derek Kensuke kindom.

I read a book called kensuke kingdom by michael morpurgo. But I did not like it. Because you know what will happen.

The young boy michael go's on a journey to a island called Kensuke Kingdom. where Michael met an old man tells michael about his adventures on the island. Michael and Stella, his dog, try to find a way home.

One thing I did not like was that when he got on the island. It was too predictable at the end.

For example, when he go's into the water, I knew something was going to attack him, either a shark or a jellyfish. Whoopdiedo, it was a jellyfish. No big surprise.

I think the author could have made it more original by having a better plot.

Which Witch
Hannah Liebman #20

I think that Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson was very bad and depressing (depressing because it was bad). Before I read this book I thought it would have been fun to read it but after the first chapter the book was very boring. I think that that the book could have been WAY better and more interesting. I also think that some of the characters could have been more talkative and detailed. In the end the book wasn't exciting or sad. When you see a book about witch's you think it's scary or sad right? Well this wasn't.

Well...Okay this my evidence to support my opinion. Why I think this book is boring? Well you're here to know right? Anyway during the book a worm gets lost (I know what your thinking but it's a really important one) and you think that something really bad happened to it but in the end a lady stole it from its box. Not that exciting right?

Here is more of my evidence that the book is HORRIBLE. In the beginning It is so BORING and weird it tells about them getting on the bus and about their family. They talk about one witches mom who was a mermaid and went on land and meet man and got married. I think that we don't need to know about their moms.

You think that Belladonna (the main character) is finally what she always wanted to be, a Black Witch but turns out she wins the contest unfairly. And you think in the middle that could have happened and then they would figure out what really did happen and he (Arriman the Awful)
would ask the other witch to marry him but then he and Belladonna would get married.

Another part I don't like is one witches contest day she does this really disgusting gory thing. I know you want me to explain it and I will. Madame Olympia does this trick where she has a lot of rats and makes them eat each other till there is one left who is really fat (because of eating all the other rats) and it starts eating it's self. That is the part that I thought was truly disgusting.

I think that the writer has written a lot of good books but this book could use a lot of work. The writer could make the book have more details and more characters so the story could have been put together better. I think that the writer didn't out a lot of thought to this book and didn't have a very good problem and solution.

As you can see I didn't really like this book and thought a lot more work could have put in. I would give this book 2 trees and not recommend it to anyone unless people like boring books (not that many people do). I know that a lot of people want to be at the edge of their seats while reading a book and so do I but this book didn't make me excited and I wasn't at the edge of my seat while reading this book.

Princess Academy

Princess Academy

By William Roddy

#24 12-8-10

I just finished a book called Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. This book was pretty good but some parts were just saying the same thing over and over and sometimes you could tell what was going to happen next, but other than that it was a pretty good book.

I think the book was saying the same thing over and over. In the end, when the bandits go away and the celebration starts, it just keeps going on and on about how great it is and how happy they are that the girls are back safe at home and not with the bandits. Another reason I think the book was saying the same thing over is when the girls do the mountain speaking they just keep saying it over and over.

I think that in the book you could tell what was going to happen next because you could tell the Prince Stefan was going to choose Miri or Britta. Also you could tell that the girls would eventually escape from the bandits. The last reason why I think the book was predictable is because when Olana is testing them they just keep telling each other the answers you could tell they were going to keep doing it.

I think Shannon Hale should have made the book more mysterious so that the book made you want to read to the end to see what was going to happen. Also I think the author should have made some parts less descriptive and some parts more descriptive.

So as you can see from my examples There were some good parts and some bad parts so I will give this book 3 trees.

Sarah Knopf's Kensuke's Kindom

I think that the book, Kensuke's Kingdom by Michel Morpurgo, is one of THE BEST BOOKS EVER. It's about a kid named Michel who gets stranded on an island whith his dog; and then meets a man named Kensuke. I would defiantly give it 4 trees. You might be wondering "why not 5?" well most of it was good, but while I was reading I noticed that there was just one little thing missing. I could not tell what it was. Overall the book was really very good becouse it had some very good parts to it.

