The Little Clover

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

2009-08-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Noah's dad is ALWAYS in trouble. As in, so bad he's always in jail. It's not like murdering other people or anything like that. It's just that he catches people doing bad things to the environment because he cares about the environment. His most recent breakdown was about this: There's this casino boat called the Coral Queen, and Noah's dad suspects that Dusty Muleman, the person who runs the boat, has been dumping all the sewage into the water after the Coral Queen closes.

So in the night, Noah's dad sunk the Coral Queen. He told Noah that after he sunk it, he opened a soda, and fell asleep watching the boat go down to the bottom of the ocean and was caught in the morning. So one day, when Noah goes down to see his dad at the jail cell, he asks him, "Why can't you just say you're sorry so you can come home?"

His dad answers,"But Noah, I'm not sorry for what I did. I'm gonna wait until I'm due to come out of jail."

So that sets Noah's mom off. She calls Noah's Dad's lawyer to set up a divorce. So Noah's dad breaks out of prison in the middle of the night, and becomes on house arrest. But Noah still hasn't forgotten the promise he made with his dad. But apparently, his Dad has. So Noah and his sister are on their own to find a way and nail Dusty Muleman to prove that Noah's Dad is right.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

2009-07-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who left a comment on my blog during the giveaway, and she left a comment about a book called Rapunzel's Revenge written by Shannon and Dean Hale.

What Rapunzel's Revenge is about is when Rapunzel was a little girl, she was taken away from her mom by Mother Gothel, the queen of all the land. Mother Gothel called Rapunzel her daughter, so Rapunzel had never known that Mother Gothel wasn't really her mom. Her REAL mom was working in the mining camp, but Rapunzel didn't know that because Rapunzel and her "mom" lived in a big villa with a great big wall around the edge so nobody could climb it, and no door to the outside! So Rapunzel had never been outside the villa. On her sixteenth birthday, she decided to climb that wall and see what was on the other side. Well, the guards caught her, but they said that before they turned her in to Mother Gothel, she could have a drink of water. That's when she meets her REAL mom! So when the guards turned her in to Mother Gothel, she told her that she had met her real mom and that Mother Gothel was a thief. That's when one of the guards took her into the woods and took her to this really tall tree, and then took her to the top and put her in a room at the top of the tree/tower! If you want to find out what happens to Rapunzel, go on a true adventure and read this book!

From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Koninsburg

2009-04-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

What From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is basically about is two kids who decide to go on an adventure and run away from home. They plan to stay in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Just how do they do it? Well, they pay enough money to be able to get a tour of the museum, then, about 20 minutes before it closes, they went out and snuck through the back door, so the guards would think they had left. Soon they found a not so comfortable bed, but a good enough bed for the night.

Meanwhile, back home, everyone's worried. Their parents don't know if they ran away(which they did), or if they possibly were going exploring and they got lost, or for some other reason they were missing. They just can't figure it out. One day when Jamie and Claudia are going out for breakfast at a restaurant, they see wanted posters everywhere. Not only just any wanted posters like you see everyday, but wanted posters with their pictures on it! They're worried, too. But for a different reason. They're worried that the police will catch them.

Then, very mysteriously, just a few days after they just started getting settled into their new home, Angel, a statue that Michelangelo made, mysteriously appears at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Well, no one knows exactly if Michelangelo made Angel or not. Everyone's only clue is a signature carved into the bottom of Angel. But no one can prove if it's really Michelangelo's signature or not.

If you want to find out what happens to Claudia and Jamie, read this book to find out!!!!!!!!!!

The Tale of Beatrix Potter

2009-02-12T18:48:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite authors is Beatrix Potter. Here is a copy of the report I did on her for my school project!

The Tale of Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter was born July 28, 1866, London. When Beatrix Potter was a kid, women still didn’t have much rights. Beatrix was sad. She wanted to have her own rights. Not only that, there were bars on the widow in her room to prevent her escape! Beatrix was always lonely. Since she couldn’t go to school, she had a governess. Like most wealthy English families, Beatrix and her brother scarcely saw any of their parents. Beatrix’s only friends were her pets. She managed to sneak frogs, lizards, newts, snakes, salamanders, bats, mice, turtles, and a rabbit named Peter without her parents knowing.

