Hoot

By Carl Hiaasen

Book review by Reece Cutting

A book I recently read was Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. It was published by Random House, Inc. It was published in New York, 2002. I enjoy this book because it's about saving the environment.

This book is about a boy named Roy Eberhardt who just moved into the little town Coconut Grove, Florida from the tall mountains in Montana. Next door at the corner of East Oriole and Woodbury a Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House is moving right on top of a burrowing owl nest! It's up to three friends to put a stop to it.

The three main characters are, Roy Eberhardt, a boy who is intelligent and kind hearted, Beatrice Leep, nickname Beatrice the Bear is tough and once a bully, (Roy’s friend), and Mullet Fingers a boy determined and stubborn, (Beatrice’s stepbrother). Together they try to delay the work of the pancake house by causing mayhem to the property and police officer Delinkon and Curly (the supervisor of the property) , but an accident occurs and most of their secrets are found out.

I would recommend this book because it's about saving the environment and there actually are burrowing owls in Florida; its illegal to harm the little creatures without the proper paperwork. On page 223 Hiaasen says that Roy finds article that explains it's illegal to harm the burrowing owls. If you read this book, I hope you like it and you, too, want to save the owls.

Review by Adrieanna Travis

Positively Izzy

A book I recently read was Positively Izzy, written by Terri Libenson and published by Harper Collins. It was published in 2018 and in New York.

Positively Izzy is about a girl named Izzy. Izzy is starting seventh grade, she is nervous and excited. She has two sisters. She lives with her sisters and her mother. Izzy and Ashley (her younger sister) is her best friend, because they are only 14 months apart. Previously, Ashley had 3 best friends. They were like a group. Then sixth grade rolled around, and they just split up.

I would recommend this book because it is very engaging. It is a good book because due to dynamic characters and exciting events.

Review by Aiden Russell

No Summit out of Sight

The book I recently read was No Summit out of Sight it, written by Jordan Romero published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division on 1230 Avenue, New York in 2014.

No Summit out of Sight is a true story of the youngest person to climb the 7 summits. His name is Jordan Remero, Jordan was 9 when he told his dad that he wanted to climb the seven summits. He got the idea from a mural on a wall in his school showing the seven tallest mountains in the world. He always climbs the mountains with his Dad and Karen.

I think this is a really great adventure book for anybody to read or get read to. I enjoyed reading and seeing the real pictures in the book and I think whoever else reads it will also enjoy it.

Review by Dominic Parent

I recently read the short story The Elephant and the Crocodile, written by H. Berkeley Score

The main characters include elephant, crocodile, and a majesty that is a lion. The elephant and the crocodile were arguing about which animal is better the elephant or the crocodile. Then, the majesty a.k.a the lion was passing by. The elephant and the crocodile said, "Will you tell us which is better?" He agreed and made them do challenge to get a helmet the crocodile brought it back. The lion said both were the same, and the two animals became friends.

I would recommend this short story because it teaches the reader a valuable life lesson that no one is better than the other person. "You are both wise and clever in your respectful ways Neither is better than the other” (Score).

Review by Haiven Raymond-Hubbard

The most recent book I read this summer was Big Nate In Class By Himself by Lincoln Peirce and published by Harper in 2010.

I would recommend this book if you like comedy and comic books. I would also recommend it if you're in middle school and get a lot of detentions. If this is what happens to you, this book should be relatable.

This book is about Nate Wright, an average 6th grader with two friends Francis and Teddy. Monday night looked out his window and saw Francis reading his textbook. Nate thought There was a test since Francis was reading that so he got ready for school and then started walking to school. On his way to school, he's stopped and tried to find a way to avoid school. Then Francis Sunday on his way to school asked Nate what he was doing, and they said that he wasn't going to school because there's a test then Francis said there's no test today I just like reading. When they arrived at school, Nate realized he forgot his lunch so Teddy gives native fortune cookie and when they open it the fortune said you would surpass all others.

After that, Nate goes to homeroom and talks about how much he does not like one of his teachers Mrs. Godfrey and tells the reader all the rude nicknames he made for her Then gets caught by Mrs. Godfrey and was given a detention slip. While walking to English class, Nate was talking to his friends about the detention slip and the fortune.

When they got to English class, everyone needed to make any poem and Nate decided to make a love poem to Jenny, but then a noisy student named Gina told Jenny that Nate was making a love poem to her then they told Gina to shut up in front of the teacher and got a detention slip. Later on there a way to Art class, Nate was talking about how much he hates Gina. After that, he stopped to look at the art that was hung up. Then Nate asked the art teacher to hang his art, but the art teacher said no, so Nate took matters into his own hands and tried to sneak out of class but got caught and given a detention slip. After that, he went to lunch and tried to break a world record but failed and got caught by the principal and got a detention slip. And at the end of the day every kid and teacher left but the detention teacher and Nate. When Nate handed the detention slips to the detention teacher she was surprised, and Nate asked her if that counted for surpassing all others, and she said in a way, yes and Nate celebrated for getting the detention slips in the school.

Review by Kory Sanborn

The Ghost Of Graylock

The Ghost of Graylock was written by Dan Poblocki. It was published by Scholastic Press in New York 2012.

I recommend this book to people who like scares. For instance, the text states, "The toilet bowl was filled with long strands of the noxious looking grass bunch up in clumps. They looked almost looked alive in the water, serpent-like." (Poblocki, 88) , then you would love this one it has its thrills, scares, and its mysteries. Staying with their aunts for the summer, Neil, his sister Bree, and their new friends Wesley and Eric went out to explore Greylock Hall, an abandoned hospital.

The story takes place in a small country called Hedston. Neil travels off to Graylock Hall with his friends they go inside, and Neil sees a ghost in a and thinks it is Nurse Janet. When they all went home, Neil and Bree had a terrible dream about getting drowned close to Graylock hall. When they woke up, they found they were lying in a pool of water near the end of their beds, and the bad dreams lead to clues to a mystery. Neil and his friends figure out the clues, and then Neil's favorite ghost hunting show calls to report on Greylock Hall.

I loved this book because of the suspense, mystery, and the fact that I didn't know what was going to happen next.

The Magician’s Nephew

Author: C. S. Lewis

Published by: HarperCollins Publishers

Published in United States 195 Broadway New York

Date of publication; September 2010 EPub Edition

A book I recently read was The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis. The main settings were London and Narnia. The main characters are Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. Some of the side characters are uncle Andrew Ketterly, Queen Jadis/the witch and Aslan.