One of the good parts is when Michel first meets Kensuke, a lone man that lives on the island that Michel gets shipwrecked on. He is stranded on an island and he has built a fire. He goes to get firewood; but when he comes back, Kensuke is there, and is putting out the fire. Then he yells at Michel, draws a line in the middle of the island, and tells Michel to stay on his half. That part is a little funny because Kensuke is not English, so when he's trying to speak it, he sounds really funny. I also like when Michel wakes up and finds there is food and water laid outside the cave he was sleeping in.

One thing That I wish the author should have done is add more adventure. That might be why I thought there was something missing. Mostly Michel just finds Kensuke and makes friends with him and writes a book about it. The only thing that was really adventures, is when he gets stung by jellyfish. I also think what the author should do is put in more to do with how Kensuke can talk to the orangoutangs. In the book he only really mentions it from time to time. I also think he should have told more about what happens to Kensuke in the end. The books just sort of leaves him there, not saying what happens to him.

So, as you can see from my examples, it has very good parts, like when Michel meets Kensuke, and when he finds food outside his cave. It is also a very good book. Overall, I would recommend the book to people who like dogs, because there's a dog in the story, and books about stranded islands.

Disapointing Kensuke's Kingdome

I just finished a book called Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. I think that Kensuke's Kingdom was good and then it was bad then good then bad again, then it had a bad ending. I thought that the author could have put in way more events in the book and could have made it more exiting. I think that this book would be good for a stranded on an island person, but not a sci-fi/action guy like me.

I don't like this book because to there are to many uneventful things in it. For an example when the main character is stranded on an island he always does the same thing for a lot of the book: sleeps, eats, swims and walks around. It gets REALLY boring. I mean come on! Another boring example is when michael makes friends with Kensuke they do the same thing: they fish, painted trees on shells and make food. I mean what is the problem with putting a little tiny bit of humor or action hear and there.

I was mostly bored for, well the most of the book. the only part that wasn't boring was the beginning. Who doesn't think that sailing around the world would be awesome. Well the problem with that in a ''stranded on an island'' book is that you automatically know that the character is going to fall off. After that he finds himself on an island and we end up back in the last paragraph. Another thing that was boring was the end I can't say the ending but you can still guess what happens it was lame and uneventful.

I think that the author should have put in more detail and eventful things. Like when Michael was exploring the only thing you know about the forest was the noise and the height of the trees. You don't even know what kind of trees they were. If I were Michael

Morpugo I would have made my story funny, eventful and not boring.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the book was really boring and not for me! I would

rate this book 1/2 trees.

Princess Academy

Princess Academy
by Lily Day#7

I read a book called Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I thought that the book was GREAT because it kept you thinking about where it was based and what time period it was in! I liked the book because it kept you on the edge of your seat. Although it got a little boring in some parts, I definitely think it deserves four trees!

The reason I say that it is little a boring, is because that in the beginning of the book all it talks about is Miri's (the main character) past and and what it's like as an average day in the village. I guess that's important to know, but Shannon Hale could have made it all sound more interesting. I give Shannon a D for hooking the reader. Another reason why I think that it was a little boring is that towards the middle of book, all it says is what Miri does all day almost every day and it gets boring reading the same thing over and over again! Although I would like to congratulate Shannon on spicing up the end of the middle of the book by having them get caught by bandits! So I will give Shannon a B+ on the middle of the book!

The reasons why I give the book four trees is because in the book there are a LOT of surprising turns and surprising turns always keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. For example, in the book Britta (Miri's friend) turns out to be someone she's not! Shannon today is your lucky day, you get an A+ for surprising turns and for keeping the reader on the edge of his/her seat! Another thing that Shannon did great on is making the reader guess. For example, in the book Miri had mixed feelings on whether or not she wanted to marry the prince. She also could not decide about whether or not she had feelings for Peader (her friend in the book). So, Shannon you get a A on making the reader guess! Another reason I felt the book deserved four trees is because the plot was GREAT. The overall message you got was that Shannon had put a lot of thought, a lot of feeling, and a lot of time into making the book and that she doesn't care what anybody else thought of the book. The important thing to her was that she was happy with the outcome. For example, in the part of the book when they got caught by bandits her words sounded so proud and sure that you got the feeling that she had hit the mark she had been looking for. Opposed to the beginning of the book when her words sounded fragile and unsure. So I am going to give Shannon an A+ for being proud of the overall outcome of her book!

