BOOK REVIEWS BOOK CLUB GRADE 6-8
Racing Home by Adele Dueck
Book review by Rebekah Stokes.
Book
Review by Angus Trombley
Percy
Jackson and the Olympians Book One: The Lightning Thief
By
Rick Riordan
Percy
Jackson was pretty average until he discovered that he is a demi god and he has
to go on a giant quest and stuff, which explains a lot about why he is always
facing near death experiences with not so normal people, well not actually
people, more like MONSTERS!!!!! Before he found out he was a demi god, he had a
really sucky life. He kept on getting thrown out of school because of his near
death experiences with the monsters. After he discovers he is demi god and he
goes on a giant quest, it just actually ruins his life a little bit more.
One of my favorite parts was when Grover, a satyr,
looks at a statue at Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium and says, “It is Uncle
Ferdinand!!”(Aunt Em turns out to be Medusa, a monster whose eyes can turn
people into stone and poor Uncle Ferdinand, another satyr, had been turned to
stone by her.)
This
was a great book, it is funny and exiting. I hope you enjoy it.
Racing Home by Adele Dueck
Book review by Rebekah Stokes.
Racing Home is about a boy, Erick, who with his family and new
stepfather, travel all the way to Canada to make a life out of very little. This
move, however, creates new problems for Erick and further strains his already
distant relationship with his stepfather.
Will Erick find a way to like this new harsh and difficult land? When he
meets a Norwegian named horse, Tapper, though, the tables might just begin to
turn.
Book review by Angus Trombley
Hunter
By Eric Walters
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| feral cat in turkey (Photo credit: Tara Whitsitt) |
Hunter is a feral cat. All of his first cat
colony was poisoned to death by people. He is the best hunter in his colony.
Hunter does not like humans but, when the junkyard where the cat colony lives
is being developed into condominiums, Hunter must choose if he can trust
Taylor, a human boy.
Hunter was a pretty good book. It was
interesting to read the book and hear what the animals had to say, especially
the raccoon. This book was written from Hunter’s point of view. If you want to
read about the same story from Taylor’s point of view, you should read Catboy,
which is also by Eric Walters.
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| Cover of Hiccup: How to Train Your Dragon |
Book Review by Angus Trombley
How to Train your Dragon by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Also by Cressida Cowell
For all those who have watched the movie version of “How to Train Your Dragon,” remember that this is not the movie, this book is WAY better.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the son of the great Viking leader, Stoick the Vast. He may be the Hope and Heir to the great Viking tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, but the other Viking boys in the tribe call him Hiccup the Useless. His only friend is Fishlegs, who is even worse at being a Viking than Hiccup is. Hiccup does not look like a Viking hero; he is kind of small, rather scrawny and not exactly athletic. He does not do well at most Viking lessons. Can he pass the Dragon Initiation Programme and become a dragon trainer and not get cast out of his tribe? All he has to do to pass Dragon Initiation is capture a baby dragon, preferably of a large, fierce and dangerous variety, then train that dragon to catch fish and be obedient by Thors’day Thursday. Failure to succeed at this is not an option. If you fail, you are cast out of the tribe. Can Hiccup actually get and train a dragon? Can he also save his tribe from a terrible threat? Well, I guess you will just have to read the book and find out.
I thought this was a great book. It is extremely funny, has funny pictures in it and is a really good story. My favourite thing is Hiccup’s dragon, whose name is Toothless. Toothless is the most disobedient dragon ever.
by Gabrielle TremblayCatboy by Eric Walters
The story “Catboy” is all about a boy who loves cats but wait it doesn’t stop there! Taylor (Catboy) just moved to Toronto from his small home town where he grew up. He made a few friends including a smart, Korean boy named Simon. Taylor and Simon are walking home one evening and Simon says he knows a shortcut. Who is Taylor to say Simon is lying? He barely knows the city yet. In the shortcut they pass by a junkyard, where Taylor spots some cats. He and Simon get closer to the cats and just watch them as they go around in the junkyard, three older kids bump into them and start throwing stones at the cats. Taylor tries to defend the cats but they get mean to him and Simon. Taylor and Simon become friends with the security guards of the junkyard. The security guard lets them come in regularly to feed and stay with the cats but what will happen to the cats when the owner of the property want sot build condominiums? Taylor, Simon and Mr. Singh (the security guard) look for ideas to save the cats everywhere and finally Taylor, Simon and their friends from school find a way to save he cats. Taylor visits Dr.Reynolds (a vet) to ask him if he has traps and cages for the cats. Why? Taylor's clever plan was to trap and cage the cats and bring them to a new community of cats on the other side of the city! Will Taylor and his friends be able to pull it off? Find out more and how Catboy got his name in this great read!
