Book Report: FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY!

This book is called ‘FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY’ written by Betty G. Birney (This is the sequel to  The World According To Humphrey). It is about a little hamster named Humphrey who is a class pet. He is a really special class pet because he can read and write and works on the activities with the class. How cool! Then, after the summer break, a new classroom pet moves in and he is: Og the frog. At first, Humphrey feels jealous and thinks that Og is his replacement. Then, he starts to open up and tries to become friends with this new classroom pet. Humphrey is still the luckier one, because, he get’s to go home with the class kids and has many adventures in their houses. My favourite adventure was when Humphrey was going home with Richie (a classmate) on the bus and a mean boy bullies Richie. Humphrey cannot stand this rudeness so he tackles Mean Martin and bites him on his leg. Ow! Also when Humphrey helps the cleaner (Aldo): Aldo’s big inspiration was Humphrey when he applies for University again and he  shares with the class about the world in Humphrey’s eyes and the way he looked at it. All of a sudden, a snowstorm starts and Og and Humphrey are abandoned in the classroom for the whole of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Humphrey talks to Og and figures out that Og actually means well but can’t express it. When Humphrey needed to eat his Nutri-Nibbles, he gets stuck under the packet and Og saves Humphrey from suffocating. Mrs. Brisbane (the teacher of that class) and the principal enter on Tuesday and take the two pets home. Og plays with Humphrey and Humphrey writes a poem for Og about friendship. After all, friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest, it’s about who walks into your life and proves that they are there for you.

What I like about the book:

• At the end of each chapter, there was a little quote by famous people about friendship and that was really interesting to read. My favourite quote was : "The better part of one's life consists of his friendships..." by Abraham Lincoln.
• The way Betty G. Birney makes the reader feel as if a hamster was writing and not a person.
• Humphrey rhymes : they are incredible! The students came up with great poems but I think Humphrey’s was the best. Specially the way he talks about friendship and the necessities of a true friend. The language in the poem was so touching that I am also using that in my own life now.
• At the end of the book, there is Humphrey’s guide to Friendship and how to be a good friend. He also talks about what the attitude you need to produce is.
• As Humphrey writes, he not only talks about friendship and it’s importance but through his writing, he proves that any sort of animal is very special and unique in their own way. The message that comes through to me other than that ‘friendship is important’ is: Embrace anything that an animal (or person) has. Don’t shrug people off or tell them that they are useless or mean or shy and not open. Experience their actual self before you gossip and embrace their ups and downs and goods and bads, together.

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

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING FRIENDSHIP ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY!

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Book Report: THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER!

This book is called ‘THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER’ written by Kevin Henkes. It is based in The Year Of The Rabbit (as per the Chinese calendar) and is about an unsure boy named Billy who is just about to start Grade 2 and doesn’t have any faith in himself. Something that I noticed is that this book has 4 parts : Teacher, Father, Sister, Mother. Each is their own little story. Each story is about Billy’s relationship with the family member mentioned and each relationship helps to build Billy’s year and overcome his shyness. In one of the incidents, he is misunderstood by his teacher, Ms. Silver and he goes home and tries to think about how to clear the misunderstanding. Billy comes up with an idea and gathers all silver things like a nickel, a paper clip and a silver rabbit to give to Ms. Silver to show her that he didn’t mean to offend her. In the part of Father, Billy’s dad is still waiting for his breakthrough (an example of achieving success in a particular activity.) and Billy helps him by giving him an excellent idea. Billy has many adventures which help him to instill confidence in himself and one cute one is in the part of Sister. It is about Billy’s little sister named Sal and how Billy wants to achieve something by staying awake all night. He wakes Sal up and manages to keep her interested in staying awake and he proves to himself that he can do whatever he sets his mind on. The last part is Mother and it is about how Ms. Silver announces the learning celebration programme and Billy is asked to write a poem about a family member. Billy chooses his mom and comes up with a poem that goes like this:

Quiet Mom by Billy Miller

My mom likes a lot

She likes quiet best

Quiet can be loud if you listen

Quiet sounds like this

cars

sprinklers

bugs

wind

Quiet is a dead bird

Billy presents it on stage and that itself is a huge achievement but at the end, Billy reflects on how much he has grown in the year and picks  up all his courage to go up on stage to say, ‘This is the year of Billy Miller.’

What I like about this book:

• I read this book as it had a medal on it and it turned out pretty good. Most of the Kevin Henkes books (e.g. Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) are also related to this same lesson as in this book: Believe in yourself, always!
• I didn’t have time to read it all in one go, so, I kept reading little parts but when I did finish it, I was very happy that I had chosen this book because, as a writer, I learnt a lot of interesting words that maybe I could add to my writing like ‘mesmerized’, ‘crabby’ etc..
• In this book, the author was writing with the five senses. At one point,  he describes Billy, his sister and their babysitter in a restaurant and what they felt. In fact, I was picturing myself in the restaurant looking at lanterns and other stuff. Like a film going on in my mind.
• I would recommend this book for children and adults alike … for those who sometimes give up really easily and don’t think they can do it. Sometimes, I feel like that too, but after reading this book, I am trying to stay positive.
• Something that I have noticed when I read ‘The Year Of Billy Miller’ is that the author uses an animal to help explain things in the story. One of my observations in many of his other stories is that he uses a lot of animals too. He probably finds the example of animals an easy way to explain complicated things to his young readers.