Some advice I would like to give to Shannon is that I think that you could have made your beginning sound more interesting or at the least sound proud of yourself like you did in the end of the book. For these reasons I am giving Shannon Hale four trees for her book Princess Academy!

When you reach me by Rebeca Stead

I just read a book called When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I didn't really care for the book, when you reach me, because of the kids punching other kids, and because, I don't like fiction. I also didn't like the part were Sal was really scared of Marcos because he punched him. Most of the stuff in the book was on the same subject for a long time. I also think that the author shouldn't include punching, but that's just me. I mostly like the order of things in the book about half way through. The end was more exiting then the beginning, nothing was happening in the beginning. In the middle it didn't seem very important.

When you reach me is about a boy named Sal, and a girl named Miranda, all of a sudden there friendship gets lost. There is a homeless man out in front of Miranda's house, she calls him the laughing man. He knows every thing that she is doing. Miranda's friends and her work at a sandwich shop together, the sandwich shop was called Jimmy's sandwich shop.

One day Jimmy's bank got stolen. The laughing man stole it but Jimmy thought that the kids stole it, even though they said they didn't. the part about time travel was my favorite part because its mysterious. Markos punched Sal because his brother said that your going to get punched one day, and someone will punch you someday. So Marcos listened to that and found Sal and punched him. And Marcos told his brother and his brother got so made at him.

The chapters were really short, and interesting names, I didn't really understand the names. I'd say that When You Reach Me is two trees. I would not recommend the book When you reach me. I think that the author should make the chapters a little longer, and change the subject more often.

The Ear, Eye and Arm. A Newbery award book or a not so interesting subject?

The Ear, Eye and Arm. A Newbery award book or a not so interesting subject?
By Abby Frazee

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, By Nancy Farmer is a very interesting book. some parts I enjoy others, not so much. This is a book that won a Newbery Award and I guess it's worth it, to some people. This is a book that is very adventuress and exciting, and confusing, but only at some parts.
This book is about three siblings, Tendai, Rita and Kuda who go on an adventure in the big city of Zimbabwe where they get kidnapped numerous of times and can't find a way out until they are stolen by the masks, an African gang that wants to use the kids for work.While all of this kidnapping is happening three detectives, Ear, Eye and Arm are searching the continent for these children. They are on the tail of the children but keep missing them until they finally find them at the mask's place.When something really bad is about to happen to Tendai the detectives get in to the mask's lair and try to save the children. When they finally get these children to their rightful home the children have made many friends and enemy's.
I do not like this book because of how confusing it is.There is this one part where they keep switching off from the detectives to the kids. At the end of that part I did not know who was talking and where everybody was. Who wants to read a book if you don't know what there talking about? The book has to many off subject parts too. I would be reading about them eating breakfast (which is not very important) but they would be in a different setting. The setting is a "little" more important than eating breakfast.
Here is some advise to the author. Write down the whole story that is in your head and then delete the unimportant parts. I know you probably did this technique but think you didn't do a very good job of it though.Another thing you should think about is spending more time writing the middle. This s the most important part of the story so, try harder on it.
This story also could easily be 150 pages but instead it's 300 pages. I feel like the author worked really hard at the beginning and the end, but the middle is to many parts in such short time, making it not very descriptive. I do not recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction/fantasy/mystery because you will probably be disapointed like me and the rest of my group. I would probably give this book two tree's, sorry but I didn't really enjoy the book as much as I thought I would.

