Beauty and the Beast

   

Hook:

Beast: “I shake my head. I am glad that my face won’t make girls scream for me on the streets. Alexander can have that particular blessing. I know he finds it difficult to believe, but I honestly do not care what stares back at me from the mirror. Especially since I almost never gaze into one.

    ‘ I told you,’ Alexander says, grinning. ‘He enjoys being beastly!’

    She laughs in response, and we keep dancing. ‘Riley is not beastly,’ she says. ‘A real beast would have nails as sharp as an eagle’s talons!’

    ‘And tufts of fur all over his body!’ Alexander calls out.

    ‘And a nose the size of…well, the size of his nose now!’ Father shouts.

    We all laugh, even Mother.

    ‘Only pointed, like a hawk’s !’ Alexander adds.

    Mother joins in. ‘With hair like a lion’s mane!’ She says. ‘So even if he combed it, it wouldn’t matter!’

    More laughter. It is at my expense, but I do not care. I am having too much fun. ‘As broad as two men, and a strong as an ox!’

‘ Is that all?’ she teases as we begin our third time around the clearing.

‘ Well, I would not mind being taller,’ I admit. ‘That way I would be closer to the stars.’

    ‘As tall as a giraffe!’ Alexander calls out. ‘Then you could pick our morning oranges straight from the branches!’

    ‘Done,’ the girl says, her voice clear and strong. I assume she means we are done dancing, so I stop. But, suddenly, I feel strange. Heavy and hot. The ground seems farther away somehow. The girl’s eyes are closed. Her lips are moving, but I hear no words coming from her mouth.

Then Mother’s screams echo through the woods and do not stop until she falls from her horse.”    (Pages 73 and 74)

 Beauty:  "Papa jumps up from the front step when he sees us. His face is completely devoid of color, his eyes wild withe fear or pain, I cannot tell. He has twisted his hat so many times it hangs in shreds in his hands. Yet he still twists it.

‘Papa!’ I run to him. ‘What is it? What happened?’

He stumbles over to the chair and nearly falls into it.’ The Beast! I took a mere flower from his garden and now I must return to his castle forever.’ He buries his head in his hands and begins to sob. Clarissa and I look at each other, stricken. Has Papa eaten some bad berries? Has he gone mad?

‘What are you talking about Papa?’ I ask, kneeling beside him. ‘How can an animal have a castle?’

He shakes his head. ‘This was no animal. He was huge, taller than the tallest man and wide as two men!’

‘Not every large man is a beast,’ I tell him, thinking of Flavian. ‘He might appear a bear on the outside but be a kitten within.’

‘He was no kitten, nor bear either.’Twas a talking beast I tell you. With long fur and nails as sharp as knives!’ It takes him a while-with many interruptions for clarity from me and Clarissa-but he finally gets through the entire story. After a moment of stunned silence, we follow him to his bedroom behind the kitchen.

He takes a deep breath and pushes open the door. Our mouths drop in unison. Treasure-for what it must be called-covers the room nearly from the floor to the ceiling. Jewel-covered books and bracelets and rings and golden figurines. Fine robes and shoes and headpieces. And on top of it all, a crumpled red rose.”  
(pages 203 and 204)

 

Recommendation:

Have you ever thought your life would never be the same again? Well, in this classic tale of “Beauty and the Beast,” you will find this fresh spin on an old tale! With a name like Beauty, people expect a lot of grace and prettiness from you. But what if all you like to do is read and explore the outside world? Oh, and you have a perfect older sister who is more lady-like than you’ll ever be. And if you’re a prince, people expect you to be handsome and commanding and tall. But what if all you like to do is gaze at the stars and try to figure out how to make worms live forever? Oh, and you have a perfect older brother who is a lot princely than you’ll ever be. When Riley becomes the victim of a curse, he has to find a girl to fall in love with in just three months and Beauty’s family has turned from riches to rags. Will things ever work out? Read and enjoy “Beauty and the Beast” like you have never heard it before!

Title: Beauty and the Beast

Author: Wendy Mass

Genre: Fantasy

Blog by: Michelle D.