Digory is curious, stubborn and bold. He lives in London with his Aunt and Uncle. He meets Polly Plummer. Polly is Brave, loyal and smart. Digory and Polly met because they lived in houses that were connected. They become best friends and go on an adventure.

They were exploring their houses and found a room they weren’t supposed to be in, then Uncle Andrew came in and tricked them into taking rings. The yellow ring brings you to the wood between worlds, the green ring brings you back or to another world. Uncle Andrew owns the house the room with the rings is in, he is also evil.

When they transported to the wood between worlds they ended up in the world with Queen Jadis and somehow awoken her. They found out she was evil and tried leaving but she followed them to the wood between worlds and then London. She was problematic in London and they wanted to take her back. They went to the wood between worlds and then ended up in Narnia. Queen Jadis, Uncle Andrew, a cabby and his horse were with them. They met Aslan, the great lion, and he tells them the witch fled to the North and that she’s growing stronger.

I thought this book was great and I recommend this book to any middle schooler! This is a book anyone could love!

Review by Daniel S.

The book that I recently read was Diary of a Wimpy Kid Double Down, written by Jeff Kinney and published in New York in 2016.

The main character is Greg Heffley. His family includes his Mom, Dad, his little brother Manny, and his big brother, Rodrick.

This book is mainly about how Greg's mom thinks that video games are mushing his brain so his mom takes the controller and makes him go outside and be creative. Then, he went and discovered worms and it gives him an idea he wanted to make a movie and become rich and then it backfires and then his plan doubled down.

I recommend reading this book because it is funny and I love reading the series of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.

By Joshua York

Grade 6 Summer Reading Book Review

Wings of Fire is really good book it is filled with action and was written by

TUI T. SUTHERLAND and was published by Scholastic Inc. in 557 Broadway New York. It was originally published in 2012.

Wings of Fire is about 5 dragonets who were meant to stop a war. Their names are Clay the mudwing, Tsunami the seawing, Glory the rainwing, Starflight the Nightwing, and Summer the sandwing. These 5 dragonets have lived under a mountain their whole lives until one night Clay eves dropped on the guardians saying they need to get rid of Glory. After clay heard this he knew they all need to escape and then… if you want to know what happens next you have to read Wings of Fire the Dragonet Prophecy.

I would recommend this book because it is full of action and is really entertaining.

I think this part of the book represents how it's entertaining and has a lot of action because there is a rising conflict happening at this point in the book so in the text it states “I call upon the tradition of the Champions Shield,” Peril said. “It says the queen's champion may Stand forth for any dragon sentenced to execution. If I can defeat the next dragon you set me to fight, you must let her go free.” She looked into Kestrels eyes for the first time. “I want to stand for my mother.”’ [Sutherland 182]. I can conclude this is a good book because it is talking about a rising conflict that could lead to a battle which I find really entertaining. These are the reasons I would greatly recommend this book to kids ages 8-13 if you love books filled with action and adventure.

This was my book review on Wings of Fire The Dragonet Prophecy. Overall I think this was a really good book so if you read it, I wish you good luck.

Review by Gwenevieve Bastarache

Scout’s Honor

By Avi

Scout’s Honor is a good short story because you get to read a story that is not as long as a book that you would read. It is only a few pages and doesn’t take that long to read and will be good because it has a lot of dialogue, but has some paragraphs. I would recommend this short story to people that like camping or if you are a boy scout I would recommend it to you.

This is about three kids that are all boys scout’s and love to camp. Max and Horse are his friends and they always hang out together. The narrator said to Mr.Beckmen ,the scout leader that he and his friends wanted to go camping in a place that Mr.Beckmen suggested. The narrator wanted to be loyal to everybody. So they were going to a camping place that was very foggy and nobody could see through it. They started to walk down the street from the train station they headed towards the place that they are going camping.

The main characters are the narrator, Horse (the narrator's friend), Max (also the narrator's friend). The characters are all friends and they all are trying to prove to Mr.Beckmen that they are loyal. They try to work together and get all of there stuff on the train and make it to the place that they are going camping.

I hope you liked it, and I hope it was enjoyable.

One of the summer reading books that I read this summer was Smile by Raina Telgemeier it was published by Scholastic in February 2010 it was published in New York.

This book is about a normal teenage girl ends up having her life turned upside down, and a ridiculous couple of years in middle school. She was racing her friends home from Girl Scouts and all of a sudden she fell. At that moment, her life had changed; her front teeth had fallen out. These years to come will be a very long roller coaster for Raina as she faces friends that aren't very good to her and some very annoying dentistry.

What I love about this book is that it is very realistic. There are so many reasons why I can relate to her. I would recommend this book because it is a graphic novel if you are looking for a book that will be a short read with pictures it would be a great go-to. I love graphic novels which were one of the reasons I loved this book. Even if graphic novels aren't your favorite, this book could still be a good fit.

My favorite part of the book is when Dr.Dragoni gives Raina popcorn right after she gets her final pair of braces off "Anyway I have something that will cheer you up" (page 201 Telgemier)

This book is a great book, so sometime you should get it, read it, and love it. So I recommend this book to everybody. And I hope you enjoyed the book.

Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Book Review by Vivian Littlefield

I have recently read the book Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. It was published by Scholastic Inc. in 1993. Scholastic Inc. is located at 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. I really enjoyed reading this book because I thought it was interesting.

This book is about a boy named Max. He was gigantic and people were afraid of him. He lives in a house with his Gram and Grim. In daycare he used to be called Kicker because whenever someone touched him he kicked them. There was one kid that he never kicked though. His name was Freak. Max thought that it was the crutches that kept him from kicking him. Later on in the story they became best friends. Freak ends up riding on Max's shoulders. Then Freak came up with the name Freak the Mighty. They also went on adventures together.

(Max ́s dad is called Killer Kane). Later on his dad gets out of jail and kidnaps Max. Then his dad ends up getting help from two people he knows (Iggy and Loretta). They end up going to this burnt down building and Killer Kane ends up tying Max up. Then Loretta ends up untying Max and trying to help him escape while Iggy was making a distraction. Let’s just say that didn’t work out that well. Then Freak ended up saving the day.

I would highly recommend this book to 6th graders. I think it is an amazing book. I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O’Dell

Publisher: DELL PUBLISHING CO.INC

WHERE: NEW YORK

WHEN: 1960

Book review by Addie Alpers

The book I recently read was Island of the Blue Dolphins, written by Scott O’Dell.

