Shiloh

"HOOK"

  "The day Shiloh come, we're having us a big Sunday dinner. Dara Lynn's dipping bread in her glass of cold tea, the way she likes, and Becky pushes her beans up over the edge of her plate in her rush to get 'em down."
(page11)

  "It's only after I lie back down on the couch that night I realize what I've down. To Ma and Dad, for one thing. Ma's still awake. I can see the light in the bedroom as Dad goes on down the hall. And then I hear their voices. Not all of what they say, but enough:
  'Ray... told you I just found out about that dog myself. ..." (pg. 96.)


  "Night in West Virginia is as black as it could be. No car lights sweepin' across my walls or ceiling like when I stay overnight with David Howard down in Friendly. No street lamps shinin' in the windows, no lights from next-door houses. Where I live, there ain't no street lamps at all, no house close enough to see from our windows. My eyes are wide, anyway. I stare up into the darkness of the living room and the darkness stares back. I'm remembering how once, several years ago, when Ma bought milk chocolate rabbits one Easter for me and Dara Lynn, I'd finished eating mine, but Dara Lynn took only a nibble of hers everyday or so, keeping it up on her dresser in its pink and yellow tinfoil, driving me nuts. And one day I just crept in there and ate off one of the rabbits ears. Dara Lynn, of course, threw a fit, and when Ma asked me if I'd done it, I said no. I could feel my cheeks and neck burning red." (page 55)

Recommendation :
Have you ever witnessed animal abuse? Eleven-year old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home in Friendly, West Virginia. But one summer day, he comes across something unusual. A young beagle in the the road who has had a history of abuse. Marty names the dog Shiloh because he found him near the old Shiloh schoolhouse. Marty realizes that Shiloh belongs to Judd Travers, the meanest of them all. When Marty brings Shiloh to Judd's house, Judd realizes that Shiloh had run away and for punishment he kicks the dog. When Marty comes across Judd he realizes that he has a gun- the trouble begins. Will Judd find Shiloh and take him  or Will Marty get to keep the young beagle? Read to find out!!!

Book By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Blog By: Maddie P., Joey P., Jocelyn C.
Genre: Realistic Fiction

39 Clues: The Sword Thief

                 "The Hook"

''They were toast. Amy Cahill eyed the battered black duffel bag rumbling up the airport conveyor belt. It bulged at the corners. The sign above the belt said Thank You For Visiting Venice: Random Pieces Of Checked Luggage Will Be Searched in five languages. '' Oh great,'  Amy said.  '' How random is ' random?' ' I told you, a ninja warrior must always keep his swords in his carry-on.''( page 1)    

''Stop them'' Dan and Amy ran toward the tunnel,shouting as loud as they could. 'Boarding passes, per favore?' he asked, his face a mix of bafflement and annoyance. Amy watched helplessly as Ian and Natalie slipped into the tunnel's long shadow. They could hear the planes hatch shut with a dull thump. 'They're- they're the Kabras!' Dan said. Evil Kabras. Famoso, evillo, Kabritos! They are holding our au pair hostage!''(page 9)


Recommendation

        Have you ever risked your life on a game? Well Dan and Amy have.When Dan and Amy found out that  their grandmother died, they had to join a game to collect the 39 clues. They had to face many obstacles.  From family members dying, to traveling around the world, and explosions, they had no choice but to join their cousins and their uncle on a journey of a life time. Who do you think is going to win? Do you think Dan and Amy's cousins are going to stay on their side? Read the book to find out.

By: Peter Lerangis
Blogged by: Gabe M.
Genre: Mystery

The Janitors Boy

The "Hook"

"Jack was angry at his dad, and he was angry at himself, and he hated the way things were spinning out of control. He clenched his jaw and worked very hard to keep his eyes from filling up with tears.

Jack had been asked a question, and Mr. Ackerby didn't like waiting. He leaned forward and spoke even louder. 'I demand an answer, young man. Look at this mess! What were you thinking?'
Jack glanced at the desk, then into Mr. Ackerby's squinty eyes, and then back to his ugly necktie. Jack couldn't quite explain that question to himself, not clearly, and there was no way he was going to open up and try to explain all his feelings this guy.
So Jack said, 'I don't know. I just. . .I just did it'
As if he could not believe what he was hearing, Mr. Ackerby bent his face down close to Jack's and repeated, 'You 'just did it'? Well, you know what,buddy boy? You're going to just UN-did it!" (pages 28-29)
 "An open lock is a temptation for some people. For Jack it was more like an invitation. It wasn't like he was cracking a safe or robbing a bank. He was only interested in the lock- at first. ...Turning back to the cabinet, Jack was all set to put the lock back just as he'd found it. But almost as an afterthought he flipped the latch off the doors and pulled on both at once.There was a soft jingling, and as the doors opened wide so did Jack's eyes and mouth." (page 64)

Recommendation
Have you ever experienced a life learned lesson? Well, here's a life learned lesson; Never Ever Stick Gum On School Property! Why? Because if your dad or any relative is the janitor, you might just have to be on gum patrol for the rest of the year.This is what happened to Jack Rankin. Jack's dad is the janitor at his school and he gets humiliated by all the kids in his class. No one really wants to be his friend. But when his dad, John, makes a mistake all Jack wants to do is strangle him. Will Jack survive school knowing his dad's the janitor? Will he keep up with gum patrol or will he fail 5th grade? Find out in The Janitors Boy!!

