MONUMENT VALLEY READS!
Thoughts, reactions and ideas about great books and stories from Monument Valley students
Please Share Your Ideas about Summer Reading!
To post your ideas about a new book, e-mail a short paragraph to Mrs. Kane at njkane3@hotmail.com. To comment on someone else's post, use the comment feature in the bottom right-hand corner of the paragraph. Please include interesting details which will help other students decide whether or not to read the book.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Leviathan
Welcome to a world on the brink of war. Meet a Stormwalker - think Tank with a capital T - and a Leviathan - think Whale turned into a machine with other animals keeping it alive. Meet a girl disguised as a boy so she can be in the Air Force, and a prince, unable to claim his throne, hiding from his enemies on an ice-covered mountain. Scott Westerfeld bring all of these elements together to create an adventure story which has a base in history [there really was a war across Europe which began in 1914] and many elements of fantasy [whales really don't fly!] It's a world in which the characters must decide whether to be friends or enemies, and aren't sure who can be trusted. If you like this book as much as I did, you'll look forward to reading the next books in the series, Behemoth, and Goliath.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Eleven year old Turtle has moved to Key West, Florida, to live with her aunt, uncle and three cousins while her mother takes a job in New Jersey. The year is 1935 and the country is suffering through the Great Depression with many people out of work and struggling to make a living. Turtle joins the Diaper Gang - a group of boys who look after the babies in their neighborhood in exchange for candy, because no one has any money to give them. Girls aren't allowed in the Diaper Gang, but when Turtle suggests the boys help her hunt for pirate treasure, they can't get in the boat fast enough.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
All is quiet in the simple neighborhood known as the "ninth ward" of the city of New Orleans in August, 2008, but Mama Ya-Ya senses that a powerful storm is approaching. Mama Ya-Ya is a deeply spiritual woman who senses the changes in nature and believes in the power and the messages of her dreams. She's brought up Lanesha since her mother died in childbirth and her relatives abandoned her. Lanesha has the power to see ghosts who talk to her, even the ghost of her own mother in the bedroom upstairs. One by one, neighbors leave their homes to find safety elsewhere, but Mama Ya-Ya refuses to leave. Lanesha and her school friend TaShon ride out the storm with Mama Ya-Ya and their newly found pet, a dog named Spot. When the storm dies down and the great flood threatens their house, Lanesha and TaShon must use every ounce of courage in order to survive.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
Have you ever thought that your brother or sister wasn't even human? Do your siblings act like animals? Ben Tomlin can relate to that - his half-brother doesn't just act like an animal, he IS an animal. He's a chimpanzee who has been adopted by the Tomlin family as part of an experiment being run by Ben's parents who work for a university. Ben isn't sure he wants his quiet life disturbed by an animal who quickly becomes a celebrity as he learns to communicate. It isn't long before a special bond develops between Ben and Zan, with Ben becoming very protective of his first "brother". When Zan's behavior becomes too difficult to manage, Ben's parents make a decision about a new life for Zan without taking into account Ben's close relationship with him. Ben, disagreeing with their decision, takes matters into his own hands to save Zan.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
FLIGHT
The book I want to review is FLIGHT. It's the best comic book i've ever read. It's basically a comic book full of other short comic books. I say we should put it in the Library. I stongly agree!
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
I am reading a book in reading class called The Watson's Go To Birmingham. The book is a really good book and I was wondering if I could make my book a book review. I want to tell people that the Watsons go to Birmingham is a very good book and that it is about a trip that the Watsons take to Birmingham, Alabama. They are going to take the trip but then for some reason they end up not taking it and i don't know why they decided to not but i guess they did for some reason. This is a really good book but I haven't finished it yet and I am on chapter 8. MC
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal, this novel is set in a small town of Manifest, Kansas in the 1930's. After years of riding the rails along with her father as he looked for work during the Great Depression, Abilene is sent back to her father's hometown to stay with Pastor Shady Tucker. Abilene is disappointed when she sees the town, an older and more tired version of the bustling town she had pictured. When Abilene discovers a box of interesting items hidden away under a floor board, her curiosity is peaked and she immediately sets out to discover the meaning of the items and the identity of the person who hid the box. She finds out that some townspeople are willing to talk about the past, others want their secrets to remain hidden. Throughout the summer, she longs for a reunion with her father, as she and two new friends piece together secrets from the past.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Night of the Twisters
The book that I am writing the review about is called Night of the Twisters. This book is a adventure tail about a boy and his friend that live in Kansas (aka Tornado Alley). One late afternoon, his aunt and mother arrive home from shopping and tell him and his friend that there is a tornado watch issued for there area. He doesn't think much about it because he has been through many tornado watches. That night his parents go out to a party and dinner and leave him and his friend alone. They don't mention a word about the weather until the tv screen shows a 'Civil Emergency' and 'Tornado warning'. He and his friend rush to the basement only to come face too face with 3 twisters. The night continues to try to find their parents and stay alive. KW
Harry Potter
My favorite book is Harry potter. I think I's a good book. My favorite chacture is Ron. It's adventurous and exciting because you don't know what is going to happen and you get a scary feeling.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Cooper Blake doesn't want to remember the accident that changed his life. No one else wants to mention it. He doesn't bother with his old friends, now that he has returned to school. Playing football would be too painful, and hanging out with the team would be too painful in another way. Ever since Cooper awoke from the accident, he's had a most unusual freind that only he can see - a beautiful girl named Samantha. - and an unusual danger that only he can see - black shadowy beings which are capable of attacking. Neither Cooper nor Samantha know who she is, or where she came from, or what kind of a ghost she might be... if she really is a ghost, that is.
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