Her first book was a letter to a sick boy with pneumonia. The book was called The Tale of Peter Rabbit. But Since no publishers would publish her books, she printed all of her books by herself. In 1902, an editor at Frederick Warne Publishers saw one of her books,. He wanted her to make the drawings larger and rewrite the book. Beatrix agreed to rewrite the story, but she said the book needed to be small enough to fit in a child’s hands. Beatrix finally got her way and The Tale of Peter Rabbit was printed. Later, she fell in love with her editor, Norman Warne.

In 1905, Norman asked Beatrix to marry him. Even though her parents disagreed, Beatrix still took the ring and they engaged. Three days after their engagement, Norman Warne died by pneumonia. Beatrix decided she would never love again.

But in 1909, she bought a farm called Castle Cottage and married William Heelis. Beatrix’s eyesight was too poor to continue drawing and writing. So she retired and started to spend more time with her husband and with the animals on the farm. In 1943, at the age of 77, Beatrix Potter died. And to this day, many children all over the world are still reading her 23 tales she wrote.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Clearly

2009-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

The Mouse and the Motorcycle is another great book by Beverly Clearly. And her books are very popular, too! Yup! That's right! She's written other books, too! Read all of the Beverly Clearly books!

The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Runaway Ralph
Ralph S. Mouse
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Brave
Ramona and her Father
Ramona and her Mother
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Ramona Forever
Ramona's world
Henry Huggins
Henry and Beezus
Henry and Ribsy
Henry and the Paper Route
Henry and the Clubhouse
Ribsy
Ellen Tebbits
Otis Spofford
Fifteen
The Luckiest Girl
Jean and Johnny
Emily's Runaway Imagination
Sister of Bride
Mitch and Amy
Socks
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Muggie Maggie
Strider
Two Times the Fun
A Girl From Yamhill
My Own Two Feet

She's written a lot of books, huh? Well, anyway, Here's what The Mouse and the Motorcycle is about:

Ralph is no ordinary mouse. He likes speed. He likes action. He likes motorcycles! And that's when Ralph S. Mouse gets his dream come true.

A boy named Kieth Moves in to the room where Ralph's mouse hole is, Ralph knows he has found a boy he can trust. Especially a boy with a mouse-sized motorcycle. It makes for a story filled with adventure that everyone should read!

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo

2009-01-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

When I read Because of Winn-Dixie I thought, "Wow! This is an incredible book!" It was such a good book. When I think of Because of Winn-Dixie, I think of love, friendship, and just about understanding other people's lives. Between 100% good, and 1% good, I rate it 87% good. Between 1% bad, and 100% bad, I rate it 25% bad, because it was too happy some times. Sometimes it just didn't mean anything to me because nothing bad was happening. But it was still a great, wonderful, meaningful, good, sensible, (almost too) happy, great, great, book.

Because of Winn-Dixie is about a girl who lost her mother when she was really young. And her dad is a preacher. Her mother and her father got into a really big fight when she was three. And so her mom left. And mostly when you think about it, a lot of people who divorce usually take their children with them. But when her mother left, she left her child with the husband. And so one day, the preacher asks his daughter to go to the store to get some bread, eggs, and milk. and that's when her life changes. When she gets to the store, nearly all the employees are chasing after this dog running around the store. And when she says it's hers, she brings it home and asks her dad if she can keep it. When her dad says yes, her life changes.

Because of Winn-Dixie is a totally great book, and I think you all out there would like it. It is such a great book, and it really means a lot to me, just like all books do.

Good job raffling!

2009-01-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! I picked out a name from a hand-knitted bowl for the raffle. Anyway, it was really fun.Here's what the bowl with all the names in it looked like:

And someone who I am very attached with won. So what I basically did is I picked a name out of a hand-knitted bowl, and whoever I picked was the winner. If you were the winner, please email me within two days to get your prize. Here's a picture of my hand groping the winner's paper.