Every Soul a Star

Hook:

Bree: “It’s one of those perfect summer days, with no humidity to swell up my hair. I take a deep, happy breath of the clean air as we head into town. A good hair day is worth its weight in gold. When we’ve gone a few blocks, Melanie says, “I had one of them again last night, didn’t I?”

She’s talking about night terrors. They’re like nightmares, except she’s not dreaming at the time. It’s like some weird screaming state you can’t wake her out of. Then she doesn't remember much in the morning. Mom and Dad have done a lot of research on it but haven’t found a cure. The doctors say people usually outgrow it. It’s weird that a kid so relentlessly happy all the time screams in her sleep.

‘Yeah, around midnight. I found you in the corner of the living room and bought you back to bed.’

‘Thanks.’

I’d been finding Melanie in corners of our house since she was four. This is why whenever Claire and I have sleepovers, they’re always at her house. Claire has been my best friend since that time in second grade when her nanny forgot to pick her up after dance class and I found her crying into her tutu. But we both know that if one of us is going to make it as a model, it will be me. Claire isn’t very tall, and she has a crooked nose, which she is going to get fixed as a sweet sixteen present. She always forgets to us conditioner, and really, that's the most important part of washing your hair. She’s the most popular girl in our grade though, because she’s super rich and her mom used to be in horror movies before she met Claire’s dad and became respectable.” (Pages 25 & 24)

Ally: “Melanie comes to the door in Kenny’s red-white-and-blue pajamas that he got last Fourth of July as a gift from Ryan’s grandmother. I feel him tense up when he sees them on her, but he quickly recovers.

‘I’m Kenny, ‘he says. ‘And this is a box of bugs.’ He holds up the box and Bree jumps back. Melanie peers at it, curious.

‘Leave that outside,’ Bree commands. ‘Then come in before my parents see you.’

The girls go into the bathroom to change and I fill Kenny in on the plans. When they come back out, Bree’s hair is gleaming and she has makeup on. Except for when we’re in town, I almost never see people in makeup. She looks sort of glamorous, sort of fake, at the same time. It takes me a second to notice they’re wearing more of our clothes! It’s not that I mind sharing, it’s just one more thing of ours that Mom is taking away without asking.

Kenny is staring at Bree, and she winks. ‘Never seen a girl in makeup before?’

‘Ally doesn’t wear makeup.’ he says.

‘Well, Ally could stand to wear some.’ Turning to me she says, ‘Did you even brush you hair this morning?’

My hand instantly flies to my hair. I almost never think of brushing my hair.

‘You don't need to answer,’ Bree says, tossing me her hairbrush. ‘It’s obvious.’

I yank the brush through my hair, wincing as it hits knots. ‘Why should I brush it?’ I ask. ‘Who cares what my hair looks like?’

Mel and Kenny watch this exchange silently.

‘Everyone cares. You’re not a kid anymore. There are cute guys here!’

I stop brushing. ‘There are?’

‘That guy, the one I’ve seen you talking to a few times. Spiky blond hair? Preppy?’

She must mean Ryan. ‘What about him?’

‘Don't you want to look nice for him?’

‘Huh?’

She sighs and leans forward, like she’s about to address a child. ‘When a girl likes a boy, she wants to look nice for him. You know that, right?’

I flash back to the morning Ryan arrived. Clothes rumpled from sleeping in them, hair unbrushed, ring of purple popsicle around my mouth. I lay the brush on the floor. No wonder he doesn't think of me as a girl.” (Pages 162 & 163)

Jack: “I scramble of the bed and hurry to the door. I open it to find Ally standing there, looking all clean and refreshed. I wince as I realize what I must look like. I wish I’d taken a shower after the run. I hope I don't stink. She holds up a big white paper bag and says, ‘I’ve got sandwiches.’

I rub my eyes. “Sorry?’

‘For dinner tonight. I figured we’d go up early. We need to make sure we can find the right star as soon as it’s out.’

I slept right through lunch! It’s not like me to miss a meal. Those sandwiches smell good. Don't you have to give one of your talks tonight?’

She shakes her head. ‘My mom’s going to do it. She feels so guilty about making us move that right now I can probably ask for a pony and she’d give it to me.’

‘You want a pony?’

‘No. But don’t all girls want ponies?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘See, that’s my problem.’

‘What is?’ I know I just woke up, but I’m having a hard time following her.