I would recommend this book because it is sad and also surprising. The book is about a girl and a boy who are brother and sister. The boy's name was Ramo and the girls name was Karana. They were left on the island when the white men came and picked up their people from the island. The boy got attacked by the wild dogs and died. So Karana was left all by herself and had to survive alone.

At the beginning of the book, there is a village. The village was called Ghalas-at. The people of Ghalas-at lived very happily until one day, when the Aluet ship came. They came to hunt sea otters. The chief of Ghalas-at made an agreement with Captain Orlov, and his Aleut hunters. The agreement was that Chief Chowig, (Karana and Ramo's father) would let the Aleuts camp and hunt as long as they would each get half.

The aleuts went out to hunt. They did that for about a few months and then packed up to leave. They went to the shore and gave the people a box of jewels. Chief Chowig, said that that was not enough. Their needed to be more otter skins, and more jewels. The Aluets didn't want to give any more than that. So they got into a fight and Chief Chowig died along with a lot of other men. It was very sad that all of those people died, so when they got back into the camp they ate food around the fire and sang songs. While they were doing that they decided that they needed to pick a new chief, the chief that selected was now chief Kimki.

Later on Chief Kimki went to an island in the south. A few months later the men came to bring the people from Galas-at to the island that Chief Kimki went to. Karana was on the ship, and the boat was about to leave when Ramo forgot his fish spear. Karana told Ramo that he could not go back for it, but Ramo did not listen and decided to go back anyways. Karana sister told the men to turn around and go back for their brother, but the men refused to. So Karana jumped off the ship and swam to shore.

When they went out to find food, Ramo was attacked by wild dogs and died. His sister was very mad at these wild dogs and was making a plan to kill all of them. Many years went by and Karana was left on the Island all by herself. The Alutes never came again, but the men did end up coming back.

The men came back, and called out for Karana and she knew that she was going to leave the island. So she packed up a couple of things and went to greet the men to hop on their ship. She missed the ship, and went back to her house. The men came back in a few more years. They saw the smoke from her house and went up to the house, and was talking to her. The men had not come for Karana but they had come for sea otters. There was no more sea otters left in the cove. So they took Karana with them and left. When she was on the ship she was thinking about all the memories she ever had.

This book was amazing overall, I loved this book. This would be a great book for you!

The One And Only Ivan

Author: Katherine Applegate

Publisher: Harper Collins in 2012

A book I recently read was The One and Only Ivan written by Katherine Applegate. Some of the main characters are Ivan, Bob, Mack, Stella, Ruby, and Julia. The setting of the story is at the “The Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade.” The author wrote. I thought some parts of the book were really funny.

I would recommend this book to anyone because I really enjoyed it and I think adults will too. I think everyone might like this book because I has some hummer in it, the chapter are short, and it is a fun read. Also, I t has some enjoy main characters like Ivan, Julia, Bob, and Ruby. My personal favorite chapter is “the temporary human” pages 130-132.

In conclusion, I think that if you enjoy funny books you will like The One And Only Ivan too. I really hope you enjoyed the review and the book too.

Review by Reagann Watson

The Witches

A book that I read this summer was the witches by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quinten Blake. It was published by Jonathan Cape in London, in the year 1983. It is a funny and also it is a kinda weird book, but it is filled with action from the start.

So in the beginning a boy and his parents are in the car and they crash, he's the only one who survives. So he goes to live with his grandmother. Now he's living with his grandmother and she tells him all about the witches. A few weeks after this he encounters a real witch and tells his grandma all about it. Let's fast forward a few months and poor old grandma gets sick, then they have a whole bunch of in house nurses come in and care for them for a month or two. Then finally she gets better and they take a train to the Hotel Magnificent so grandma can recover.

Now they've arrived at the hotel and the boy receives two white mice for a present therefore he gets straight to training them for the mouse circus. Then one day he is training the mice (William and Mary) and he's caught by the manager. He and his grandmother are told that they can only keep the mice as long as they stay in the cage which the boy very much so disobeys, and karma he finds himself trapped in a room full of witches. The witch in charge called the Grand High Witch tells the other witches a new spell, and as they end the meeting they find the boy and turn him into a mouse. Lastly he gets revenge and he and his grandma plan to wipe out the whole witch population.

Overall, I absolutely LOVE this book!! It is my favourite book that I've read in my life it was tremendous. I would recommend it to anyone. I can't express how much I love this book! If you do read this book you won't regret it.

Say Cheese And Die

R.L.Stine SCHOLASTIC

New York 1992

Review by Taylor Moore:

A book I recently read was Say Cheese And Die it is a great book. It starts off with a normal kid named Greg he thought that something was wrong with his very old camera. It started off by Greg was looking under his bed and he saw his old camera so he wiggled under his bed and grabbed it and wiggled back out. But things started to get kinda weird when he started taking pictures with his old camera. His dad had just bought a new car and when greg took a picture of it the new car had been destroyed it looked like the car was in a car accident, but that was just the beginning. Then he told his friends and one really didn't believe him so she said take a picture of me then and so he did. In the picture was everyone except for Shari was there. So it is kinda like Gregs old camera can make the future but only bad events. The book is a great book for many reasons like it leaves you on cliff hangers so you want to read more so that's like the main thing that is the best about the book. I would definitely recommend this book because there is a cliffhanger and that will want you to read more, and the best part is to some people you might even get a couple scares from these Goosebumps books. But if I am being completely honest I would recommend all the goosebumps books because they are amazing.

By Ceili Irving

Bridge to Terabithia

The book I read over the summer was Bridge to Terabithia. Bridge to Terabithia is written by Kathrine Paterson and illustrated by Donna Diamond. It was published by SCHOLASTIC INC. in New York in 1972.

This book is a quick read chapter book with black and white pictures once a chapter. The main character is a young fifth grade boy who is obsessed with being the fastest runner in the third, fourth, and fifth grades come the school year. When a new girl comes into class on the first day of school and beats all of the boys in the race, Jess gets a feeling this school year will be a whole lot more interesting than most others. Quickly Jess and the new girl,Leslie, become friends. They create a whole new world based on their friendship. But one morning a tragedy happens down by the stream. Only after that does Jesse Oliver Aarons realize how much Leslie has helped him unlock his true self.

I recommend this book to people ages 9-13. It is an extremely heart warming book. If you are uncomfortable with death and some mild language, then I would recommend a different book.