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me, By Rebecca Stead, was one of my favorite books. When I first read the beginning, it was a little boring and it had no point to it. The end was much better than the beginning. It had TONS of surprises. The reason that I really wanted to read this book for book clubs was because everybody who has read it had only said good things about it. I also read the back and it sounded like a outstanding book to read.

The reason that I liked it so much was because from the middle to the end it was solving mysteries. I found it very interesting with this mystery specifically because this mystery has a lot of different parts that go together plus it has a little bit of time travel. It was a little confusing but when you got it, it was very interesting and you had to put the book down to think about what had just happened. Then, you would have to put all of the clues together so you can take a guess of what exciting thing will happen next. In this book, you would never expect time travel. At the beginning, you would most likely think that the book's genre is realistic fiction, but at the end you will find out that it is really fantasy. Sort of like I said before, this book has lots of clues that are really confusing and don't have anything to do with the book. These clues are at the beginning and middle of the book, but at the end, you would pull all of the clues together and then you would get why the clues were so random at the beginning.

The reason that I said that the beginning was boring was because it was a little repetitive. It was repetitive because she was mostly was walking down the street and noticing the laughing man. The only good part about it is the part where she gets the mysterious note. That was interesting because it was something to wonder about.

As I said before, I really liked this book but I think that the Author could have made things a little better. For Example, I think the author could have made the beginning more interesting by giving it a point. For example, it could of had something amusing happening instead of having a girl walking down the street. If I were the author, I would of changed the beginning by doing the ideas above.

I also would have changed the beginning by making it more clear. It was a little confusing because the author never introduced the characters. She only introduced Miranda, the main character.

As you can see can see from my reasons above, I loved the book except for the beginning. I would recommend this book to everybody who likes time travel mysteries. (If you don't like time travel mysteries, you will still like this book because it only says there was time travel. You didn't read when it happened. Even if you don't look forward to reading this book, I bet that you will LOVE it!) As I said before, I loved the end, and everybody should read this book at least one time in their life. Hope you like it if you read it!

Sara, Disapproving Death Mountain

My book club book was called Death Mountain, by Sherry Shahan. This book was very disappointing in the beginning, middle, and end. You can tell that the author made an attempt to put you on edge, but she didn't do a very good job. This book also has no awards, which can sometimes be a hint. You also have to sort of bear through it instead of enjoying it. Those reasons make for a very bad action book.

I thought that, first of all, there was a surprising lack of details. Any small details were in the wrong places. For example, when Erin (Main character) and Mae find the dead ranger in the cave. All it explains, really, is about how they find the ranger and take his stuff. No details, no explanations, nothing. Just telling. And when Erin would talk about her crazy mom, Lannie. She never really told you anything about her. Just that she was sick and, yes, mentally ill. Sherry just left you with that.

Another thing that disappointed me was the ending. When Erin and Mae finally get out of the mountains, they just called home and left. The end. Finished. That part really got me irritated. As a matter of fact, the whole book did. And this book is also sort of gross. Like Erin gets sick and throws up a couple times, and her toenail falls off, etc. So really, not much entertains you. Just grosses you out. Blech! I think that Sherry should have done many things differently. Like Erin shouldn't have lost a toenail or thrown up. And the lightning storm shouldn't have been so sudden. And there were some things that were not important enough to be in the story. Like Seqouia, the park ranger's lost dog. They found him and took him with them. That didn't need to be there! And most of the small things- like that the fish they caught smelled bad- didn't belong in the story as well! Last of all, it lacked humor! I can't really say any book without humor is good, though. There was a few corny jokes made, but thats not enough to satisfy me. Or anyone else who is sensible, probably.

All in all, there was nothing very good about this book, as you can see by my examples. I strongly discourage this book to anyone who likes action books, or is grossed out easily. I give this book 1 tree.

Princess Academy

My book club book was Princess Academy By Sannon Hale. I thought the book was fantastic and page turning though a very confusing. The book is about a girl named Miri and she lives in a quarry until a prince came and choose some girls to come and see if they are fit to marry him. When bandits come to the village Miri saves the village from the bandits.