‘Being a girl.’

‘You seem to be doing a good job as far as I can see.’

She shakes her head again. ‘No. I don't think I am.’

We each sit down on a bed.

‘I’m going to ask Bree if she’ll help me.’

‘I’m a little scared of her.’ I admit.

‘Me too,’Ally says, then laughs. ‘Maybe it’s because she’s so beautiful. Don’t you think she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?’

I shake my head. ‘I’ve seen prettier.’

‘You have not.’

‘I have.’ It takes all my courage to look up.

‘Oh.’ She says, and blushes furiously.

And then because I can’t believe I said that, I blurt out something even more embarrassing. ‘When I was ten months old I was in a Pampers commercial for plus-sized diapers.’

‘You were?’

I nod, mortified, yet unable to stop talking. ‘It was SD1’s fault. That’s Step Dad Number One,’ I quickly explain. ‘I don’t remember him at all. But he knew someone was looking for babies of a certain size. There was me and twenty other fat babies crawling around a park- on the jungle gyms, the seesaws, the sandbox, the swings, all in our non-leaking, move-with-our-bodies, plus-sized Pampers. That commercial aired for six years. If I manage to get into college, it will be paid for.’” (Pages 243-245)

Recommendation:

Have you ever thought your life would never be the same again? Were you forced to move, or maybe you have a new sibling? Ally, Bree, and Jack never asked for their lives to change, but it all just happened. Ally likes the simple things in life-stargazing, labyrinths, and comet hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow, is a part of her, unless it is taken from her heart. Bree is a pretty, popular, and a future prom princess. She wears her beauty like a shining suit of armor. Jack is overweight and awkward, but when he has a chance to skip summer school, he finds himself in an unusual situation. All three characters have their own problems, their own dreams. Will they put down their differences to help each other out?

Title: Every Soul a Star

Author: Wendy Mass

Genre: Realistic-fiction

Blog by: Michelle D.

 

 

 

 

Our Only May Amelia

    Hook: 

     
        "Outside the window the sky is black and the stars are winking at me . I watch the fireflies dancing in the field and realize my birthday is nearly over, and I haven't made my secret birthday wish yet.  Mamma says that a wish made on a birthday always comes true.  I don't know about that, though.  Last year I wished for Kaarlo to stop being so mean to me all the time, but he's still the same mean old Kaarlo.
Still, it can't hurt to try.  I think hard but it's an easy wish. I can't tell anyone, not even Wilbert and he's my very best brother.  I can't tell him because he'll never understand what it is to be me May Amelia Jackson, the only Jackson girl, and the only girl in Nasel.
I squeeze my eyes tight and wish with my heart that Mamma has a little baby girl so that I can have a sister.
I just made my birthday wish, I tell whisper.  But Wilbert and Wendell aren't listening to me.  They're to busy snoring."  (page 19)
   
        " Everybody knows that I was the first girl to be born here on the Nasel, all the other mammas had boys including my own mamma who had six of them.
         Mamma says, I swear to you May Amelia there is something in the very water that breeds boys, you are Simply A Miracle.
         My grandmother does not think that I am A Miracle.  That is, Pappa's mother, Grandmother Patience.
         At breakfast, Pappa says, Your Grandmother Patience will be coming to live with us on account of her getting on in years.
         I swear I don't rightly understand why Pappa's letting her live with us, she's fit as can be, I say to Wilbert.
         None of us children likes Grandmother patience 'cause she's real mean and doesn't care for children.  I don't know why she even had Pappa and Aunt Feenie and Uncle Aarno and Aunt Aili.  She always says that children are nothing but devils and demons.
         She has a silver-tipped cane that she uses to walk and one tine she whacked Wendell so hard that he had a bruise on his cheek for a whole week and all he'd done was talk back to her.  I haven't seen sight of her since I was eight years old even though she only lives in Astoria.  That time she yelled at Mamma, said she was no kind of wife to my pappa, didn't know how to do anything right let alone raise seven boys and one scrawny girl, and then she took Mamma's favorite dish which Pappa had brought all the way from Finland and threw it at her and smashed it against the wall.  After that Grandmother and pappa had a real big fight and Grandmother Patience hasn't come back until now.
         Wilbert tells me Grandmother Patience was poorly named."    (page 91 and 92)