Blog By: Sheridan M.
Book By: Andrew Clements
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Travel Team

The "Hook"
 

   "The ball had hit the back of the rim and bounced straight up in the air, as high as the top of the backboard. As it did, Danny got a leg in front of Teddy Moran, planted it good and solid, and, as he did, used perfect rebounding position, elbows out, to shove Teddy hard to the side... It knocked Teddy off balance, made him stumble to his left, just as Ty Ross, who had gone high up in the air when the ball had finally stopped bouncing around the rim, was coming down with the rebound. Danny saw it all happening like it was super slo-mo on television. Or in a video game. Only this wasn't fantasy ball. This was Ty landing on Teddy instead of the basketball floor at St. Pat's... Then Ty was rolling on the floor at St. Pat's cradling his right arm to his stomach, screaming in pain."(page 118)

  Recommendation
       Have you ever been cut from a sports team for the wrong reasons? If you have, you can relate to Danny Walker. Danny is a 7th grader at St.Patrick's middle school in Middletown, NY. Danny is VERY short for his age, at only 55 inches. I am taller than him! When Danny gets cut from the Middletown basketball Travel Team, his dad steps in and creates a travel team for all the kids who got cut for the wrong reasons. Will Danny's team take victory? Or crash because of one (possibly many) fatal mistakes from his dad? Find out in the book Travel Team!

Blog by: Jack B.
Book by: Mike Lupica
Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Historical Fiction

The Tale of Desperaux

"Hook" .

                                {Chapter One}

                            {the queens last words}   

                           

"THE QUEEN LOVED SOUP. She loved soup more than anything in the world expect for the Princess Pea and the king. And because the queen loved it, soup was served in the castle for every banquet, every lunch, and every dinner.

      And what it was! Cook's love and admiration for the queen and her palate moved the broth that she concocted from the level of mere food to a high art.

      On this particular day, for this particular banquet, Cook had outdone herself. The soup was masterwork, a delicate mingling of chicken, watercress, and garlic." {page 111}

                                                               {Chapter One}

                                                               { the last one}

" Where are my babies?" said the exhausted mother when the ordeal was through. " Show to me my babies." The father mouse held one smalll mouse up high. "There is only this one." he said. " The others are dead. "Mon Dieu, just the one mouse baby?" " Just the one.Will you name him" All of that work for nothing." said the mother. She sighed. " It is so sad. It is such the disappointment." She was a French mouse who had arrived at the castle long ago in the luggage of a visiting French diplomat. " Disappointment" was the one of her favorite words. She used it often. " Will you name him? Will you name him? Of course, I will name him, but he will only die like the others. Oh, so sad. Oh, such the tragedy."His ears are to big," said his sister Merlot. "Those are the biggest ears I've ever seen"

Recommendation:

Have you ever dreamed of a magical world of mouses?  The story is about a mouse who loves music, stories, and a princess named Pea. He has a brother named Roscuro who lives in the darkness , but this mouse lives the real world. But one day he is tempted to see his true love... Princess Pea, but leads up to killing the Queen. Names are called, things are said, but nothing will stop this mouse. This mouse's mission leads to a disgusting dunegon, a needle and a thread, and a glittering castle. Will this mouse get his wish or will he have to go back to having others make fun of his HUGE... ears. As a reader, it is your destiny to find out.

Book Recommendation by: Maddison P., and Julia C.

Book By: Kate DiCamillo

Illustrated By: Timothy Basil Ering

Genre: Fantasy

A Friendship for Today

"Hook"

"For sure, and your gangster name will be Jumping Jack Stenson in a Stenson hat. 'Or maybe you want to be G-man.' 'What will it be?

