Charlotte's Web: Week of 12/16/13

Pages Read: Finished

"Charlotte's Web" was an amazing book. I loved it just like I loved the movie. I always cry at the end even though I know what is going to happen. The end it a great example of friendship. Three spiders don't do what they are suppose to do and stay with Wilbur to be their friend. I have to say the three little spiders are just as kind as their mother. I have to say that Templeton is a rather spiteful creature, at the end of they story, you know his had a heart because he goes and gets Charlotte's egg sac. Sure, it did take some nasty chum to get him to do it, but he did and that's what's important.

The title does fit the story. The title fits the story because Charlotte is the spider who befriends Wilber. Since she is a spider, she spins webs. Charlotte finds out an idea to help her new friend not get eaten. That requires to make a web and spell out different words in it. So, the title is "Charlotte's Web" because the spider, Charlotte, spins a web and saves a poor little pig's life.

The events in the story are:

1. Wilber was born
2. Fern Saved Wilber
3. Fern Raised Wilber
4. Mr. Zuckerman bought Wilber
5. Wilber found a friend
6. Wilber learned that he was going to get eaten
7. Charlotte had a plan to save Wilber
8. Charlotte's plan worked
9. Wilber went to the fair with Templeton and Charlotte
10. Charlotte made a web with the word "Humble" in it
11. Charlotte made an egg sac
12. Other pig won blue medal
13. People saw the web
14. Gave the blue medal to Wilber
15. Charlotte stayed behind because she did not fell well
16. Wilber brought egg sac home with him
17. Spring came and the baby spiders were born
18. All spiders left expect for three, who stayed behind and became Wilber's friend

Charlotte's Web: Week of 12/11/13

Pages Read: 105 - 180

So far "Charlotte's Web"has been a great book. I never read it before, but I have seen the both movies. The book is pretty much just like the movie. I figured it would be because the movie was so awesome and they don't really changed little kid movies. The book is amazing, so far Charlotte had written the words, "Some Pig" and "Terrific." I'm not sure how the farmer bought that Wilbur is some unusual pig. I guess humans are gullible, as Charlotte said.

There are so far about five main characters. They include Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton, Fern, and Mr. Zuckerman. Wilbur is a pig who knows how to please people. He doesn't judge anyone and loves just about anyone. Charlotte is a kind and funny spider. She enjoys to sit in her web and watch things happen. Templeton is a horrible rat who only thinks of himself. The only reason he is important is because he finds words to help save Wilber's life. Fern is like Wilbur's mother. She saved his life when he was born and feed him from a bottle for the first month of his life. Fern is a eight year old girl you loves all of the animals at her uncle's farm. Mr. Zuckerman is plump man who enjoys working on his farm. He bought Wilbur from Fern when he was one month old. Mr. Zuckerman is Fern's uncle.

The theme of "Charlotte's Web" is friendship. Wilber learns the true meaning of friendship as he lives his country life. He finds out that friends can could in any shape, size, and species. He befriends a spider, a young girl, a old farmer, an old sheep, an unruly rat, and many other barnyard animals. "Charlottes's Web" a great story to read if you are feeling down or betrayed. It has many heart-warming moments that will bring a tear to your eye. A great story on how friends are always there for you and how even your "not-so-nice" friends will help you too.

The Giver: Week of 12/2/13

Pages Read: Finished

I finished the book this week and I have to say it was amazing. I loved the book and all of the themes and cliff hangers. I really want to read "The Son" to find out if Jonas and Gabe lived. I also want to read "The Son" To find out if Gabe's birthmother finds Gabe. I think that Jonas is still alive and didn't see things. I think that Jonas saw want he saw and that people came to help him. I think elsewhere is the real world. That there was just some people who wanted to started something new so did and the rest of them continued living the way they lived, the way we live now.

I drew a picture of a bicycle because I think it is a very important object in the story. I think that having a bicycle in the made it seem more realistic. If the author didn't write that everyone got a bike then there would be no type or transportation expect for walking and that wouldn't be realistic. If the bike wasn't in the story there Jonas probably wouldn't of made in out of the community. Walking would be to slow and would really put a lot of stress on Jonas. Jonas also would not of been able to bring Gabe because it would be to many things to carry with all the food and other stuff.