Recommendation:
     
        Have you ever been annoyed by anyone in you family?  Well, May Amelia was the first girl to be born in the Nasel- a real miracle, everyone says.  A lot of times May forgets that she is a girl, living with seven brothers, like when she wears overalls, or helps Wilbert (her best brother) with his fishing.  But sometimes her family does treat her like a miracle, and it's just plain maddening, like when Pappa yells at her for staying at the logging camp or keeping her in the house because there's a real live murder on the loose.  What May thinks will be the greatest miracle of all is if the baby in Mamma's belly turns out to be a girl.  Will May always be their only miracle in the Jackson family, or will the new baby be the little sister she's been hoping for?

       May's brothers:  Matti is eighteen.  Kaarlo is seventeen and a half and is really May's cousin but I guess he is sort of a brother.  Isaiah is sixteen.  Wendell is fifteen.  Alvin is fourteen.  Ivan is fourteen too. He is Alvin's twin and they look as alike as two summer blackberries.  Only May and Wilbert can tell them apart, even Mamma has trouble telling them apart.  Wilbert is thirteen and he is May's best brother.

                                       If you don't go, you can't return.
                                                 -Finnish proverb
                             
                               
                      

     Title: Our Only May Amelia
   
     Author: Jennifer L. Holm
   
     Genre: Historical Fiction
   
     Blog by: Michelle D.
          
           

                 

   

     

White Star

Hook:

" No other ships pulled into New York harbor carrying survivors. No more heartfelt reunions unfolded on the docks between the rescued and their waiting families. All that was left was names on a list.
Sam Harris                             saved
Ann Isham                              lost
Buckthorn Kingsbury 111      lost
Webb Kingsbury                     lost
Phineas MacDougal                lost "
(page 118 and 119)




Recommendation:
Does history appeal to you?  Do you like the heartbreaking story of the Titanic?  Well if you do this might be just the right book for you! In this book you will find a young boy heading to New York, a dog who is adventurous and could never let one of his friends be forgotten, and a trust worthy best friend who would just love to fix the Titanics flaws.  In this book you will get to see how people on the Titanic had to give up there companions and by companions I mean there dogs and their family.

                     WARNING: SOME PEOPLE DIE IN THIS BOOK...BE PREPARED.

Book:White Star
Author:Marty Crisp
Genre:Historical Fiction
Blogger:Stephanie

Happy Birthday Sophie Hartley

Hook

“The idea was a little confusing, even to Sophie, but she kept at it. Her mother wouldn’t be able to resist when Sophie told her that gorillas didn’t scratch furniture or dig holes, and that Sophie was going to be able to write notes to her gorilla telling it what not to do. ‘Patience? Who’re you kidding?’ Sophie’s older sister, Nora, had made her entrance. She tossed her backpack on the couch and made for the family computer. ‘Number one, you don’t know what patience is, Sophie, ‘she said scornfully. ‘And number two, Maura’s still a baby.’  (pgs. 4 and 6)  

 

Recommendation   

Have you ever had this crazy idea you wanted a gorilla?  Well, in this book Sophie Hartley has always wanted a gorilla for her birthday.  Her sister Maura always is bothering her and getting in the way of what Sophie is doing to practice if she ever gets a gorilla.  Nora, her other sister is just always being a brat to Sophie. When Sophie’s birthday final came her friends Jenna and Alice bring a big box to Sophie’s house. Sophie thought it was a gorilla, but it wasn’t. Read to find out if she gets what she wants.

Title: Happy Birthday Sophie Hartley

Author: Stephanie Green

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Blog by: Jenna J

Esperanza Rising

Hook:

“Miguel eventually caught her arm and pulled her around.  'What is the matter with you?'  'Is this the better life that you left Mexico for?  Is it?  Nothing is right here!  Isabel will certainly not be queen no matter how badly she wants it because she is Mexican.  You cannot work on engines because you are Mexican.  We have gone to work through angry crouds of our own people who threw rocks at us, and I'm afraid they might have been right!  They send people back to Mexico even if they don't belong there, just for speaking up.  We live in a horse stall.  And none of this bothers you?  Have you heard they are building a new camp for Okies, with a swimming pool?  The Mexicans can only swim in it on the afternoon they clean it!  Have you heard they will be given inside toilets and hot water?  Why is that, Miguel?  Is it because they are the fairest in the land?  Is this life really better  then being a servant in Mexico?"(Page 221-222)

