jumped very far out and got stung by a jellyfish! This incident brought Kensuke and Michael together because Kensuke healed Michael and when Michael finally healed, Kensuke and Michael stayed in the same cave. Michael taught Kensuke English and Kensuke taught Michael painting. Together they learnt from each other and started to like each other. Then…. the shooter men came again! They were shouting and shooting down the trees! When they went away the Orang-utans, Gibbons, Kensuke and Michael went searching for a small Orang-utan named Kikanbo who was lost and to their relief he was alive and came and hugged them! After this incident, Kensuke helps Michael build his beacon because he realizes that like Kikanbo’s mum was really worried, Michael’s mum would also be very worried. The very next day The Peggy Sue came back for Michael because of the beacon they made. And with that, Michael thanked Kensuke and said that he will always remember him. Michael’s parents thanked Kensuke for taking care of their son and also said that if Kensuke wanted to come they would take him. But, Kensuke didn’t because he said that an emperor never leaves his kingdom until he is dead. I think, that, the title of the book is called Kensuke’s Kingdom because of this line. I realized this when I was discussing this book with my mum.

What I like about the book is:

·   That when Michael first arrived on the island, Kensuke was not a real friend but at the end, he starts getting warmer towards Michael! I like that this book is about friendship.

·   The way Michael Morpugo gives you hints of the story so that you can anticipate what is coming next

·   I think the lesson in this book is: you can always learn from each other like Michael and Kensuke helped each other

·   It made me feel like it would be a nice idea to be on an island, because, I would see the power of nature and learn to respect it. And have adventures that I never knew I could have!

·   This book is special because it relates to a historical event. Kensuke’s kingdom taught me about the Japanese and American event in World War 2 with the atomic bombs…. I wish that he would tell us a little bit more about the war and include it like a post script perhaps.

What I wish Michael Morpugo had done is introduced us to what the parents were doing and feeling when Michael was missing. Also, I wonder if this is a real story that happened to Michael Morpugo! Because, the name of the author and the main character are the same. Could it be an autobiography?!

I WOULD GIVE IT A 9 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING KENSUKE’S KINGDOM .

YOU CAN BUY IT here on KINDLE FOR  £2.40 ONLY