     'I haven't decided yet,' J.J. says, managing a weak smile.
      He hasn't opened his report card. So I take a chance and encourage him. 'Go on. Look at your grades. It is what it is. Get it over with.'
       J.J. shrugs. 'I don't care what my grades are.'
       Of course he does. 'Want me to look for you?
        J.J. hands me his card without a fuss. I open it. Part of me wants to tease him and make him suffer for giving me such a hard time. But this is not joking time. J.J. might keel over if he thinks he's failed.
       'You passed,' I say. 'Your grades are awful-mostly C's and D's, but you made enough to pass onto the sixth grade. 'But what really makes me happiest is that he's been assigned Robertson, too. 'Were going to the same school next year.'
          'I passed! I passed!' That is all J.J. needs to know. With a whoop and a holler he takes off down the street, yelling at the top of his voice. 'School's out! School's out!'  'The teacher wore her shoes out.' (page 24 and 25)

    "By noon, every kid who's going to the carnival has gathered in front of Daddy's garage. As we're loading up in the back of the truck. I realize J.J. isn't with us. I can't imagine going to Grant-Lasalle without him. But Daddy's about to pull off. 'Wait!' I shout. 'Let me go see if J.J. is coming. I'll be right back.'
            'I'm leaving in ten minutes with our without you two,' Daddy yells, knowing all the time that he won't leave us-I hope not. That's just his way of saying hurry up.
.              Hopping off the back of the truck. I take off like a missile. As soon as I turn the corner of Rosebud and Harrison, J.J. comes barreling out of his house, head down and legs churning.
               'Your gonna get left,' I shout, changing directions, heading back to the garage. 'Come on!'...At first we jog along side by side. Turning the corner, we see he truck full of our friends. I wave. They wave back and call for us to hurry. Daddy starts the motor and pretends to pull off. Then he stops and yells, 'Go, go, go!' (page 59 and 60),

    But J.J.'s not giving an inch. He stays close on my back. A few feet from the truck, I feel him beside me...and then ahead by a step or two. I pump harder, but my legs won't move me any faster. And J.J. wins by a toe.( page 61)

   'Tell them J.J., ' I keep saying. 'Tell them!'
       'Tell them what Rosemary? Your the one talking.'
         I give J.J. a hard look. He drops his eyes. 'You're not my friend anymore, I don't like you, and I may never speak to you again.'

The next morning J.J. wakes up with polio. (page 62)

Recommendation

Have you ever been picked on because of your race? If so, you can relate to Rosemary. Rosemary is black and going to an all white school with her best friend J.J. But after a race and a broken promise, J.J. wakes up with polio. This means Rosemary will have to face 6th grade and the Hamilton's alone. When Rosemary gets to school she faces name calling, sitting next to a Hamilton, missing J.J. and the worst of all-Katherine. Katherine is the meanest spoildest person there is... Or so they think. But when someone she knows is in trouble she will have to do something she never thought she would. Will Rosemary and J.J. make up? Will Rosemary be able to survive 6th grade, and maybe even make a friend on the way? You will have to read this book to find out.

Blog By: Julia C.
Book By: Patricia C. McKissack
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Maniac Magee

Hook:

"No one knew it then, but it was the birth scream of a legend. And that's when the running started. Three springy steps down from the risers- girls in pastel dresses screaming, the music director lunging-a leap from the stage, out the side door and into the starry, sweet, onion-grass-smelling night. Never again to return to the house with two toasters. Never again to return to school." (page 17)

"The space heater wasn't on, no steaming cups sat on the table, the old man was still under the covers. Maniac went over. 'Grayson.' He shook the old man. 'Grayson?' He took the old man's hand. It was cold. 'Grayson!" (page115)

"Every week Maniac paid it. (And besides, he loved to meet the challenges they cooked up for him.) And then one day they gave him the most perilous challenge of all. They dared him to go into the East End." (page 142)

Recommendation:

Do you know what it feels like to be a legend? Well, Jeffery Lionel Magee does. Jeffery's parents died in a car crash and now he is an orphan, but this is not how this legend came to be. Now known as Maniac Magee, Jeffery is known as the kid who could run the fastest, jump the highest and untie even the toughest of knots. He was gifted. Maniac goes from person to person, home to home and heart to heart. Touching people's lives. The East End whites and West End blacks do not wish to get along. Maniac is shoved in between the two. Both of whom he is friends with most people. Can Maniac Magee turn this disaster around? Or, will  hate put up a fight? There is no doubt this kid is a legend.

Book by: Jerry Spinelli

Blog by: Madison H.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Waggit's Tale

"We will give him a name,' Tazar said. 'It will be our present to welcome him to the team.' Now what shall it be... 'It's  not the size of his tail that's the problem,' the brown dog said. It's just that when you're my height and standing behind him, it's better if he doesn't wag it.' The bone-chewing dog paused and looked up for a moment. 'Waggit? Did you say his name was Waggit?" (page 9)

"Tashi, we heard bad times have fallen on your team. Indeed we heard that you yourself had been taken,' he said... 'Well we was sharp,' said Tashi. 'WE saw them coming. We was up on the big rocks overlooking the fountain, so we lay low until they went.' 'You didn't try to warn your team?' Tazar was astonished. 'Listen,' barked Tashi, 'The first law of survival is: look after number one." (pages 148 and 149)