 Recommendation:

Has your world ever flipped upside down?  Well a 13 year old girl’s life did.  Her name is Esperanza.  She went from “riches to rags.”  Once her father died everything went downhill.  Her house caught on fire (not on accident), and then she moved to America to be a migrant worker.  Things might be tough in her new life but she’ll work around them.  Read the book to find out how she works around these puzzling issues and family problems.

Title: Esperanza Rising

Author: Pam Munoz Ryan

Genre: Historical Fiction

Blogger: Grace B.

The Trouble with May Amelia

         :

   Hook:
         
            " You Fell In Again?!  Miss McEwing says when I walk into the schoolhouse,dripping wet.
              But Miss McEwing, I say.  I was trying to get Wendell's cap.
              She just shakes her head and says, I swear you spend more time in the water than on the water than on the boat, child.  Go and get something from the Dunking Box  before you catch a chill.
              The Dunking Box is a box of old clothes that Miss McEwing keeps in a corner in times like these.  They are all boys' clothes, of course,since there are all boys in the schoolhouse except for me, but that doesn't bother me on account that I wear overalls myself.  My Aunt Alice gave me a pretty new dress, but it's hard to climb a tree in a dress.
              The little potbelly stove is burning so that the schoolhouse is toasty, although it smells like the inside of a barn.  Most of the children must do the milking before school in the morning, including us.  If you close your eyes, you can almost hear the cows lowing along to Miss McEwing's lessons.
              Good Morning, Children, Miss McEwing says loudly.
              Good Morning, Miss McEwing, we say back.
              Miss McEwing is the sweetest teacher we ever had and she is also the prettiest one.  Eligible bachelors from all over the valley are always showing up at the schoolhouse hoping for a chance with her.  Wilbert says it will be a sad day when some man steals our teacher away, for married women aren't permitted to teach.
              The schoolhouse door opens and a little boy with blond hair in a bowl cut is shoved through.  He tries to run back but his mother shakes her head.
               Sina Menet kouluun!  She says in Finn which means You Go To School!
              The door shuts and the boy stands there with a belligerent look on his face.  Poor Charles Hasalm hates going to the schoolhouse because he doesn't know a lick of English and refuses to learn."    ( pages 17 and 18)
   
           Recommendation:
           
              Do you know what it's like to have seven brothers?  Well, poor May has to deal with seven naughty, mischievous brothers after her only sister, Amy dies of the bitter winter weather.  May has a lot to live up to.  May's teacher is Miss McEwing, and she is the prettiest and nicest teacher May has ever had.  When Papa invests for a gentleman, the gentleman steals all of their invested money and runs away.  So, now May has to make it right.  For a twelve year old, May's got more sisu- that's Finnish for "guts" than all seven boys put together.  The Trouble with May Amelia is a wonderful book, and I think you will find that May is a lot like you!

                                      If nothing is dropped, nothing will be found.
                                                     -Finnish proverb            

FYI: This book contains no quotation marks but has dialogue!

 

            Title:  The Trouble with May Amelia
            Author: Jennifer L. Holm
            Genre: Historical Fiction
            Blog by: Michelle D.
         
 

A Mango-Shaped Space

     
Hook:
    
     "By eleven o'clock Saturday morning, Mom and I are sitting in Jerry's surrounded by strange machines that hum and beep.  I didn't return Jenna's three phone calls last night; I'm not just ready to share what I've learned about myself just yet.  I almost feel as if she doesn't deserve to know, after what she did.  Jerry introduces us to his assistant- a perky graduate student named Debbie, who is wearing rainbow-striped overalls the likes of which I haven't seen since old Brady Bunch reruns.  She pumps my hand hello and seems very happy to meet me. Jerry asks me about my colors, what shapes I see, what textures, etc. I explain that some letters are shiny, some are gauzy, some are grainy like wood, and some are even fuzzy.  Debbie writes everything down.