I thought the book was very page turning and fantastic. Here are some examples.

When the prince is choosing who he wants to marry I wanted to go beyond the limit that we were aloud to go because it was very suspenseful. Also I thought that at times like the time where Miri is dancing with the prince I wished that I could just yell to my book group members that the book was fantastic

I also thought that the book was VERY confusing. Here are some examples.

I thought the part about the bandits was REALLY confusing, like when did they come? And how did they come? I'm REALLY confused. Also I'm really confused about the part wear they go to the woods. I mean REALLY confused. I can't even give evidence I'm so confused.

If I were to give advice to the author this is what I would say. "I think you you need to be more clear about the seine at the wood AND when the bandits come.

But I also think your book was very page turning and VERY well written (besides the confusing parts.)"

So, as you can see from my examples, I thought the book was very page turning and a great book yet I thought the book was very confusing at times. I would rate it 2 1/2 trees.

The Ear the Eye and the Arm - Coco

My book club book is The Ear the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. It takes place in Zimbabwe, Africa. It is about three kids: Kuda who is the youngest, Rita the second oldest, and Tendai who is the oldest. They finally get to go into town for the first time, but they get kidnapped. The parents hire three detectives who have special powers. One has amazing eyesight, one has amazing hearing, and one can stretch his arms really far. I thought that the book was okay. Some parts were really exciting, but sometimes I got kind of bored.

I thought that the beginning and the end were very interesting, exciting, and fun to read. There was a lot of action and a lot of different things going on. In the beginning, they introduced the characters and then the kids went into town where they got kidnapped. The kidnappers were two guys called Knife and Fist who work for an evil woman called the She Elephant. (She is NOT a elephant.) I usually like the beginnings of books because they tell you a lot of things about the characters. In the end, the children, the children's parents, the detectives, and a whole bunch of other people defeat the bad guys. I like the endings of books when the bad guys get what they deserve and the good guys get to go on with their lives.

The middle I found a little bit boring. I thought it was kind of repetitive. A lot of it was just the kids trying to escape from the She Elephant and the kids at the Mellower's mom house (the Mellower is a person who hypnotizes you by praising you) doing chores and trying to escape from her. When the kids first go to Dead Mans Vlei (where the She Elephant lives) and to the Mellower's moms house it is really interesting. I just think that they stayed there a little too long. One part I did like about the middle was when they go to Resthaven, a place that does not have robots or technology. I liked this part because they were not there too long and a lot of different things happened there.

I think that Nancy Farmer should have made the book a little shorter. She had the children doing some things over and over again. I think that she could have put in more detail on some important facts and less detail on the not so important facts. I would have liked to know more about the spirits that possess people and give them special talents. She wrote about them in the beginning of the book, but I felt that she did not explain them well enough. My last piece of advice to Nancy Farmer is that I think that she could have taken out some of the characters. Sometimes I found myself wondering why she had put some of the characters in the book. I personally thought that some characters were not very important and that they were kind of "extra" characters.

All and all I think that even though The Eye the Ear and the Arm could have been a little bit better, it was a pretty good book and I am glad that I read it. I would probably give this book three or four trees.

Which Witch

I just read the book Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson for book clubs and I thought it was horrible. In my opinion I think that Which Witch is really boring in the beginning. There is no exciting part till the very end and that makes it really hard to not stop reading it. I felt that it was written well, like spelling and all. But what is happening in the book is boring.

One thing I noticed is that it seems the author got bored of writing the book and just said the end so it would be over. For example, they where having a contest and right after someone won then boom a second later it was over. But if you like books that people talk for no important reason then read this book. For me I think it is HORRIBLE. For example, in the book at one point a while was just a lot of wasting time. The author just had two people walk and talk about how they can't believe why some person can even be a witch.