This book is beautifully written, and tells the beautiful tale of a 10 year old boy and how he changes because of his surroundings. On page 72 paragraph 12, Lesslie finds the school bully sitting in the bathroom crying. “So what should we do?" (Paterson 72) This is said by Jess. Even though the person crying is the school bully, Jess still wants to help her. This is how the whole story is. The characters are so kind and respectful to everyone, even those who aren’t respectful and kind to them. This is why this book is heartwarming.

Overall, Bridge to Terabithia is a funny, hartwarming, and sad story that many people will enjoy.

Review by Leah McFarland

A book I recently read was Front Desk by Kelly Yang. It was published by Scholastic Inc. in 2018 in New York, New York.

The book Front Desk is about a girl named Mia Tang who moves to America. Her parents help maintain a motel in California. Her and her parents go through many struggles as immigrants, such as hiding other immigrants from the selfish motel owner Mr.Yao. Mia really wants to be a writer English is her second language so she does not believe that she can write as well as all the other kids who are native American. In the book Mia and her new friend help Hank one of the weeklies not get put in jail and get a new job. I would recommend this book to people who like action and realistic fiction. This book taught me that many people are discriminated because of race or religion, such as in this book.

I loved this book because it showed me that some of the things that Mia experienced actually happen in the real world. Like when Mia’s immigrant friends come over and tell them about all of their problems with loan sharks and getting their IDs and passports taken away. In the text they said “They fired me for scratching my nose” said Uncle Fung. (Yang Chapter 35). This tells me that what Mia experienced happens in the real world because I have heard that many immigrants have been fired from their job because they are new to America and do not know how to act.

One thing that I think you should take away from this summary is that no matter what race someone is or if they are immigrants or not treat them with the same respect that you would treat your friends.

Overall, I think that you should read this book because it is funny and it will make you think about what happens in the real world.

Review by Emallee Fortin

Scout's Honor

A book I recently just read was Scout's Honor. The author of this book is Avi. The book was written in 1994.

The book Scout’s Honor is about theses two best friends named Philip Hossfender and Richard Macht. Philips nickname is horse. Richards nickname is Max because they can not spell. The were Tenderfoots in scouting camp. The scout law is being loyal, kind, friendly, helpful, brave, cheerful, clean, obedient, courteous, thrifty and reverent.

This book is not that good. I suggest you not read it unless you like to read about camping and what some people do to camp. The text states “We informed our folks that we are going camping overnight(which was true) and that the Scoutmaster was going with us- which was a lie.'' (Avi 3) This proves that this book does not make much sense because even if you read the book you have no clue what they are talking about at that moment and in the real world it makes no sense so say overnight without telling your parents and have them be notified you are staying at camp overnight not just for the day. This book does not make so much sense and you would have to read it slow to really understand what was happening. Also it is short so if you like short books you should definitely read this book but if you like long books you should not read this book. If you read the book and thought that made sense than you probably read slow. Or you just like the book more than me and pay attention and read slower and really get all the details from the book.

What happens in the book is that Philip and Richard (Horse and Max) is that they stay overnight and travel and then it started to rain in New York and they were near New Jersey. It was not going to rain in New Jersey so they went on the bridge to New Jersey but it was so foggy they could barely see. They arrived in New Jersey and it was not raining.

In conclusion, this book is not that great but it could be for you. Scout’s Honor is not that funny but it is a little tiny bit action pack because you never know what will happen next. If you ever decide to read this book make sure you read it very, very slow so you can really understand what the whole story is about. This is the book Scout’s Honor.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

A book I recently read was…Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's ́s Stone by J.K Rowling.The publisher is scholastic, and it was published in New York in 1997.

This the book that I just read and I think is that it should be for 10-13.

I would recommend this book because in my opinion I think this is the best series of books I've ever read.According to the text it says (ROWZLING sixy sevon then)

Third of all, I think Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's ́s Stone is the book you would want to read because if you the age of 8-10 it would be a good suitable book for you. There are three characters Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, and Hermione Granger.

Review by Brody Huckins

I recommend the book Holes because the book is really interesting . I also liked that the author put a lot of details into the book. also he put a lot of details in the setting.the book holes was made by Louis Sachar this book was made in 1998 and published,.

The book holes is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats he got arrested for finding shoes that fell on his head. Then he got sent to Camp Green Lake were they were forced to dig holes every day for 16 months straight

I think this book is very interesting; it was very hard to put down. I would give this book a 10 out of 10 rating because I loved the details I loved the characters, and most of all, I loved the plot of the story.

I would recommend this book because it is very interesting, and it has a lot of details about the characters. I would recommend this book to you because it is a long and fun book. Those are some reasons why I would recommend this book to you.

Review by Sophia Westman

A book I recently read was A Wind in the Door. The author of this book is Madeleine L’Engel. This book was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and published at 19 Union Square West New York. In 1979.

In this book, Charles Wallace (the main character’s little brother) says that he saw dragons in the vegetable garden. Meg (the main character) Is worried about Charles Wallace because the older kids at keep bullying him and punching him. Charles Wallace is very pale and he can’t walk for a very long time without having to catch his breath. So, Meg decides she should talk to the principal of the school but, talking to the principal does not work. So, after school they go to the vegetable garden to see the ‘’dragons’’. To Megs surprise there is a creature that looks like dragons but it is not a dragon. It is an alien. Meg finds out that Charles Wallce is sick. The alien takes Meg through time to help save Charles Wallace!

I would recommend A Wind In TheDoor. I like this book because it is mysterious and you never know what will happen next. I also like this book because it is very descriptive on page 9 sentence 13 the text says ‘’they were by the rocks, all sort of clustered together, wings, it looked like hundreds of wings, and eyes opening and shutting between the wings, and some smoke and little spurts of fire’’ (L’Engel). I like this book because it is mysterious, you never know what happens next and it is very descriptive.

I like and would recommend this book. It’s a mysterious, unpredictable and descriptive book. A Wind In The Door takes you on an adventure. If you decide to read this book, I hope you enjoy it.

Review by Ava K.

The City of Ember

A book I recently read is The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. It was published by Yearling, in New York, 2003.

This book is about a young girl and boy. The girl’s name is Lina and she loves to run. She lives with her grandmother and her little sister named Poppy. The boy's name is Doon. He lives with his father above their shop. The place where they live is called the city of Ember. In this place the sky is always dark and the only sources of light in the streets are street lamps. Beyond the city is total darkness. Recently the city had been having unexpected blackouts. Doon wants to get a job in the pipeworks where the machine that keeps the light running is kept. He thinks he can fix it. Lina wants to help him, but there is a twist, the city is running out of food and supplies. The mayor does not want everyone to worry so he tells the people they were coming up with solutions. But is he really fixing things or is he just protecting himself? In this book Doon and Lina embark on a journey to find a way to escape from Ember.