And the winner is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O.K., well, the winner's name SAID Janet, But it was Juliana who typed the comment, so . . . CONGRATULATIONS, JULIANA! Here is a $15 gift card to Powell's Bookstore! And thank you all who left comments on my blog. So now I have a whole list full of new books I want to check out from the library. Who said Horrible Harry? That sounds like a good book to me. And the Chronicles of Prydain sound great, too! Thank you all once again!

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

2009-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

(Don't forget--the raffle is still going on! You still have 2 more days to post a comment! And remember to tell your friends to go on my blog!)

Ten-year-old Beezus Quimby tries really hard to be patient with four-year-old Ramona, but it turns out not to be easy in Beezus and Ramona. Not when Ramona drops all the eggs in the house into her sister's birthday cake batter when Mom isn't looking. And when Mom finally gets more eggs and finally gets the cake into the oven without a problem until Ramona puts a rubber doll into it next WHILE it is in the oven.

Sometimes Beezus just doesn't love Ramona, and Ramona doesn't like her, but the girls are sisters, which means they will always love each other--just not every single second.

The part I liked most about the book was the part when Ramona baked a rubber doll into her sister's birthday cake. A part that I think they could change is when she's obsessed with this book called The Littlest Steam Shovel about a steam shovel who wants to be a bulldozer and it doesn't work so he tries out all these other vehicles including a skateboard. And then Beezus takes her to the library to get a new book. I think they could change it to Ramona doesn't like reading at all, and Beezus takes her to the library and she gets obsessed with this certain book from the library. Anyway, if I were to rate it between 1 and 100, I'd say 91. Although it is funny, 80% of the book is Ramona's mischief, like when she locks a dog in the bathroom. They also have a complete series:

#1. Beezus and Ramona
#2. Ramona the Pest
#3. Ramona the brave
#4. Ramona and her father
#5. Ramona and her Mother
#6. Ramona Quimby Age 8
#7. Ramona Forever
#8. Ramona's World

Beezus and Ramona is a hilarious book full of entertainment, laughter. . . . . and mischief!

Give-a-way: Comment Now!

2009-01-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

Do your kids need a way to get interested in reading? Here's another way to make them have to like it!

Need a nice gift certificate? We're going to have a raffle to get a gift certificate to Powell's book store with $15 on it, and all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog about your favorite book for young readers & why you like it, and make sure to leave your name and E-mail address so I can E-mail you if you're the winner. And remember, only one comment per person. But you can still tell your friends about my website so they can enter the contest, too.

Children and adults are can both enter the contest.

Powell's book store is one of the biggest book stores in the world, and they also have some of the best stickers in the world. It's really large and has a lot of books for children and adults.

Good Luck!

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

2009-01-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

The world's funniest 3rd grader is in town!

Clementine is a book about a 3rd grader who thinks different from other regular 3rd graders. And every time she is sent to the principle's office, she is really innocent. "I shouldn't have really gotten in trouble for cutting Margret's hair!" she says, "because she asked me to." Or sometimes she goes just to ask a really simple question. " What's more smart: chimpanzees or orangutans?"

Margret, a 4th grader who lives in her apartment building, is very different in certain ways.
Her room always looks like a magazine picture, her clothes never have any stains on them, she has never gone to the principle's office, and her mom is a banker who always wears dresses. Clementine, on the other hand, her room always has things on the floor so you can't even see the floor, each morning she gets some of her breakfast on her outfit everyday, almost everyday she is sent to the principle's office, and her mom is an artist who always wears overalls covered in paint.

Then Clementine decides she wants to be more like Margret, so she gets some spray cleaner, paper towels, and water, and and decides to start with cleaning her room. She starts with under her bed.

When it turns out she never has to be like Margret to be a great person, she decides to be herself again.

Clementine is a great book with lots of laughter!