The End by, Gabrielle Louise Tremblay
The Westing GamesBy: Kennedy ByronSixteen people move into Sunset Towers, all on the same day in late September .Dr. Jake Wexler, Grace Wexler and their two daughters Angela and Turtle Wexler.George and Catherine Theodoraskis, and their two sons Chris and Theo own the coffee shop at Sunset Towers.Also Sandy McSouthers the poorly educated door man lives at Sunset Towers.Otis Amber the delivery guy and Sydelle Pulaski an old secretary also live at Sunset towers.Flora Baumbach a divorced seamstress is hired to make a dress for Angela Wexler.Erica Berthe Crow the cleaning lady, And judge J.J Ford lives in sunset towers. Mr. Hoo his wife Mrs. Hoo and his son Doug Hoo own Shin hoo’s restaurant. The scene is set!
Smoke is seen rising from the Westing’s house on halloween.
Turtle is dared to go in the house with the payment of two dollars for every minute she is in
there. She finds an old waxy looking old man, dressed up as Uncle Sam.
The next day on the front page of the newspaper the headline reads “ Sam Westing Found Dead”. All of the above named are shocked later that day when they receive letters saying they are his heirs. Later that day they discover he was murdered. and one of the sixteen people killed him.
Prezi on Swiss Family Robinson by Zion and Areylea Nimchuk
The whole book is about how these characters decipher who killed him, along with the method. Read more if you like mysteries and enjoy a twist in the ending.
Book Review: Swiss Family Robinson By: Denise January 17, 2012
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss was
originally a German novel named Der Schweizerische Robinson. It was written in the 18th century and was officially
published in 1812. Wyss was a pastor for a Swiss church, and wrote Swiss
Family Robinson to teach his four sons about good husbandry and family virtues. One of his sons, Johann Rudolf Wyss edited it. Many have used this
book to portray the same important and purposeful virtues, like courage,
cooperation, harmony with one another, coping with the loss of a loved family
pet, using creativity etc. Through the centuries, there have been many
adaptations, translations, and additional but, the most acknowledged is probably the English version
that was written in 1879 by William H.G Kingston.
The Swiss Family Robinson is about a Swiss family, who, on their
way to Australia, get hit by a storm. The captain and the crew all jump
overboard, but The Swiss family don’t desert off the ship, instead they try
their hardest to save the ship. The family includes six people, William (the
father), Elizabeth (the mother), and Ernest, Fritz, Jack, and Francis (the
sons). Together, they pull through the storm and survive. When the storm
subsides, they can see land, but they have big problems – one of them is they
have animals on board! They ponder this problem for quite a while, eventually,
Jack has a good idea, but with lots of holes. They reach and island, for many
years they live there, content with what they had, and they encountered many
sad, some happy, and but the majority are exciting adventures, including an
encounter with a stranger. Then a ship comes! It’s a Swiss ship and they are
here to rescue the Swiss family and their friend
This book is very similar to the life of the author, who had four sons,
a wife, and was a pastor like William. This story was a legacy for Johann’s
family like many authors who write books for their children and families. This
book is a very well written book, both with good writing structure and the
important virtues of life. I would
recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading adventure, and to parents who want
to teach their kids about the important virtues of life in a fun way. For
younger kids, I would suggest an easier version, because there are a lot of
translations and most are very hard to understand
Zion's video Book club trailer on The Door Within by Wayne Batson
Ayrelea's Comic strip review of The Door Within by Wayne Batson.
