Wonder - Review

Wonder by R.J Palacio

This Book was reviewed by Ava and Sasha.

This book was about a 5^th grade boy named August. (Auggie for short)

He has a facial deformity which has prevented him from going to school, until now. Auggie is starting a new school called Beecher Prep where not only does he have to be the “New Kid” he also has to be the “Weird Kid.” He will have to deal with bullies, popular kids, idiotic home and school members, new teachers, and harsh words. (If you don’t know what we mean think middle school.)

Most people will ask us for our favorite part, but we feel that the book just has a great message and all of it is excellent writing and definitely worth reading. It was a good book and we both enjoyed it and think that anyone who reads it will love it.

As for the main characters the biggest one was August Pullman. His sister Via also played an important role. Like she said in the book “ August is the sun. Me and mom and dad are planets orbiting the sun. The rest of our family and friends are asteroids and comets floating around the planets orbiting the sun.” That’s mostly what the book is like. Other main characters are Summer, Jack Will, and Julian. They book has many other characters who are very important, but these are the most important.

They book was told in different narrations by many characters including Auggie, Summer, Via, Jack Will, Miranda, and Via’s boyfriend. The book was a mix of both good feelings and bad ones and there was also some sadness. There were not any illustrations, but we didn’t think that the book needed them.

Anyone with a heart would like this book. We know that sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true. The book is good for all ages and all people no matter what you like and who you are. If you know what we mean. This book is a true Wonder. (Sorry, bad pun.)  

Check out the book's website. 

Meeting Melissa Guion

A few months ago I did a review on the book Baby Penguins Everywhere by Melissa Guion. I also met her at my local library when she came to visit. Little did I know I would get a chance to be interviewed on her site.

Head over there and check it out.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again - Review

This month our book club read Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again by Frank Cottrell.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the story of an unusual family, the Tooting family. Mr Tooting loses his job and his company car which was a modern van. He decides to rebuild a camper van from old parts with help from one of his sons, Jem. What the Tooting family doesn't know, is the engine has a mind of its own. What started out as a normal family vacation turned out to be a great adventure. The van takes the family on a scavenger hunt, to the places they never expected, in ways they didn't expect.


Sasha said "I thought that the book was a funny adventure with a great mix of characters and it was very good. I would recommend this book to many people! I loved it!"

The whole book club agreed that the book had a slow start, but we were glad we stuck with it because it turned out to be a great story.

Cooper and Sasha liked Lucy. Jordyn liked the reporter from Car Stupide, the most famous television show in France. However, I liked Little Harry because at unexpected points in the book he would say random stuff, and he was very funny.


These are the discussions questions we used:

• Dad likes announcing his word of the day. What would your word of the day be today?
• If you could travel anywhere in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where would you go? Why?
• Dad believes that being sacked is an 'opportunity'. What does this mean? What opportunities have you had in your life so far?
• Who was your favorite Tooting family member and why?

Check out these great activities sheets we did at book club. You can also read what the author has to say about the book and series HERE.

To follow more of the Tooting family adventures you can read :

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time 
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon

My Weird Writing Tips Review

One day I was in a bookstore. I didn’t know it before I went there but there was an author coming in that day to sign the books he had written. He name is Dan Gutman. I have read many of the books he has written before so I knew who he was.

While he was there I bought a book called The Genius Files and had him sign it for me. I have not read it yet but I am looking forward to.

When we were talking, he told me about a book that had not even come out yet. I kept it in the back of my mind because I knew I wanted to read it. It is called My Weird Writing Tips.

Then, a month later, when I was at the library I saw it on the shelf.  I check it out. I really like it. I even read it 2 times. 

If you like My Weird School series you will enjoy this book. The first part of the book is about writing tips and the second part is about spelling, grammar and punctuation. He uses funny stories with silly characters from his My Weird School books.

This is a book for kids ages 8 and up but when mom read it with me she learned a little too. Can you believe she didn’t know the difference between its and it’s?

My mom ended up buying this book for me. She thinks I will read it over and over again because it tells you the rite way to wright. Oops, I mean right way to write.

Because of Mr. Terupt - Review

One day I was browsing around one of my favorite local bookstore when I came across this book called Because of Mr. Terupt. I read the back and thought it was very interesting because it was about a 5th grade class and I am going into 5th grade. So I decided to get it.

This book is about a teacher named Mr. Terupt. Only Mr. Terupt seems to know how to deal with all the kids in his new class. There are seven kids in the the class that this book is about. There is the new girl, the bully, the troublemaker, and the smart guy. Also there is a girl who doesn't know how to stand up for herself, the shy girl, and then the boy who hates school. Together, they are a lot for any teacher to deal with.

What I really like about this book is that it is divided differently than a normal chapter book. Each section is a month and each of the 7 kids tells about the month in their own voice. It made the book easy to read.

I would give it a 10 out of 10.

There is another book with the same characters. It's called Mr. Terupt Falls Again. I am reading it now.

For more information about the author check out the his web site.

Touch Blue - Review

Touch Blue

This book is about 2 sisters that live on a small island off the coast of Maine. Their school is shutting down because there are not enough kids to keep it open. Some families agree to take in foster children to add more kids to the school. One of those families was Tess and Libby's. Aaron, the boy who came to live with them, isn't happy to be there. Tess does her best to make him feel at home and shows him around the island. He knew he would not even be there if they had enough kids on the island so felt used. Tess also comes up with a plan for Aaron to see his mom again because she thinks that is why he is unhappy. Things may not work out as perfect as she planned.

Cooper loved the book and gave it an 8 out of 10.
Grace said the story was so so but she thought it was well written. She kept reading it because we were talking about it at book club. She gave it a 7 out of 10.
Jordyn didn't really like it. 5 out of 10
Ava, the book overall didn't really interest me but some parts I enjoyed. 6 out of 10

Our group would recommend this to both boys and girls. One of the main characters is a boy but the story is told by Tess, a girl.

The Bell Bandit - Review

In June me and my friends read The Bell Bandit

 The book was about Jesse and Evan. They go to their grandmother's house for the holidays. When they got there they saw that her house was burned by fire. While their mom picked up their grandma at the hospital, as they were waiting they noticed the bell was missing.
Clearly there has been a crime. Grandma is heart broken when she realizes the bell is missing. She thinks Evan did it because she is having trouble with her memory. She dos not remembering the kids but remembers her daughter, their mom.
Jesse decides to look for the New Years Eve bell. She teams up with Maxwell, a friend who lives near their grandmother, to solve the mystery.

Ava's favorite part was at an old tepee that they built last summer. There grandma thought it was a bus stop.This part was funny and it was sad.

Grace liked the part where grandma goes missing because it is full of suspense.

Cooper liked when Jesse and Evan do a scavenger hunt.

Jordyn enjoye when Jesse and Maxwell were spying on 2 mean neighborhood boys. When Evan came to find them they got into a big fight with the boys. It was a happy part because they saved the frog

This series would definitely be liked by boys and girls. All of us girls liked it and Grace knows a boy in her class that is reading it and he liked it.

You will be surprised at who has the bell.

If you enjoyed The Lemonade War Series as much as me and my friends did check out the books' website.