This action-packed story is filled with surprises. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of adventure. For example, in the text it states, “He opened it only a few inches, just enough to peer around the edge. What he saw it made him gasp.” (Duprau 156). When I read this sentence I thought, “oh my gosh, what is it?” I was so curious to find out what it was. Everything in this book made me want to keep reading. For example, in the text it states, “As they squeeze past the rocks at the entrance to the path, Doon thought he saw the candlelight glance off a shiny place on the wall. He stopped to look, and when he saw what it was, he called out to Lina, who was a few steps ahead of him. “There's a notice!” (Duprau 250). After I read this, I felt as if I would never put the book down again. I would recommend this book to kids ages 9 to 11. It was very interesting.I loved it and I hope you do too.

Overall, I thought that this a great book. You should read this book because it is adventurous and grabs you and the description makes you feel as if you are inside the book and you are there experiencing it all. I hope you like this book!

Review by Cassandra A.

The book am reading is called Smile by Raina Telgemeier. It was published by Scholastic in the year 2010 in New York. I loved this book! I 100% recommend it if you like real graphic novels. Smile has an unhappy start in the book that turns into a happy ending!

The book I read is about Raina, a happy teenage girl. Raina who just went to the dentist, and she heard the news that she needs to get braces. She didn't want braces, but she needed them. Later on in the

story, Raina was leaving girl scouts, going home. When her friends said, ‘’The last one to the last one to the porch is a rotten egg” (Telgemeier 5).

The 3 girls were running went BANG! Raina stumbled and fell on the ground! Time went by and Raina parents came running. You will have to read the book to find out what happens next!

This book is relatable because throughout Raina’s life, she deals with the challenges of her sister, brother, school, boys and drama.

I hope if you start to read this book because of my encouragement that you enjoy this book.

Review by Gracie Greatchus

Refugee

I recently read Refugee. It was written by Alan Gratz, published by Scholastic,Inc., and published on July, 25th, 2017.

Refugee is about three kids who were in dangerous situations that had caused them to leave their country. Each of them had to endure different struggles to get them to safety, and some of them had to leave their things behind and only take the necessities. They had been through so many things that the normal person wouldn’t believe. This book was a front seat ride through danger, emotion, and more importantly the feeling of not making it.

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because in every chapter, there is a shocking surprise that will leave you breathless to the very end. This book is one of those books that you would read again and again. It is full of surprises, emotion, and definitely heart. This is one of those books that you can't read late at night because you will end up staying up and finishing it. This book may seem long, but once you get into it you will never want to leave.

One of my favorite parts in Refugee was when Josef had realized someone was in his house “Josef scrambled backward on his bed, his eyes wide. There was a shattering sound in the next room-crisssh! Ruth woke up and screamed. Screamed in sheer blind terror. She was only six years old.”Gratz-1). Another of my favorite parts of the story is when the author describes how Mahmoud looked and why “ he wasn't literally invisible. If you really looked at mahmoud, got a glimpse underneath the hoodie he kept pulled down over his face, you would see a twelve - year - old boy with a long strong nose, thick black eyebrows, ans short cropped black hair. He was stocky, his shoulders wide and muscular despite the food shortages, but Mahmoud did everything he could to hide his size and his face, to stay under the radar, random death from a fighter jets missile or a soldier's rocket launcher might come at any moment when you least expected it. To walk around and get noticed by the Syrian army or the rebels fighting them was just inviting trouble” (Gratz-12).

I hope this might make you want to read the book now that you know what its about, and if you do, I know you will enjoy it!

Review by Brody Hill

A book I recently read was, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan. It was published by Disney Publishing Worldwide. That is located in Glendale, California. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer, was published October 6, 2015.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer, follows a 15 year old Magnus Chase (the narrator) who is living on the corrupted streets of Boston, Massachusetts. After being hunted down by his Uncle Randolph, he learns that not only is his father the god of wealth, but also that his “birth-right” is a god-killing sword. He must stop the fire giant Surtur (Surt for short) from freeing Fenris Wolf and causing Ragnarok.

I strongly recommend this book because the storytelling is amazing. Rick Riordan states “The wound in his thigh smoldered, setting his pants on fire.” (Riordan 45) See what I mean? I mean, it's so ironic to think of a fire giant having his pants set on fire in your mind.

Magnus learns that his street friends, Blitzen (a svartalf (a dark elf)) and Hearthstone (a deaf elf) are working for the non vanir-god Mimir (protector of the well of knowledge). Along with his friend Samirah Al-Abbas (human/ex-valkyrie) who isn’t working for Mimir. This book reminds me a lot of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you do read this book I hope you enjoy it very much. I sure did!

Donner Dinner Party

Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale is a New York Times best selling author. The book was published in 2013 by Amulet Books. This book is dedicated to Nathan Hales Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Emp Hanks, A Rescuer of Snowboard Pioneers.These people who wanted a better life would setup to ride on the Oregon Trail. The trail starts in Missouri, Independance and ends in Oregon, Oregon City. From Missouri to Orgean In a whopping 2,170 Miles (3,490 km). I would not want to ride in a wagon for THAT LONG!!!!

In this book there will be dying people, Murders, Animals dying, Wagons crashing and people getting hurt. This book sent me to loving Social Studies, Now I want to learn about History. I would recommend this book to whoever loves to read about American History.

Nathan Hale (The author of this Book) Has written many other stories of History. So if you read this book and you love it, then you will love his other books he wrote. I’ve read all of his books but one and im hopping i can get a copy of the amazing book, Nathan hale wrote

I would recommend this book because. Also try Nathan Hales other books: Lafaytte!, One Dead Spy, Big Bad Ironclad, Treaties Trenches Mud and Blood, The Underground Abductor, Alamo All Stars, Raid of No Return.

Review by Gracie Greatchus

I recently read “Refugee." It was written by Alan Gratz and published by Scholastic, Inc. on July, 25th, 2017

This book was about three kids that were in dangerous situations, that had caused them to leave their country. Each of them had to go through different things to get them to safety, and some of them had to leave their things behind and only take the necessities. They had been through so many things that the normal person wouldn’t believe. This book was a front seat ride through danger, emotion, and more importantly the feeling of not making it. Even though all three kids are in different time periods their stories will be tied together. This is “Refugee”.