Chloe's review on Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis
Billy Banister learns of his dragon past; Bonnie
Silver, an orphan, already knows of her dragon past. Together, using their
faith, courage, and love, they try to overcome the malicious dragon slayer. In
school, Billy is nicknamed “Dragon Breath” for an obvious reason. He has breath
that is, literally, as hot as fire! Disaster strikes when Billy sets off the
boys restroom sprinklers with his flaming breath. Finally, his parents decide
they’ve kept their secret for too long. When Billy discovers that his father
was once a dragon, he feels betrayed, deceived, and lost. However, when Billy
is trapped by the dragon slayer on a misty mountaintop, he learns to battle
with weapons of spirit and of a power he does not understand.
My View
I think the book was well written, but personally I
don’t enjoy fantasy, I don’t think I will be reading the rest of the series.
Jonah's review on Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis
The
life of Billy Banister is turned up side down when he finds out that his father
is a dragon in human skin! When
the new principal of his school turns out to be a dragon slayer thing get
worst. Bonnie Silver, aka Bonnie Backpack wears a backpack 24/7 to hide her half
dragon wings. When Billy and Bonnie meet, they run for their lives from the
evil slayer.
I
recommend this book for kids that like action, adventure and suspense. The age
range should be about 12 and up. Why? Because the book can be violent in parts.
The book is all about faith and shows God can help us help us in difficult
times.
Sofi's review on Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis.
Plot:
15 year-old Billy Bannister learns a disturbing secret; his father was once a
dragon. As a result, he inherited some dragon traits. Taken off guard by the
shocking truth, he soon begins to question his trust in his father. Not long
after, he meets 14 year-old Bonnie Silver, an orphan in foster care, that hides
an astounding secret: she has wings, inherited from her dragon mother.
Together, they embark on a spine-tingling adventure to fulfill an ancient
prophecy.
Positive
Role Models: Both Billy and Bonnie show remarkable faith and trust in God
as their protector. Their courage and willingness to serve are continuing
assets throughout the series. Mrs. Bannister also showed extreme bravery, in
that she didn’t completely lose it when her husband died.
My
Take: Personally, I thought this book was extremely well written, and very
thought-provoking as well. I enjoyed the constant displays of faith through
hard times. I couldn’t put down the book once I started it, and immediately had to read the next ones when I was
finished. Some of the situations are a little intense, and I found myself
shaking afterwards. All in all, it was a really good book expressing the
qualities of faith rarely found in today’s youth. It should be an inspiration
to us, to give our generation a chance to prove that instead of sloppy,
irresponsible teens, we can be faithful and devoted followers of Christ.
Book review Pilgrim's Progress by Laura.
Little Pilgrim’s Progress is a story about a boy named Christian, who after hearing about the King’s love decided to start his pilgrimage and make his way to the celestial city. Christian met many people on the way who tried to get him to leave the King’s way, and go to the wicked prince’s castle. Some people followed Christian, and helped him to succeed. The main idea that John Bunyan is trying to convey is that life isn’t easy; there will be troubles and some people will try to convince you to leave Gods path. But if you trust in him it will be worth it in the end. I would suggest Little Pilgrim’s Progress for young teens.
Book Review for “Pilgrim’s Progress”
by Samara
The pilgrim’s name is Christian. In the beginning of the story, he has a big burden on his back, which is sin. He is reading the bible and is concerned about what it says. He read that he will die if he isn’t saved.
With help from a person named “Evangelist”, he decides to start the journey to the Celestial City. On the way he meets many different people, who either help him or try to discourage him and lead him onto different paths that eventually take him to hell. Sometimes those people tempt him and he almost goes the wrong way, but then he always fights, ignores them, and stays focused on the path to the Celestial City. He learns lots of things and makes new friends during his pilgrimage.
It was fun to try to relate the things that happened to Christian to real life. For instance, when a monster fights Christian, that is like Satan trying to bring us down with lies and sins.
I really enjoyed this book. I’d recommend it to anyone because it has a great theme. I think the theme is that even when things get very tough, we can do anything through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
Remember, we’re all pilgrims.
Book Trailer on Where the Red Fern Grows by Sofi
Book Trailer on Where the Red Fern Grows by Noah!
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Book Trailer movie on Where the Red Fern Grows by Samara!
Check out her movie here.
Check out Lego movie here.
Book Trailer movie on Where the Red Fern Grows by Samara!
Check out her movie here.