The Giver: Week of 11/25/13

Pages Read: 163 - 180

"The Giver" has been a great book so far. I love all of the cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. It made me want to keep on reading the book. I never thought that Jonas would break a rule so important, giving Gabriel all of the memories at night. I think that Jonas is slowing down the process of maturing. If  Gabriel can only sleep when he is in the memory then he won't be able to sleep at night peacefully. Plus, if he keeps giving memories away then Jonas won't have any more and he won't be as wise as he is suppose to be.

When I started reading "The Giver", I didn't really think that the title fit the story, but when Jonas got his assignment and he went to his first training I thought that the title did actually fit the story. After Jonas asked what to call his trainer and he said "The Giver" it finally hit me. Jonas wasn't The Giver, but his trainer was. When I started reading, I thought that Jonas was going to be The Giver. It surprised me when it turned out that Jonas was not The Giver. In conclusion, the title fits the story because Jonas's trainer told him to call him The Giver. He is a major character in the story, who gives Jonas all of this wonderful and dreadful memories.

I would have so many questions to ask the author if I could talk to him. Here are a few questions I would have to ask her:

• Where exactly does the story take place?
• If Jonas didn't have light colored eyes, would he not by the next Receiver?
• What inspired you to write the book?
• Would you like to live in a community like the one in the book?

The reason I would ask the first question is because it would make slightly more sense to why the community is the way it is. The reason I would ask the second question is because if the Receiver has to have light colored eyes then wouldn't that make Gabriel the next Receiver. The reason I would ask the third question is because everyone needs something to write a book on. The reason I would ask the fourth question is because I maybe she wrote the book on a dream that she had where she was in a community just like the one in the book.

White Fang: Week of 11/18/13

Pages Read: Finished

This week I read "White Fang". It was an excellent book. I have read "White Fang" before, but I love it. It is one of those books where you can read it over and over again. "White Fang" is one of my favorite books because it is a very heart warming experience. White Fang is three quarters wolf and one quarter dog that is tamed, untamed, than tamed again. The last time he is tamed he stays tame and finds a loving family. He was abused and still found a loving family. He trusted the "man-animals" or "Gods" (as they are called in the book) at first, but he disliked them when he was put into dog fighting. Two men saved his life and became apart of the family.

My feelings changed a lot when I was reading "White Fang". My feelings became happy when White Fang's mother had him, but I felt sad that his father couldn't find food so all of White Fang's brothers and sisters died. I felt happy when White Fang and his mother killed the lynx and when White Fang found the Indians. I felt happy that White Fang would survive because the Indians knew White Fang's mother. This feelings happened throughout the story, going up and down like they did it the first few chapters.

I think that "White Fang" is believable. One reason I think this because dogs are very trainable. I have a seven year old dog that only took about two hours to be trained. She is not fully trained, but she is trained enough. Within those two hours she learned how to sit, stay, lie down, and give paw. Another reason I think that "White Fang" is believable because since dogs are tamed that means wolfs can be tamed. Dogs are technically wolfs, they just look different. If dogs can be tamed and trained so can a wolf.

Oogy: Week of 11/11/13

Pages Read: 129 - 228

So far Oogy has been an interesting book. It reminds me of when I got my new puppy over the summer. She didn't fit in as well as Oogy did, but she did adjust. She use to wake up at six in the morning and wake everyone up, but now she just lays there chewing on her bone waiting for someone to get up. Anyway, let me get back on topic, Oogy. Oogy seems to be a wonder dog, considering what he been through. He seems very well trained and loves attention. I couldn't believe how well and fast he became apart of the family.

Cause: Oogy got used as dog fighting bait.
Effect: Oogy got hurt very badly and needed medical care.

Cause: Police found Oogy and sent him to Ardmore Animal Hospital.
Effect: Diane Klein wouldn't let him die.

Cause: Diane Wouldn't let him die.
Effect: When the Narrator went to put down his cat, Oogy came out of the back room and impressed the Narrator and his boys.


Dan:
- Athletic
- Blonde Hair
- Twin of Noah
- Tall
- Adopted

Noah:
- Athletic
- Blonde Hair
- Twin of Dan
- Tall
- Adopted


Narrator:
- In his 50's
- Adoptive Father of Dan and Noah
Note: Since he is the Narrator there are not a lot of details about him.

