Entries Tagged 'School Situations' ↓
March 6th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Book Review, G-I, Mystery, School Situations, YA Genre
by Captain Lyaf Yarr
Title: The Homework Machine
Author: Dan Gutman
Page Count: 146
Format: Hard cover
Grade Reading Level: 3rd-5th
Summary: Brenton, Snik, Kelsey, and Judy are in 5th grade and have only thing in common. Can you guess what it is? They all hate homework! Brenton, however, has a secret homework machine that only he knows about. Until, he decides to tell Snik, Kelsey, and Judy and give them permission to use it anytime. (As long as they keep it a secret.) But someone tells another student about the machine. When Brenton gets an email the kids aren't sure if they should still use the machine or who told the other student.
Why I Started the Book:
I read this book because I heard good things about it from my friends and my teachers. The title also made me curious and eager to read it. A homework machine? How Does it work?
Likes:
- I liked how this book was written. It was like a person was in a room being videotaped and someone was writing what they were saying, also it changed point of view or narrators a bunch of times which I thought was fun.
- I like the character Snik. To me he’s the, “I think I’m so cool, and everyone thinks so too!” kid.
Dislikes:
- The things that Kelsey does: like get her navel pierced, seemed real stupid to me. I don’t get why it was included in the book. I think Dan Gutman was trying to show how Kelsey changed throughout the book or how she was trying to get attention, but I’m still not sure.
Last minute thoughts: Dan Gutman has yet to disappoint me! You should try his other books also.
Buy: The Homework Machine (Paperback)
Book Rating: I give this book 4 treasure chests! It was excellent!
Originally posted 2009-11-05 03:01:51.
February 21st, 2010 — 2.5-3 Treasure Chests, Graphic Novel, J-L, School Situations, YA Genre
by Captain Lyaf Yarr
Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Author Jeff Kinney
Page Count: 217
Format: Paperback
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: Greg is writing in his journal (diary) again and is facing more problems than ever before. He is getting into more trouble while trying to fix each of these problems. According to his dad, Greg should act more like his ex-neighbor, Lenwood Heath. His dad wants to send him to a summer conditioning program at Spag Union to change him from a troublemaker to a normal kid. Will Greg have to spend his entire summer at a conditioning program? Will he convince his dad to not send him to the program? What will be the last straw?
Why I Started This Book:
I already read the other two books of this series and enjoyed them both.
Likes:
- The idea of the diary is still pretty awesome. It just appeals to me. I think it would be fun to read another diary or journal by a different author and compare it to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
- Greg is a fun character. I love that he is so wimpy in appearance, but that his attitude isn’t wimpy. It's funny that he thinks he’s perfect as can be.
- I like Greg's best friend, Rowley. He's immature. my favorite things he did was getting into a pillow fight with six year olds.
- Oh and one last note: Greg's mom is funny. Hehe.
Dislikes:
- I didn't like Greg's dad; he hears what Greg says but he doesn't listen. That's just bad parenting!
- Some things were so stupid that they became funny. I wish it had been more funny and less stupid. Boys!
- When he was wearing his mom's bathrobe and stood under the heat vent - why did he get in trouble for this? Makes no sense to me.
Last minute thoughts: I didn’t enjoy this book as well as the first one, but liked it better than the second one. I would like to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
soon and other books by Jeff Kinney.
Buy: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Book Rating: I give this book 3 Treasure Chests.
Originally posted 2009-10-22 03:54:35.
February 16th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, A-C, Audio Book Review, Book Review, Coming of Age, School Situations, YA Genre
by Captain Yarr
Title: All American Girl
Author: Meg Cabot
Narrator: Ariadne Meyers
Format: Unabridged Compact Discs
CDs + Minutes: 6 CDs (7 hours and 10 minutes)
Grade Reading Level: Ages 12+
Summary: Sam is a not so ordinary girl who wears all black and has a talent for drawing. She is in love with her sisters’ boyfriend Jack, who is an artist also. Her parents sign her up for art classes that she doesn’t want to take, and one class she decides to skip. While she’s waiting for class to be over she sees the president of the United States and an assassin trying to kill him. One quick thoughtless decision and she’s a hero for saving the president. At a celebratory dinner at the White House she reconnects with the presidents’ son, David from her art class. Does stay true to Jack or will her heart fall for a new love?