    ' How do I compare with other people who have this? '  I ask Jerry. 'Other synes... synesthetes? '  It's still a hard word to say.

    ' When we first started testing people, we assumed all synesthetes would see the same color and shapes for the same sounds,' Jerry says. ' The initial theory was that is some people, like you, can see a color when they hear a sound, that must mean that that the sound actually has color, but only a rare few people can see it.  But we quickly found out in reality it doesn't seem to happen that way.  People's colors seem to be unique to them. The geometric shapes are much more similar.  Not that they appear at the same sounds, but the general shapes that synesthetes see don't differ too much.  For people who have colored alphabets, there are wide color variations, although many people seem to associate light colors to vowels'

    'So to another synesthetes my name could be purple with orange stripes when to me it's candy-apple red with a hint of avocado green?'

'Exactly'"  (pages 87 and 88)

Recommendation:

    Do you know a person who has colored touch and hearing?  Well, in this book, Mia has synesthesia (colored sight, hearing,touch, or taste).  She thinks that she is the "normal one" in her family. Zach, her younger brother, keeps a chart of all the hamburgers he's eaten in his life, and Beth, Mia's older sister, dyes her hair a different color every day (Mia assumes that Beth is a witch).  But when she finds out about her synesthesia, she has to endure with taunts at school, math, people who don't believe her, and dirty looks. When she meets a little boy who also has synestheia at the grocery store, she tries to tell his mom, but she just won't listen.  And then her cat, Mango, dies. Why is this happening to her?  In this story, Mia finds out who she is in a very unusual way.  You will have to get this book out to find out if she can cope with her condition, or if she will always be "the girl who sees the colors."

Title: A Mango-Shaped Space

Author: Wendy Mass

Genre: Realistic-Fiction

Blog by: Michelle D.

Ripley's Believe it or Not Extreme Earth

Hook:   “ Rain forests contain a bigger range of animals and plants than anywhere else on Earth! Just one acre might contain up to 120 different types of trees. The rain forest floor is so dark because the trees have tall, straight trunks so their upper branches can reach the sunlight and create a canopy 150 feet high.” (Page 42)

   “Grass is one of nature’s top success stories- it’s almost indestructible! This hardy plant can survive wildfires, and being grazed, mown, frozen, scorched, trampled, and blasted by high winds.” (Page 38)

Recommendation:   Have you ever wanted to learn about natural disasters, fun facts, and wonderfully insane information that you will never forget? If you read Extreme Earth by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, you can have what you wanted! I absolutely recommend this book because it’s interesting, funny, and creative!

Blog By: Julieta F.

Title: Extreme Earth

Author: Ripley's Believe it or Not
Genre: Non-Fiction

The Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963

    

 Hook:

   “Dad turned the radio down a little more. He looked like he was thinking whether or not he should tell me something. He was looking straight at me, and even though it was real hard, I looked right back at him.

   I tried to look real intelligent and I guess it worked ‘cause finally Dad said, ‘Kenny, we’ve put a lot of thought into this. I know you’ve seen it on the news what’s happening in some parts of the South, right?’

   We’d seen the pictures of a bunch of really mad white people with twisted-up faces screaming and giving dirty finger signs to some little black kids who were trying to go to school. I’d seen the pictures but I didn’t really know how these white people could hate some kids so much.

   ‘I’ve seen it.’ I didn’t have to tell Dad I didn’t understand.

   ‘Well, a lot of times that’s going to be the way of the world for you kids. Byron is getting old enough to have to understand that his time for playing is running out fast, he’s got to realize the world doesn’t have a lot of jokes waiting for him. He’s got to be ready.” (pages 112 and 123)

Recommendation:

   Have you ever thought something was unfair and not right? Well, Kenny experienced this all his life because being a black child in the 1960’s is not a great idea. If you have some background knowledge about Alabama in the 1960’s you would know that African Americans were not treated fairly for a number of rude, improper reasons. This is a story of Kenny and his family who live in the North go to visit their Grandma in the South. Things drastically change in Kenny’s life. Find out more by reading this book and find out if Kenny’s life turns upside down or if he makes it in a world where he’s not welcome.

Title: The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Genre: Historical Fiction

Blog by: Michelle D. and Julieta F.