Growing up I can remember coming home from school and vegging in front of the TV. I needed that time to just unwind and relax. This was in the 80's mind you. So think back, what reruns were on everyday that a child would watch? Little House on the Prairie of course. I know I've watched every episode a dozen times each. I got to the point where I could tell by the opening music which episode it was (before the title of the episode appeared). This way I could tell if it was going to be one of those really sad ones that I just couldn't watch again. I remember especially loving the ones with Nellie Olsen, when she was so mean and nasty, but always got what she deserved in the end.
Anyway, my little secret that I'm about to share with you is that up until now I have never read the Little House series. Can you believe that? I hate to admit it, but I never thought I needed to read them since I had seen the show. The truth is that I don't think that I would have appreciated them as much back then as I do now. They are simple, but refreshing in that they are so ordinary. And what was once so ordinary, is not so common now, so they are very educational. If you have never read this series, I have to tell you that you may be surprised. I highly recommend them!
A Little Secret
Book Review: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza is a thirteen year old girl who has been living a very privileged life in Mexico. It is during the 1930's. Her father is a wealthy land owner and she is loved and adored by everyone around her. Then, life suddenly takes a turn when her father dies and her greedy uncles take over the land. She and her mother are forced to flee, leaving everything they know behind.
Esperanza Rising is a very thought provoking book about the plight of those seeking seasonal employment on the big farms in California during the Great Depression. Esperanza learns the value of hard work and after a while overcomes her selfish ways. She learns what things are really important, along with many other valuable life lessons. It really is a book with some substance to it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I was not bored in reading it, even though it was written for children. I think that I will include it on my list of 'read aloud books to my kids' for the summer.
My Rating
Overall: 5 stars. I thought is was a lovely well written book.
Objectionable Content: none
Book Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
I think that this was the very first book that my book club read, but I seemed to have missed it somehow. I can now check it off of my to read list. It is a juvenile book that was given the Newberry Medal in 1979, so it could be considered a children's classic.
I thought it was a fun little read. It is a whodunit murder mystery that lets the reader put all of the clues together and guess who the murderer might be. There are sixteen would be heirs and 220 million dollars at stake. There are bombings, and dead bodies, and poisoning? I know this doesn't seem like it would be suitable for children, but really it is very tame. It's just fun. It would be a great book for a child who is ready for something a little more involved than a Cam Jensen or a Nancy Drew book.
I guess my only critism would be that the middle was a bit slow. I thought that I had it all figured out by then and was just waiting for the end to see if I was right.
My Rating
Overall: 3 stars. A child would probably give it a higher rating though.
Objectionable Content: none
Book Review by Aleah: The Story of Figure Skating by Michael Boo
This book is about famous ice skaters and how ice skating as a sport came about. In this book it gives a list of examples of moves that singles and pairs do on the ice. For example: the axil, sit spin, camel spin, toe loop, and death spiral. One of the famous ice skaters I read about was Peggy Flemming.
I enjoyed this book because I'm really into ice skating. I don't usually read non fiction, but it happens to be a good book. What I didn't like about the book was how a few of the paragraphs lost me, or in other words, I didn't understand. Overall, it was a great book. I would recommend this to anyone who loves non fiction, or who is really into science. I hope you enjoy the book!
Book Review by Aleah: My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe
This is a book about a girl named Ida. She's starting 4th grade and she had a friend named Elizabeth. She moved away. Ida meets this girl named Stacy. Stacy loves to tell stories about things that can't happen. Sometimes Stacy tells people fake stories about her life. Ida secretly hides notes for her and they become secret friends.
I liked this book because it was sort of funny. I also liked it because it's about a 4th grader like me. What I didn't like about it was that a girl named Jessica in the book is mean to Ida. It's a great book though. I would recommend this book to girls that are ten and in the 4th grade.
Aleah's book review: Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story ( American Girl Collection) by Valerie Tripp
This was a really great book!
In this book, Molly spends two weeks at Camp Gowonagin and loves it. She loves it up until the camp director announces the beginning of the color war. Molly and Susan are on the blue team and Linda is on the red team. So, they're enemies and friends! When all the blue team except Molly and Susan are captured, Molly finds a way to save the day.
What I like about this book is the part where Molly and Susan find worms and put them in Linda's hair to distract her so they could free the other teammates on the blue team. I thought this was a really funny part.
Aleah's Rating
Overall: 5 stars
Aleah's book review: Dr. Amelia's Boredom Survival Guide by Marissa Moss
I think this is a very funny book, like all of the other Amelia books (these are in "notebook" style and are an American Girl series).
This book is about Amelia who is being dragged to her sister's doctor appointment. She is extremely bored, but lucky since she brought a little notebook with her. She comes up with 50 things to do when you're bored. Here's one of her ideas:
Thing to do #29
Make up your own jump rope songs. Use tunes you know, or make up the tune, too.
When they are done at the doctor's office, they get in the car. Amelia hopes there's a lot of traffic, because she wants to use her new Boredom Survival Guide.
Aleah's Rating: 5 stars