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because, in every chapter there is a shocking surprise that will leave you breathless to the very end. This book is one of those books that you would read again and again. It is full of surprises, emotion, and definitely heart. This is one of those books that you can't read late at night because you will end up staying up and finishing it. This book may seem long, but once you get into it you will never want to leave.

One of my favorite parts in "Refugee" was when Josef had realized someone was in his house “Josef scrambled backward on his bed, his eyes wide. There was a shattering sound in the next room-crisssh! Ruth woke up and screamed. Screamed in sheer blind terror. She was only six years old.”[ Gratz-1] Another of my favorite parts of the story is when the author describes how Mahmoud looked and why “ he wasn't literally invisible. If you really looked at mahmoud, got a glimpse underneath the hoodie he kept pulled down over his face, you would see a twelve - year - old boy with a long strong nose, thick black eyebrows, ans short cropped black hair. He was stocky, his shoulders wide and muscular despite the food shortages, but Mahmoud did everything he could to hide his size and his face, to stay under the radar, random death from a fighter jets missile or a soldier's rocket launcher might come at any moment when you least expected it. To walk around and get noticed by the Syrian army or the rebels fighting them was just inviting trouble”[ Gratz-12]

I hope this might make you want to read the book now that you know what its about, and if you do, I know you will enjoy it!

Review by Kavan Zick

Grade 6 Summer Reading Book Review:

By: Kavan A. Zick,

I have recently read the amazing and detailed book, Wings of Fire the Dragonet Prophecy. This book is an action filled and adventurous book. This book makes a great example of the fantasy genre and contains many things that could be unimaginable to us, the readers. I really enjoyed this book because of how well described all of the characters and environments are. written by Tui T. Southerland and published by Scholastic Press at 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 in 2012.

This was a very fun book that I would recommend to any sixth grader looking for an exciting book to read. It was about a group of young dragons destined to stop the great war. They get in some trouble though when they make an attempted escape from their prisonous home. The two dragons who’d attempted the escape were caught by another dragon just after escaping their home. The two quickly escape and retreat back to their home, and rescue their friends. But soon after they were confronted by the same dragon from before, and get captured by the aforementioned dragon.

Wings of Fire is a very detailed series that was able to pull the reader in through descriptive text. An example of this would be, “After a moment, they split apart, and dragons fanned out in every direction. Their wingbeats filled the sky. Their long necks whipped from side to side as they searched,” (Southerland 257). This is a great example of how the author, Tui T. Southerland, describes what’s happening in the book so well. Using descriptive words like this allow the readers to picture what is happening in the book in their minds.

The Story takes place the continent of Pyrrhia, in the skywing territory. Some of the book was spent in the dragonets gloomy, dreadful cave home underneath the skywing palace. Later in the book Clay and Tsunami escape through a cave into the unknown areas of the wilderness. The dragonets had never left their home so they had never seen any bright colors or grassy terrain. After they escape they retreat back to their home to rescue the rest of their friends. They do this but were soon going to be imprisoned in the skywing palace. The rest of the book takes place around the skywing palace and in the skywing territory.

The Main characters were Clay (A Mudwing), Tsunami (A Seawing), Glory (A Rainwing), Sunny (A Sandwing), and Starflight (A Nightwing). Mudwings, Seawings, Sandwings, Rainwings, Nightwings, Icewings, and Skywings are all different species of dragons all unique in their own right. Each different species of dragon has their own abilities that makes them distinctive in each dragons special ways. I recommend this book to any kids from ages 11-13 who is looking for an adventure filled book complete with lots of suspense and character development.

Wings of Fire the Dragonet Prophecy is a great book and I hope anyone who reads it does enjoy it.

Review by Tiarra Soukone

The Elephant and the Crocodile

The Elephant and the Crocodile is a book by H. Berkeley Score. This book is about an elephant and a crocodile and they fight over who is a better animal. Then they asked a lion who’s the better animal. Then the lion sent them both on a quest and who ever came back to the lion first won.

They had to go and get the soldiers steel helmet on the yonder wall. They both went and the crocodile didn’t have a problem getting across the river bank. But had some trouble getting up the wall. Then the elephant came and reached his trunk up and grabbed the helmet. But the elephant dropped the helmet in the river. Then the crocodile grabbed it and they both went back and asked the lion. Who the better animal was. The lion said to the elephant “You, on account of your size and trunk, were able to reach the prize on the wall but, having lost it, you were unable to recover it.” “Berkeley” Then the lion said to the crocodile “although unable to reach the helmet, were able to dive for it and save it. You are both wise and clever in your respective ways. Neither is better than the other.” “Berkeley” I do recommend this story to anyone cause this story teaches you that everyone is very equal.

Review by Brady Dame

Hatchet

A book I recently read was Hatchet. Hatchet was originally published in London by penguin books and then released in 1987 in the united states by Bradbury Press.

Hatchet was my favorite book about survival. Bain Robenson took a small plane to Canada to see his father. Unfortunately, the plane went down in the middle of the forest and crash landed. Bain now has to survive in the forest with very little to help him. Thankfully, Bain is a very strong and brave 12 year old.

You should really read this book because this is a great book if you like survival and adventure. If you only like books with lots of comedy and people in it, this is not your book to read. I recommend this book to other middle schoolers.

Review by Autumn Langill

A book I recently read was My Brother Sam is Dead. This book is an amazing story written by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. It was published by Scholastic in New York in 1974.

The book My Brother Sam is Dead, is about a boy named Tim and his family. Tim’s brother Sam went to fight on the opposite army of the Tories, so he was considered a Rebel. Tim admired his older brother alot and thought he was brave. They lived in a town full of Tories, so the news of Sam spread quickly. Tim’s family was now in danger from the Rebel’s and the Tories.

In the beginning, Tim thought war is cool and fun. By the end of the war he understood that war can come with severe consequences and that it's not a game. Sam’s parents did not approve of Sam being a Rebel. His parents wanted Sam to stay home and help with the tavern.

Tim’s family really needed the extra help when the war got rough and there was a food shortage, but Sam was dedicated to the Rebels.

I would definitely recommend reading this book. This is such a good book and it is written in a way that makes you feel like you're apart of the story. It's almost as though the story is alive." My hands shook so hard I dropped my stick and my knees were so weak I could hardly walk. I felt terrific, because I had fooled them; it would be a great story to tell Sam. But everything else was awful-” (Collier 126). This quote shows me Tims feelings and makes me understand them. The author explains his feelings in a way that you can almost feel like they are your feelings.