Oogy:
- Dog
- Pit Bull
- White
- Kind
- Willing to Start New
- Playful
- About Six Months Old

Oogy: Week of 11/4/13

Pages Read: 57 - 228

So the book is great. The narrator is explaining why and how Oogy is in his life. He also talks about how he adopted two twins. I find it amazing that Oogy survived and didn't remember anything about dog fighting. He was only a pup when he was given to another fighting dog for bait. I couldn't image a person letting another dog kill and probably eat a little defenseless pup. I wonder the same questions as the narrator. Out of what I know about dog fighting, it doesn't make sense to of why they let Oogy survive. I think that the cops were on to them so they had to leave, but who knows. The narrator hasn't really talked about the two boys yet, but I think we he soon.

Since the main character is a dog I think that we will be best of friends. I love dogs and Oogy loves people. I think Oogy is worthy of my friendship because based off of what I read so far, Oogy is a very loyal and trustworthy dog. He knows not to run away and he protects his owners as much as he can. I would love a dog/friend like him because I wouldn't have to worry about things other people have to. For example, Oogy is at my house and he hears something, he barks to let me know that something is there. I go check it out, but it is only a cat. Oogy could protect me. I can also tell him all of my secrets, knowing that him won't/can't tell anyone.

The author wrote wrote in flashbacks. He explain what happened to Oogy and how he got his two adopted sons. He explained the process of adopting the two boys and he also explained how Oogy is still alive. I think that is made the writing better because it helped me know the background of Oogy. It also helped me know why the book was written. I usually don't like books that have flashbacks in them but this one is not that bad. I enjoyed being told how Oogy was brought into the shelter and how they saved his life.

Oogy: Week of 10/30/13

Pages Read: 24 - 228

So far in the 24 pages I read, I really like the book. I thought that is was somewhat like Marly and Me. Instead of the stomach bug that ruined Marly's life, the dog fighting ruined Oogy's life. When I looked at the cover I thought that Oogy had gotten hurt in some kind of way, but I thought that he got hurt protecting his owners' lives. I thought that Oogy's house was broken into and the burglar had shot Oogy's ear off. I was way off. I guess I wasn't that way off. Oogy's ear is not there any more because of a human, so in a way the two theories are connected in some way.

If I was they author I would end this book with a very sad ending. Most people enjoy a good laugh at the end of a book or movie, but I enjoy a good cry. I would have this story end with Oogy running away and getting lost. He finds his way into a backyard, a familiar backyard. He walks down the gangway, once he gets in the backyard where all of his brother and sisters are. Of course, they don't see each other as family, they see each other as enemies. The owner of the chained up dogs comes out to discover Oogy. Oogy charges the owner and the owner dodges Oogy and pulls out a gun. He shoots Oogy in the other ear, with the pain rusher thorough Oogy's veins he retreats back home. He glad to find that his two boys, Dan and Noah, crying on the porch. Oogy ran up to them and gave them a big, slobbery, kiss on the face. The thrilled that Oogy is back rush into the car and take him to the vet. By the time the boys get him into the car, Oogy dies of blood loss.

So the prompt I choose was "describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you" and the main character is a dog, I am going to compare Oogy to my dog, Ellie. Oogy and Ellie have many differences so I will list them below:

• Oogy is a male and Ellie is a female.

• Oogy is a lot older than Ellie.

• Oogy has only one ear, while Ellie has both.

• Oogy is white and Ellie is gray with black spots.



Now I will list the similarities below:

• Oogy and Ellie both have brown eyes.

• Oogy and Ellie both have a black nose.

• Oogy and Ellie both have a protective personality.

• Oogy and Ellis both have a owner that loves them dearly.

Wild Life: Week of 10/21/13

Pages Read: 166 - 177

SPOIL ALERT!

Wild Life is a great book so far and I hate that I only have 10 pages left. I wish there was more to it like, more about the six months in North Dakota and what happens when he gets back to New York. So far, Erik and Quill have made it for a couple days out in the wild. They were doing fine until man found them. As Erik panicked, he thought about what to do, should he go home with the man or should he run away from him. He decided that it was probably best to go with him, and he was until the man told him about the five thousand dollar award that Erik knew his grandparents didn't have. The man took the gun from Erik and that is when Erik became frustrated. He walked to the car with Quill by his side, he open the passenger door and waited until the man was by the driver's side, then without a slight hesitation Erik took off in the opposite direction. Erik and Quill walked day and night to get home to his grandparents, but was he got there, something changed.