Another example is when Arriman was just talking about how the contest is going to go and how he should never get married. This was very boring when he talked about this because he does this for a long time and I all ready got the point the first time he said it. Another example, is there is one good part in the beginning that was important (when Arriman announced there was a contest and he is going to marry who ever wins) but it only lasted for a page or so, BORING. I think the author should edit the book so it is more exciting and they have a problem in the beginning so the reader will be hooked and not dump it. For these reasons I think I would rate it 2 trees because there was one good part in the end.

So as you can see I would not recommend this book to a lot of people but mostly for people who like action for the reasons above.

By Jack Hildebrand #12 12/8/10

Princess Academy

Recently I read a book called Princess Academy by Shannon Hale and the main character
Princess Academy is a half-Ly predictable because you know who is going to marry the prince but I will not tell you if are interested. Also they can weirdly talk to people by memory even if there miles away. The author never tells you in some way when or where they are and now that I'm finished that's really bugging me. This is the only princess book I've read in years and I think I'm not going to read another any time soon, and I'm not looking forward to read another.

I give this two trees, because. If you read it would be a big waste of time. I think the author could of put a bigger problem next to being the princess. It's HORRIBLE! I would recommend this book if you like it UN-exciting, dull, and there is only one exciting part.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead by Mac

Hello. In my book club we read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Here is a summary of the book and a bit of my opinion. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is a very good book. It is off to a slow start, and if you do not read carefully you will not get it. If it was not mandatory to read this, I probably would have put it down. In the book, Miranda's life is always kind of dark and depressing. She always has a problem that her mind is on. There are only a few times when she is really, truly, happy. Her mom is always busy with something and her best friend Sal doesn't want to walk to and home from school with Miranda anymore. Her world is slowly falling apart, brick by brick, until finally some things start to build up the wall. Her mom gets alot of money from the 20,000 Pyramid and almost wins. Slowly Miranda's world is build back up until something bad happens that is like a wrecking ball on her wall. She is left with only acouple bricks to cling to. Sal gets hit by a car. He has to go to the hospital and Miranda is super worried. She is falling apart again and nothing can stop her wall from crumbling except Sal's recovery. He's OK, but has a broken leg. Miranda is better because Sal tells her that he thought she didn't want to be friends with him. It feels like years since she has talked to Sal.

If I could give advice to the author it would be this: Make it a bit more clear. There were many parts where I was confused. Also, put a little more action in the beginning. At the beginning, I was bored. If you put maybe that she was bullied or something that makes it more exciting.

In my opinion, this book was good, but confusing. You shouldn't read it if you are not a good reader. I give it 3 trees.

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

I recently read a book called The Ear, the Eye and the Arm with Jordan, Abby, Matty and Coco. I thought it was a big let down because the beginning was good, the middle 200 pages was pretty much just Tendai, Rita and Kuda sitting around doing nothing, and they also don't do much in the whole book. And there were just a lot of parts that could have been taken out.

The beginning got to the problem like a regular book would. The middle was a waste of time for us because barely anything happened. But what did happen was the ear, eye and arm trying to get to Tendai, Rita, and Kuda. The end we thought was the best part, but we still didn't think it was good enough, so we thought the whole book was a waist of time. And it was suposed to take place in the future but it didn,t have any thing in it from the future

We thought the author spent not enough time making this book interesting or not enough time MAKING the book.

Like I said, this book was good in the beggining, bad in the middle, and the end was the best part, so I would not recomend this book to anyone and neither would my group

Death Mountain

So, I was reading a book called Death Mountain by Sherry Shahan. I think the beginning of the book was not too good but towards the ending the book got better. Overall, the book was okay. I think Sherry Shahan could of made the beginning a bit easier to understand. She did a good job of writing the end.

I think the first paragraph was really confusing, first it talkes about a rusty bottle cap, then a string of RV's, to the Sierra Nevada Mountains ,and dirt bikes, plus hitchhiking in one paragraph. This is why I think the ending was better, because the book made more sense.

In my opinion I think Sherry Shahan could of made the book more easy to understand. I think she should've made the lighting storm part more specific. If she could of made.

Know you know why I thought the book was okay.

If was to rated this book it would be a 5 or a 6 out of 10

I rated this blog post a 4