In the end, this is a great book that I really loved and found very interesting. It is such a great book that I strongly recommend anyone who loves a realistic history book to read it.

Review by Hannah Pimental

Physik

By Angie Sage

Book Three

In the book, there is a new character that comes into play here. This girl is a northern trader. This girls name is Snorri. She has come back from a long trip on the ocean. There is a cafe called Sally’s cafe. The owner is Sally, a good friend of the Heaps’. When Snorri walks in, she gets an unpleasant feeling. Sally wouldn’t let her come in because of the fact that she was a northern trader. The people that were already in there were saying, “Give her a chance.”

Sally let Snorri come in. She ordered a beer, which she didn’t like, and some pound cake. Later that night, everyone left the cafe except her and Sally. Then there was a tall woman who came in and sat down. Sally was telling Snorri about the rats and what was happening with them. She told Snorri that the rats had a disease and were biting people then they would get sick and die. She also said that if you have a torch then there would be a lower chance of getting bitten. Then goes to the princess and her family and friends. Jenna is the princess because her mother the queen got shot and Jenna was taken away because they were after her next. So Marcia took her into the woods and left her there. Then Silas Heap found her and took her home to his wife Sarah Heap and his six kids. Sarah had one more but it had died. So Jenna had been living with them for most of her life until she found out that they were not her family. The seventh son that died did not really because the midwife gave the baby something to make pretend it was dead. What happened to the seventh son was that he had been put into the young army. Until they meet him and stuff. Now Septimus which is his name is now the apprentice of the extraordinary wizard. Because of that rat problem Jenna and everyone else can’t leave the castle…

The reason I choose this book is because I really got into the first book in the series and now I am on the third book. I think other people should read this book because it is very exciting not knowing what is on the next page. In some parts of the book it is not as thrilling but when you get into it, it becomes so enjoyable that you can’t put the book down. You want to know what happens next.

Review by Mary Braley

Holes

A book I recently read was Holes By: Louis Sachar Published in 1998 Holes is about a kid who was accused of stealing shoes his name was Stanley Yelnats. So he went to court, and he got a choice to go to what sounded amazing Camp Green Lake, or Jail. He chose camp. As he arrived he saw no water, no ice cream shop, and most of all no fun! When he got there all he saw was holes.

I would recommend this book because it is funny, mysterious, and has a great theme. The author states, “ Stanley is cursed from his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great great grandfather”(Sachar, back of book). He was supper crazy and said that in court. I recommend it It has lots of pages so you won't get bored. It also gives you a back story. The text states, “The boys are digging because the warden wanted something, what could it be, what did she want.”(Sachar, back of book). So you don’t get confused. Once you start reading you'll never want to stop.

Holes is a AMAZING book I really think you should read it. You won't regret it! I will say it once more...

READ THE BOOK!

Serenity Dinger

September 7,2019

Smile

A book that I recently read was Smile it's written by Raina Telgemeier. The publisher is Scholastics. It was published in New York. The date it was published was 2010.

The story is about Raina getting braces. Her four front teeth got messed up. She get her braces in middie school. In the story Raina made new friends.

I think Raina liked having an earthquake. I think you will like Smile because it is an amazing book. If you want to find out how good it is read it yourself.

Raina Telgemeier also has two other books and they are Sisters, and Drama. Which I liked as well. I think you will like them.

Review by Ethan Laughy

Hatchet

Hatchet is a good book to read by Gary Paulsen. It was Published 1987 by Simon and Schuster at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY.

Hatchet is about a 13 year old boy named Brian, who gets into a plane crash on his way to visit his Father. His plane crashes into a lake in the wilderness. He is left with nothing but a hatchet given to him by his Mom. He has to go out and find shelter and food in order to be able to survive in the wilderness. I liked all the exciting moments, for instance when the tornado came and when Brian was trampled by a moose.

If you have to read a book, I would recommend this one, because it is fun to read and it is full of surprises that will make you jump out of your chair and scream “I LIkE PanCakes!” It's also great for those days when you're just bored and you want to read something fun or a bedtime story.

Review by Janet Peterson

A book I recently read was Scout's Honor by Avi. It was published in 1994.

The main character is Max, and his 2 best friends names are Philip Hossfender and Horse. Max want to be a boy scout. This book was set in 1946.

I would recommend this book for another person to read because if you are in boy scouts, it might help you understand the honor to be a boy scout. It tells you you have to have scout spirit and scout participation and scout craft for some boy scout camps.

This book was really good because if you don’t like to read long texts, you can read this shorter story. Or do you like to read, but you are not feeling to read that day then read this. Or if your teacher said you have read your ok it is 2 pages one has a picture in it then it is not that long so you can have fun with your toys your video games or go outside to play or read a book just for fun.

The book I recently read was scout honor and think you are going to like it when you read it.

Review by Keegan Ingram

I didn't read a book over the summer. Instead, I read a short story. It was called Scout Honor by Avi published in 1994. I would not recommend this short story because it is hot trash; I can make a better story than this. The main characters in the story are the Narrator, Max, and Horse. So stories about 3 Boy Scouts who are trying to get a particular badge so they can be true Boy Scouts. However, when they went to go on camping, they forget critical details. It is a pretty dull book because it doesn't say the name of the narrator in the entire book.

The book starts off by these three kids trying to go camping. They all bring food and supplies to go camping but while they're on the train to get to the forest, but while they're on the ride, they start to eat their food because they are super hungry. When they got out to cross the bridge, one of the trips and drop their mattress and it got all wet. When they finally got to the forest, it started to rain. So they tried to build a shelter out of sticks and one blanket for the roof. Then they realize they didn't have any food, so they all decided to go back home.

That is why I wouldn't recommend this story. It doesn't have enough information about the characters, and it just doesn't have any entertaining parts.

Review by David Sorrell

The short story I read was Scout's Honor by Avi.

According to the author, a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

The story is about how the scouts were going on a trip and they wanted to get out of Brooklyn and have some fun. They wanted to get to the country and go camping with their troupe leader.

One day, there was this adventurous scout who had an idea. He wanted to go somewhere some war once somewhere like the country and he wanted to do something camping so he went to his fellow scouts and they thought that was a good idea so he went to his trip leader and they went out of the city and in the country. They took the subway to the country.