The moral of the story is that life is short so you should spend it wisely. I think that this is the moral of the story because Erik's mom painted painting with geese it the shape of a V and it said "Do the geese have dreams? Do they make plans as they fly? Do you? How will you live your own wild life?" This tells us that geese make the best of their life and the could plan ahead, it is also saying that you should plan ahead because you don't know what is going to happen. I think that people should listen o this life lesson because it is always good to plan ahead and to know what you are going to do with your life.

I think that Erick would be my favorite character in Wild Life because he is adventurous and brave. I can also connect to him in some way. Erik was put into a new living experience and he didn't like it so he gave it up. He went to live the way he thought he wanted to live, but later on he found out that living in the wild with a dog that's not even his, is not the way he wants to live. I got a Great Dane puppy over the summer and spent every minute of the day with her. That is until I had to go to school. I enjoyed school until I really missed my dog. I had to do homework and play basketball everyday, I barely had time to play with my dog. I now I spend every minute I can with her, training her, walking her, or just playing with her. I will live my wild life with my dog.

Wild Life: Week of 10/14/13

Pages Read: 128 - 177


So far, the book has been great. It is about hunting and the companionship between a boy and a dog. At the beginning of the book Erik is about to go hunting with his friend, his friend's dad, and his friend's dog. He is so thrilled about it when he does the best in his gun safety class. He runs home to show his parents, but comes home to his parents looking sad. When Erik finds out that he has to go to North Dakota he is very upset. He has to leave the day before his big hunting trip and this infuriates him. The plane ride there, takes partially the whole day and when he finally gets there he is not so thrilled about his grandparents. His grandfather is grumpy, but his grandmother is really nice. On the three hour drive to his grandparent's farm, all he can think about is hunting. He wishes he was back home with his friend hunting. All he can see for miles is flat land and he doesn't like that at all.

The major conflict is that Erik doesn't like North Dakota. He dreads it so, he founds a way out of it. He found this dog and bonds with her so much within a day that he can't stand to lose her. When the vet calls Erik to tell him that he had found the dog's owner, Erik tries to act cheery, but as soon as he hangs up the phone he runs into his dead uncle's room, who was in the army, and gathers supplies to run away with the dog. I think that Erik was right to run away because if I found a dog and bounded with it, I would dread the day I had to give him up. Once this beagle found its way into my friend's yard while I was over there and we played with him all day, but her parents wouldn't let us keep him so they called the animal shelter and they took him away. It was very heartbreaking.

- Erik:
  -Loves Hunting
  -Blonde Hair
  -14 Years Old
  -Outdoorsy

- Big Darrel:
  -Grumpy
  -Tall
  -Old

- Oma:
  -Sweet
  -Nice
  -Old (heist the name Oma, Old Ma)

- Quill:
  -Dog
  -About One Year Old
  -Purebred German Shorthaired Pointer
  -Brown Eyes
  -Good Natured
  -White with Brown Spots and Brown Speckles.

- Dr. Bob:
  -Kind
  -Vet

The Lady or The Beast?

Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. A lady was standing there, not just any lady the ugliest lady there could be. As soon as the youth saw her, he cried. He was thinking about how he was going to spend the rest of his life with this lady, who he didn't know, who he didn't like. With this thought in his head, he ran to the princess and told her, "How could you kill me?"

The princess who was confused by this, replied to the youth, "I have, but I did not. I have told you where the tiger awaits, but in its place is that women."

The audience was confused by all of this. People were mumbling "What, the princess knew and told the criminal. That is a crime!"

"Save your breath! The princess did not tell the youth where something was. How could she, for she had no idea where the tiger hid." the King said as he was looking at his daughter. The princess was about to say something, but there was a sudden scream in the arena. Everyone looked at the ugly girl to find her screaming and rolling on the floor. Within a second the ugly girl that once stood there became a werewolf.

As the werewolf was running towards the youth, his brother threw him a silver knife. As everyone looked to see who threw it, the person had vanished. They then, right away focused back onto the werewolf, who was now charging the youth. The youth dodge the werewolf like he knew what he was doing. The audience was filled with "OOOHHHHs" and "AAHHHHs."

The king got up to run away, but in the process of doing so, he knocked his daughter into the arena onto the youth. The youth caught and threw her aside just in time for him to dodge the werewolf again.  The werewolf smashed into the wall and got dazed. The youth, who knew that it was sunned went in for the kill. Werewolf woke with the youth practically standing over her. The youth then, rose the silver knife and said "See you in hell!" Then and there the youth stabbed the werewolf in the heart.