I WOULD GIVE THIS BOOK AN 8 OUT OF 10 RATING!

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER!

Book Report: BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE

This book is called BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE, written by Kate Dicamillo. One of the main lessons this book is: Never judge people and you will find that more and more people want to befriend you. It is about a girl named India Opal Buloni and her dad is a preacher. India goes to a grocery store named the Winn- Dixie grocery store one day searching for macaroni and cheese but instead comes back with a dog. The manager got really angry with this dog and is about to call the animal shelter people when India wants to rescue the dog and claims that he is her dog. India wants to save this dog because India is the preacher’s daughter and she cares about other people. She names him Winn Dixie. Winn Dixie is in need of a home and so the preacher agrees to keep him. As India washes Winn Dixie, she talks to him about the similarities they have which are: that they both don’t have a momma and then suddenly when she mentions her momma, Winn Dixie gives her his dog smile and India feels like he is urging her to ask about her momma to the preacher. Winn Dixie’s situation makes India remember her momma because he is a stray dog without a home and family. India’s momma ran away because she couldn’t stand being judged about everything. India is without her mother and doesn’t even know how her mother looks! India wanted to know things about her mother because if her mother ever came back she wants to hug her real tight and never let her go again. The preacher agrees to tell India 10 things about her momma for each year India has been alive. India writes it down and starts to go to sleep when she figures out that Winn Dixie has a pathological fear of thunder! India tries to calm Winn Dixie the down and then cuddles him while going to sleep. The very next day, India takes Winn Dixie inside the church and he surprises everybody by catching a mouse. After the church experience, India is certain that Winn Dixie is a special dog and takes him to the library but unfortunately has to put him outside due to the library rules. Ever since India moved to Naomi, Florida she has made no friends but then finds one. The librarian, Miss Franny Block starts telling a story about her grandfather when sulky Amanda comes and listens to the story too. Miss Franny Block tells the story of her grandfather and war and how her grandfather invented a candy named Littmus Lozenge which tasted of candy and was chewy but also tasted a little bit like sadness. When India was walking Winn Dixie one day, she bumps into Sweetie Pie Thomas, a 5 year old girl, and Winn Dixie attracts Sweetie Pie Thomas. So, she invites India to her birthday party because of Winn Dixie! So in a way, Winn Dixie also helps India in return for what she did for him! India makes friends with a kind lady named Gloria Dump and she helps India organise a party with all her new friends! But suddenly thunder strikes, and Winn Dixie runs into the house and hides under a chair. But India thinks that he has run away and starts to look for Winn Dixie outside and when she is not able to find him Gloria Dump says “You can only love what you have until it is time it goes”. This line means: You can only have something for a time until it wants to leave and go. Suddenly the preacher smiles and reveals a shaking Winn Dixie under a chair! The party continues with jokes and they all have fun and make friends!

What I like about the book is:

• The way the author chose a strange title for this book. She could have chosen: India and her dog, Winn Dixie, The lonely girl, the preacher’s daughter or any of the other titles but, she chose this because India had a companion and ‘Because Of Winn Dixie’ she gets more frineds and family. ‘Because Of Winn Dixie’!
• That there are a lot of lessons in this book such as: you can only love what you have got while you have it but when it is time for it to go, let it go.
• Feel open to anyone even the most ugliest and dirtiest, you never know what might happen
• I liked the way that she described Amanda as ‘pinch-faced’ but then later changed her reaction towards her and is more warm to her
• How the author describes the Littmus Lozenge so well that I felt like eating it!
• I also like the way the author made the text really expressive and fun to read aloud like in one part she says “He stunk. Bad. But already I loved him with all my heart. See how she brings the expression of stopping and then saying it?! Cool! Try saying it aloud yourself and see what I mean.
• The language of the story has interesting grammar but also a specific way to say it, for example: “Hunting will become huntin’”. This shows that this book is set somewhere in America because people there have a unique accent and they use slang a lot (which is pretty cool)!
• In this book, I learnt a new word: Pathological fear which means a fear that is very hard to get rid of! India’s pathological fear is that whoever she loves will go away! That is why  India is so happy when she finds Winn Dixie again.
• I wish that the author wrote one last chapter describing how the mum comes back and how she starts to get used to Winn Dixie and how the preacher starts to spend more time with her and India and the mummy and daughter things that India and her momma do together!

I would give this book a 9 out of 10 rating. 

FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN BY READING "BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE"

You can buy it here on amazon for $3.86