"But his captor's grip was too strong, and holding the clawing animal at arm's length he quickly walked toward the road. Parked just around the corner was the truck that every park dog feared, the one that took you to the Great Unknown, from which no dog ever returned." (page 211)

Recommendation:
Have you ever felt abandoned? Well, Waggit has.On second thought, he is abandoned! Abandoned by his old family Waggit ends up being rescued by... a team of mutts?! The team leader, Tazar, teaches Waggit the ways of the wild.
1. Don't grab food from upright hands.
2. Stay out of Tashi's (The rival teams) realm.
3. Stay with your pack no matter what.
When Tashi and his pack go missing that's when the crates appear. Waggit  learns the ways of the park when... an upright captures him and takes him to... the Great Unknown. No dog ever returns from the horror that is the pound. Will Waggit find his way back to his team? Will he be taken to his doom? Or will he be turned into the worst thing of all, a domesticated dog. Join Waggit on this adventurous tale and find out.

Book by: Peter Howe
Blog by: Madison H.
Genre: Adventure

Seven Spiders Spinning

The "Hook"
   "He wasn't the only one grinning. Attracted by the noise, the spider behind the movie screen had scurried down the hall and was peeping in the open doorway. It saw Lois Kennedy the Third on TV. With what it had of a mouth, it grinned. It had perfected its plan for murder"(pg.105)

"I have terrible news for Hamlet, Vermont,' said Meg Snoople. 'The dreaded  Siberian snow spider-the ones found in the glacier in the North Atlantic-" ( pg.103)

"The spiders were stronger, faster and more alert then their siblings had been. And they were angrier... Their stomachs rumbled and their mouths watered for blood. Human blood. Tattletale blood." (pages 61 and 62)

 "With perfectly awful timing, it was at just this second that the spider chose to drop... Anna Maria screamed and flung the pencil and its glob of hairy something across the room. Over the heads of her classmates sailed the pencil and the paralyzed spider. No one saw exactly what it was, but they all saw it zoom out the window like a velvet candy apple. It landed in the path of the school bus backing up with its backing-up beepers on."(page 28)

Recommendation
      Are you scared of spiders? If so, STOP READING THIS BLOG!!!!! This book is about 7 ancient snow spiders on the loose. Each one has its own tattletale love-which will soon turn to murderous love! Also, the tattletales and the copycats are at war over who will win the Halloween pageant. But when things get out of hand, 5 spiders get squished. And, one is ready for combat, and the other? Well, held captive. Will the tattletales make out okay? Will the pageant go as planned? Find out in the book Seven Spiders Spinning. BWAHAHAHAHA!   
WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU DON'T LIKE HAIRY, SCARY BUGS !

Blog By: Jack B,Jocelyn C, Madison H and Ashley N.
Book by: Gregory Maguire
Genre: Fantasy/Realistic Fiction

Bunnicula

Hook:

"He slicked his ears back close to his body, and for the first time,' Chester said, 'I noticed the peculiar marking on his forehead .What had seemed an ordinary black spot between his ears took on a strange v-shape, which connected with the black patch that covered his back and each side of his neck. It looked as if he was wearing a coat... no, more like a cape than a coat."(page 20)

"I still don't understand what vampires have to do with our little furry friend.' 'One,' Chester said, 'vampires do not sleep at night. They sleep only during the day. The same holds true for this rabbit. Two, vampires can get in and out of locked rooms. Bunnicula gets in and out of his locked cage... Three, vampires have pointed teeth. They're called fangs." (page 47)

"Chester came closer. After a moment of close examination, he gasped. I jumped. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. 'Harold...' Chester blurted. 'What? What?' 'It's...' 'Yes?' 'It's...' 'What is it, Chester?!' 'It's a white Zucchini!" (page 52)

Recommendation:

Have you ever encountered a vampire? Better yet, a vampire bunny! Didn't think so. A dog named Harold and a cat named Chester live in a peaceful household until... Bunnicula. One night the Monroes came home from seeing the movie Dracula with a bunny. Strange things start to happen in the house for example, White vegetables! Chester's suspicions arise that the helpless little fur ball isn't so helpless. He thinks Bunnicula is... A vampire that kills vegetables! When Chester gets  out of control Harold fears Bunnicula's life could be on the line, Vampire or not he has to protect Bunnicula. In the end will the murderer  actually be Chester? Can the household ever be at peace? Find out in the Hare-raising tail, Bunnicula!

Other books I recommend in this series:  Howliday Inn, Nighty Nightmare, The Celery Stalks at Midnight, Return To Howliday Inn, and Bunnicula meets Edgar Allan Crow.

Book by: James and Deborah Howe

Blog by: Madison H.

Genre: Fantasy