As the king was about to get into a Chevy Impala, the youth's brother yells "Stop right there! That is my brothers car!" The king turns around laughing. As he is laughing the youth's brother throws a silver knife into his heart and rushed back to check on his brother.

His brother and the princess were waiting for him by the door. "Hurry up, Sam or we'll leave you behind!" the youth shouted. The youth's brother ran to catch up with them. As they were leaving the princess looked back to the other door. In that door lied the lady waiting for someone to get her. The princess thought about telling the two brothers about the other door.

"Dean, what is the matter with the girl." Sam whispers to his brother.

"Hey, you coming!" Dean shouts at the princess.

"No there is something I have to do. See you guys some other time. Bye." The princess replies.

She waits there to see Sam and Dean leave, once they're out of sight she runs to the kitchen and grabs a knife, making sure it's silver. She runs to the other twin door and opens it. The lady comes out and asked what happen. "Nothing important." With that she takes the knife from behind her back and stabs the lady in the heart. Then, the princess falls to the floor and screams as she is going through a transformation. She was going to kill herself knowing that she would change too, but was too late.

Little Chicago: Week of 10/7/13

Pages Read: 231 - 255

This week I am still reading Little Chicago. This will be my last week writing about it. This week Blacky has been on protest. Their are kids at his school who are bullies. They are picking on him because he is hanging out with a girl that no one likes. He started to hang out with her just because his other friends betrayed him. Now he loves her and will do anything for her. Probably even kill someone.

If I was the author I would have the story end with a bang. Literally. He has bought a gun already so there is already that. I don't know how the story ends yet, so I am going to guess the ending. I think that the story is going to end with someone dieing. At first when I read that he bought a gun, I thought that he was going to kill himself. So far I was wrong, but in my ending I am right. In my ending, Blacky's bullies are so mean to him and Mary Jane that he takes out his gun and shoots them. When the police show up there is blood all over the floor and him and Mary Jane are standing close together with the gun. When Blacky hears the sirens he panics, first kissing, then shooting Mary Jane in the head. The police run in once they heard the gun fire, but by the time they got in Blacky had killed himself.

The author writes very effectively. He tells us all the details including what each characters looks like. He also is great on telling us what the main character thinks. I don't like how he writes every paragraph explicitly. I like to figure out some things on my own. I think that this book should end on a cliff hanger, just because I think it needs one.

Little Chicago: Week of 9/30/13

Pages Read: 120 - 255

The book I am currently reading for the 40 book challenge is Little Chicago by Adam Rapp. It is about a abused and neglected kid who is quite friendly. Thus, being a friendly person, you can sometimes get discombobulated. That is what this is mainly about a kid who is friendly but, discombobulated. He is not sure what he does, he doesn't know how to control his body, or tell it what to do. He is like a boy, around my age, who has a baby trapped inside of him.

There are mainly two main characters. The first main character of Little Chicago is Blacky Brown. I have to say that he is my favorite character because he is very much like me. He trusts his friends and he is very independent. He has black hair and his real name is Gerald Brown. He is a victim. Another main character is Al Johnson. He is Blacky's friend who he somethings spends the night at and goes places with him. Mr. Johnson is much older than Blacky, this is why a bad thing happens. Al is Afrian American and lives next to Blacky but, because they live in a area with lots of trees, kind of like the woods, so there are trees in between them.

The title doesn't fit the story so far but could might change. So far the title does not really fit the story because there really isn't a mention of Chicago. The only mention of Chicago is that the sister, Shay, might moved there with her friends. I don't get why it's called Little Chicago because the main character is not that little and he doesn't live in Chicago. Only a rich jerk lives there. He is barely in the story. So that is why I don't think the title fits the story.

My Favorite Book of All Time

My favorite book of all time would have to be Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice. This is my favorite book because well, first of all it has a dog in it. I love books that have dogs in it, they are very entertaining. Second of all, there was a great example of the saying "Dogs are man's best friend." I myself, have two dogs and I love them with all my heart. they could be a pain but, dogs are man's best friends.

This book was heart-warming and sad but, in a happy way. Wild Life is a book about family and confident boy who bonds with a dog. This is a book for readers who enjoy hunting and know how love can effect what a person does. Have to say though, be prepared for a cry throughout the book.