The Wednesday Wars: Week Two

Things aren't going well for Holling. First, he ruined Mrs. Baker's cream puffs, let out the class pets, and is now FORCED to read Shakespeare. Of course, the whole Shakespeare thing kind of reminds me of a certain Looney Tunes cartoon from the very late 40's, called "A Ham in a Role." This cartoon features two obscure characters, known as the Goofy Gophers (Mac and Tosh, respectively) as they annoy an over-sophisticated dog with a hatred for cartoons. Below, I have posted a link to a video I found on YouTube of the short. But watch it quickly, the Copyright Police might take it off quicker than you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4gEJX1Ryc

(Or, you could take an easier route and look it up yourself!)

Wednesday Wars: Week One

I decided to switch books. It;s not that I didn't like my last book, I just forgot about it. So instead, I chose The Wednesday Wars. The book is about a boy named Holling (Holling?) who has to spend time with his evil homeroom teacher every Wednesday afternoon, because he isn't Catholic or Jewish, and therefore doesn't go to such churches. He suspects Mrs. Baker hates him when she keeps giving him dirty looks on the first day of school. When he realizes that his father is going to make a business deal with Mrs. Baker's family, Holling has to be extra-careful about what he says and does. Let's hope for the best.

TLP: Week Two

This week, my book was talking about these horrible trees called the baobabs. I wasn't sure if they were real or fiction, but after some quick Google research, they really do exist. And they're pretty big. not redwood tall just wide. I believe they call that "obtuse" in math class. Anyway, I found this really weird blurb about how this man in South Africa managed to turn a baobab tree into a tiki bar for tourists. It's amazing what you can find on the Internet...

The Little Prince: Week One

This leap month, I have chosen to read "The Little Prince." my mom said that even though it's short, it still has a message. I'm seeing bits and pieces of the message already, as in the book the pilot is describing the little prince. He has been making drawings of the prince because he does not want to forget him, and that you don't want to forget a friend, because you might not have a friend like that ever again. I've never really had any close friends in my life, except for this one girl that moved to New York City with her parents and sister. I remember in fifth grade, we had to present puppet shows for our parents to come and see. My group got assigned "Little Red Riding Hood," and the puppet I had made looked a little bit like her. I haven't forgotten a friend.

Frightful's Mountain: Week Three

Good news! I have read a good chunk of my book and I am able to summarize for you. Just to let some of  you know, this is my last post for November. Anyway, here's what has happened: Unfortunately, my prediction from my last post was incorrect. Sam has been feeding his beautiful bird regularly. And, Frightful has been brooding three chicks. Two of them were captured by illegal bird salesmen, but the police caught them red-handed, but the chicks can't go back to Frightful because the Feds have been watching them. So now, Sam is stuck without Frightful's two chicks, but it's not a total loss. Frightful and her old mate have been taking care of Oski, who was with Sam when the other two chicks were captured. Also, migration season is coming, and Sam won't see Frightful until season's end. She is currently making it to South America with a group of birds of prey and her old son, Drum.

Why do I like this book? It teaches the reader a lot about falcons in general, like how they have a special gland to oil their flight feathers, or the special call chicks use when they're hungry, how they fly through these things called thermals, etc. Not only does this book tell a story of friendship, but it's also very educational. Well played, Mrs. George.

Frightful's Mountain: Week Two

Finally!

As a side plot in my book, Frightful has been trying to locate Sam, her original owner. After eight chapters, we finally found him! Apparently, he's been doing pretty well for himself. He's doing odd jobs for a neighbor and making Adirondack furniture with an old friend of his. Of course, Frightful shouldn't really be there at all considering Sam's too young to have a falconer's license, but it's been a while since Sam has seen her, so it's appropriate.

We now know that Frightful has a place for food and shelter, much better than Chup's cliff or Jon Wood's log cabin. But, there's somewhere even better. When Frightful is frightened by Alice, (complete accident) she flies away from Sam's hemlock and towards the city-which makes no sense considering she just found Sam-she finds a gigantic bridge.

When she lands, something strange happens. The bridge feels more and more like her home. Forget the hemlock, this place is calm. There's food all around, nobody to worry about her whatsoever. She's at peace. Except of course for her eyas Lady, who has a bad case of DDT poisoning from South America, which is sad, but I guess notable.

I predict that Frightful will leave Sam once she gets used to the bridge. If I were a bird, I would want a quiet place once and a while. Maybe she'll come back to Sam for food or during rainstorms but I think she'll stay there. At least for now.

Frigthful's Mounatin: Week One

Well, it's time for a new book, friends. The book I chose for the month of November is Frightful's Mountain.

(image from Better World Books)

 

 

 

 The reason I chose this book is because a) my mother told me to read it and b) I've already read "My Side of the Mountain," this book being the second prequel to it. What I have read so far I'm liking. In the beginning, Frightful had been taken away by these illegal bird salesman and was nearly dead, until her original trainer's (Sam, of course) sister came and...well, Sam's sister didn't really do anything except release her. And Frightful was hungry, so she was practically neglected a second time. Until she met a worn-out dog named Mole, who helped her scare up game for dinner. Then, she met Chup, a male peregrine falcon, called a tiercel, who led her to his aerie after his last mate didn't return from a hunting trip. But, after being with Sam for so long, she has forgotten all peregrine instinct, and her surroundings must teach her. Finally, she learns how to care for the young when winter hits and again, she is ill-equipped. After many days without food, our heroine decides to seek out new life from atop a electric transformer. Bad idea. She nearly dies, forcing a falconer living nearby to tour a bunch of schools telling children about the dangers of electricity wires and how it affects endangered species. More of that will come later in the book, when I'm able to post again. See you soon!