I would recommend this book because I have a Boy Scout she's recomendable in the text is stated that he was adventurous and I am an adventurous boy also I am a Boy Scout (what's on the subway platform he realizes that he did not know what station he was headed for I am not right either. Heads out who we really hated) (avi)

I would recommend this because I am also a Boy Scout and I can relate this a lot I also really like this book.

Review by Natalie Boyce

Rumpelstiltskin

In a country a long way off ran a stream of water. Upon the stream, there stood a mill. The also lived a miller, who had a beautiful daughter. The miller was so proud of her, so proud that he told the king who uses to in the woods.

He said his daughter could make straw into gold. The miller also told the king when the king was told by the miller that just boosted the king's greediness. Then the king sent for the girl to be brought to him, then he led her to her room full of straw, and to start making straw into gold. The king said, "All this straw should be spun by morning, the door was locked and she was all alone.

Suddenly, the door opened. The daughter was upset and didn't know what to do because after Rumpelstilskin helped the miller's daughter, it was the third time and she had nothing left to give him.

Then, Rumpelstitckin said, "Give me your first child when you are queen."

Later, the king married the miller's daughter. Eventually, she experienced the birth of her first child.

Soon after, Rumpelstiltskin came and said, "I'll give you three days if you figure out my name you can keep the child."

When the third day came, she figured out his name she said, "Your name is Rumpelstiltskin."

He was stunned. He blurted, "Someone told you that was my name." Still, he dashed out the door. And Rumpelstiltskin did not return.

Review by Jake Warner

I EVEN FUNNIER: A MIDDLE SCHOOL STORY

BOOK BY: JAMES PATTERSON AND CHRIS GRABENSTEIN

PUBLISHED IN 237 PARK AVENUE, 15TH FLOOR, NY 10017

PUBLISHED IN 2013

A book I read over the summer was I Even Funnier, the sequel to I Funny. The book is about a kid named Jamie Grimm. Jamie is a hilarious kid, but he has one problem; he’s handicapped. In the previous book, Jamie gets encouraged by his Uncle to join a contest called “The Planet's Funniest Kid Comic Contest”, a contest for kid comedians. Jamie joins and wins the first round, which is held in Long Island, Jamie's hometown. Jamie moved to Long Island after a car accident that killed his parents and his little sister, Jenny. Jamie wins and moves on to the next contest in NYC. Jamie wins that and moves on to Boston, the regionals.

The next book follows on to the cliffhanger from the last book. Jamie starts gathering new jokes for the Boston regionals. Everyone from the last book is in the sequel. The characters include:

The Smileys (Jamie's adoptive family)

Pierce and Gaynor (Jamie’s friends)

Gilda (one of Jamie’s other friends)

Cool Girl (Jamie’s ½ girlfriend)

Uncle Frankie (Jamie’s Uncle)

Stevie Kosgrov (Jamie’s adoptive brother/bully)

Jamie is destined to win the Boston regionals so he can move on to the Las Vegas semifinals, then the Hollywood finals. The winner of the semifinals gets $1,000, but the winner of the FINALS get $100,000. Jamie goes through a lot, such as his ½ girlfriend getting in a FULL relationship, having his brother, Stevie, torment him more than usual, etc. Jamie then goes on to win the regionals in Boston, but another thing comes up: Gaynor burglarizing lockers.

The chapter before, Jamie, Gaynor, Pierce, and Gilda go on a triple date to see a movie. Gaynor brings a TON of money for snacks and tickets, but in the next chapter we find out where he got the money. Jamie, Pierce and Uncle Frankie stand up for him. Jamie and Gaynor stay at Uncle Frankie’s for a while. But while training for Las Vegas, Jamie finds something bad: his report card.

For the next few weeks, Jamie starts working to improve his grades for Vegas. Once he does, Uncle Frankie and Jamie celebrate with burger bombs and cupcakes. But back home, Uncle Frankie has a heart attack. While Uncle Frankie recuperates, the Smileys take over his diner. Eventually, Jamie has to drop out of the Vegas competition to pitch in at the diner. But at school, Gilda records an act that Jamie does in front of the Middle School. She then posts it on YouTube. Then, the host of the competition gives Jamie another chance to do his act. He and the Smileys fly off to Vegas, where Jamie wins.

This was an enjoyable and inspiring book that anyone 9-13 should read. It is really good for kids who want to be comedians. There are also parts that are funny like “What happened in 1853? I don’t know. Some guy fell off his horse. What? You think that’s the wrong answer? I’m betting that somewhere in 1853, some dude slipped off his saddle and ended up on his butt.” (Patterson, 278) So, yeah. This is a book that I totally recommend 9-13 year olds to.

Review by Skylar Poirier

Rumpelstiltskin

By the brothers Grimm

1812

Jacob Gimm and Wilhelm Grimm, also known as the brothers Grimm, are German authors who made folklore. I don't recommend this story because it's boring. I also don't like classic stories. However, if you like classics, then this book would be for you.

Here is a brief summary of the book: A young woman must spin straw to make gold for a king who loves money. She must give something to the mysterious creature to help her make gold out of straw. To find out what happens next, read the book. Or don't. It's your choice.

Review by Elaine Woodward

This book can be found at www.christianfocus.com. This book is published by Christian Focus Publications.The author’s name is Irene Howat.

A book I read recently is Ten Boys Who Changed the World. It is about ten boys who fought against slavery. They broke laws for God and brought bibles to Africans because they had little knowledge about God. Some boys were slaves when they were young boys. Some were even captured for gangs or for a king.

All ten boys heard God speaking to them. This book is really good; I recommend this book to everybody. It can inspire you and it will show you to not do anything bad and to do what God wants you to do.

The main characters are Billy Graham, Brother Andrew, John Newton, George Miller, Nicky Cruz, William Carey, David Livinstone, Adoniram Judson, Eric Liddell and Luis Palua.

Review by Austin Reed

A short story I recently read was The Elephant and the Crocodile.

This short story absolutely stank. In my opinion, no one should read this unless they have to.

An elephant and a crocodile were hanging by the river. They were arguing who was stronger and then a lion happened to pass. The crocodile and elephant ran up to the lion. They asked the lion which was the better animal. Then, the elephant and crocodile swam across a body of water to grab a rock. The crocodile retrieved the rock, then dropped it while it was going across the water. Next, the elephant snatched it with its trunk and gave it to the lion. Ultimately, the lion said that they both are good animals.

Like I stated previously, I did not enjoy this story. I suggest you avoid it if you can.