Why I Started This Book:
One day I went to the library and I guess it caught my eye from a lineup of audio books. I’m a big fan of audio books as you know.
Likes:
- I liked David. He was both mysterious and sweet with a wide teasing streak.
- I enjoyed the chapter where Sam and her family were at the White House for dinner. Sam’s a picky eater and ended up putting about half of her dinner into her napkin to avoid eating it.
Dislikes:
- While I was listening to this book Meg Cabot would write “I mean” this and “I mean” that. When read aloud it was way too much. Eventually I got sick of hearing the words and would groan every time I heard them.
- I didn’t like how Sam dyed all of her clothes black. If I had to do that I’d die of hideous fashion shame.
Last minute thoughts: I didn’t really understand why this book was called “All American Girl,” after all how many American girls save the president and find love with his son?
Buy: All American Girl (Audio Cassette)
, All-American Girl (paperback)
Book Rating: I give this book 3.5 Treasure Chests.
Originally posted 2009-10-15 03:47:40.
February 12th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Book Review, Graphic Novel, J-L, School Situations, YA Genre
by Captain Lyaf Yarr
Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Page Count: 217
Format: Paperback
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: Greg is starting middle school and his mom buys him a “Journal” (diary). In it he writes all of his problems, events, and whatever is happening in his personal life. The book follows him through his first year in middle school and it isn’t exactly as Greg thought it would be.
Why I Started This Book:
I knew kids at school who had read this book and liked it and when my mom heard about it she told me I should grab it from the library. I did and I grabbed another one too, just in case the first was any good.
Likes:
- I like the idea of reading someone’s diary. I’ve always wanted to without being caught and yelled at for invading their privacy.
- In this book I liked the moldy cheese that was always on the basketball court and never came off. I was kind of grossed out when I found out what happened to it at the end of the story, but I thought it was funny.
- I loved the comedy in the book; sometimes it was funny because it was stupid, but I was laughing all the time anyway.
Dislikes:
- In this book there wasn’t just one major problem. It was more like ten problems, and they weren’t very big problems except one. I thought it was kind of weird reading with more than one problem going on. It’s not something I’m used to and I’m not sure really how I feel about it.
- I didn’t especially like the fact that there were so many pictures in this book. Not that I didn’t enjoy the picture it’s just that it took up most of what could have been text, and it felt like I could finish ten pages in ten seconds.
Last minute thoughts: I was never tired of reading this book. I was eager what would happen next.
Buy: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Book Rating: I give this book 3.5 Treasure Chests, and I will read the second one soon!
Originally posted 2009-10-07 03:37:11.
February 9th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Graphic Novel, Guest Review, J-L, School Situations, YA Genre
by Pirate Cook Cutlery, guest reviewer
Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Author: Jeff Kinney
Format: Hardback
Pages: 216
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: Greg Heffley is in his second year of Middle School. Pretty much, his brother Rodrick, can get Greg to do anything Rodrick wants because Rodrick has some blackmail material on Greg. Their mother is trying to get them to play nice, but with competitive streaks a mile wide will that ever be possible?
Why I Started This Book:
My mother and older sister told me about this book and got it from the library for me. I don’t usually choose to spend my time reading, but this looked cool enough so I began it and finished it within two days. Personal record! Awesome!
Likes:
- This book is really funny. I would disturb family members by chuckling out loud.
- The cartoons made this book a breeze to get through and were part of the humor that really made this book awesome.
- I liked Manny the youngest Heffley boy. He was the tattler and would tattle on both Greg and Rodrick.
Dislikes:
- I thought it was kind of stupid that Greg wrapped himself in toilet paper when he was wet. Wouldn’t he be a soggy chunky mummy and not just a normal mummy? Talk about icky.
- Rodrick’s science project. It was silly, but stupid. Come on, really, Do Plants Sneeze?
Last minute thoughts: I am going to go back and start with book one as soon as I can.
Buy: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Book Rating:4 Treasure Chests
Originally posted 2009-10-09 03:29:37.
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