Skippy John Jones

2009-01-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a book that any toddler will want you to read, Skippyjon Jones is the book you're looking for! With this great book, the toddler will never want to stop reading (Although, I must warn you, you may get pretty sick of it if your toddler happens to make you read it over and over again)! They sell it at Powells Book store. They also have stickers and blank notebooks so you can buy them a notebook and some stickers ( The toddlers love to put the stickers in the notebook).

They also have it at Borders, Amazon.com, and E bay. There are also Skippy John Jones and the Big Bones, and Skippy John Jones Up and Down. My sister who's 2 goes crazy whenever we mention it!

Skippy John Jones is about a Siamese cat who thinks he's this chihuahua named El Skippito, the great sword fighter. When he starts sleeping in the bird bath, his mama sends him to his room "And don't go into your closet, Skippy," says mama. But inside his room, Skippy John Jones sneaks into his closet to find a gang of chihuahuas in the dessert when he enters his closet door.

Skippy John Jones really draws attention to toddlers, and is fun even for an eight-year-old.

"Aye carumba!!!!!"

Tips To Get Your Kids Interested in Reading

2009-01-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

At first, it's really hard getting your children to read. If they start reading pretty early, there's a big possibility that they will grow up and love reading. But if they don't like reading now, that doesn't mean they won't like reading when they're a little older, some learn slower than others. I, a third grader, are all ready writing books because I love to read and as my mom told me, " if you want to read a good book, you have to write it yourself." I thought to myself I want to read a really good book now, so I'm gonna start writing my own books.

Here are some tips to get your kids reading:

First, you probably want to start by telling your kids made up stories or telling them funny or scary stories about your childhood. Keep doing that for a couple months and then one night try reading them a story from a storybook. Keep that up for a few weeks and then have them read you a story every night before bed. after doing that for a while, have them read a book or a chapter from a book to themselves every night. If they seem to like that, after a couple of days try taking them to the library and getting them their own library card. After getting them their own library card, start taking them to the library every week or so and trying out new books. If they start taking too much books they can't even carry, buy or make them a book bag to bring to the library. If they start deciding they want to read a certain book over and over again, take them to the bookstore and buy that book for them.

Congratulations!!!!!!! Your child is cured!!!

Here is a picture of the book bag my mom made me for Christmas that makes going to the library easier.

Harry Potter series by: J.K. Rowling

2008-12-30T17:05:00.000-08:00

The Harry Potter series is a great one full of mystery, excitement, fighting, and adventure. That is, if you like mysteries. all though for me, I love them. The full series is called:

#1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone
#2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
#4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire
#5 Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
#6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
#7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If you don't like long chapters or romance, I doubt you would like the series at all. But if you don't mind a little romance, I think you would like it. Because teenagers flirt, fight and fall on love, and in the 7th book, there's a lot of romance. But personally, I myself love the series. I'm reading the 6th book right now, and my friend, Annie, all ready read the whole series. So that's how I know about the 7th. The Harry Potter series is about a boy they call "the boy who lived" because there's a dark lord called Voldemort and people fear to speak his name. And Harry Potter is the only human being on earth that got attacked by Voldemort and actually survived.

Harry Potter is an amazing book full of adventure and bravery that has taken over part of my life.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

2008-12-29T00:13:00.000-08:00

Rules is a book about a 12-year-old girl named Catherine who has a brother with autism named David. It's titled Rules because David wasn't born knowing rules like you and I were. Catherine had to tell him yourself that the rule is "no toys in the fish tank" and "you take your pants off at the doctor sometimes if the doctor asks you to, but never at the dentist."

Catherine has a hard life with David, and sometimes she thinks "why did god have to pick me to have David? A kid with OCD would be easier." But she can only thank him for one thing: letting her go to OT with him where she met Josh. OT stands for Occupational Therapy. And Josh is a boy she meets at OT who is in a wheelchair and has to use a communication book to talk to other people. But his hearing is just fine (which he doesn't think his therapist knows, because she yells at him every morning "HI JOSH! HOW ARE YOU TODAY?!").

Having a brother with autism is hard sometimes, Catherine knows, but it could be harder in so many ways. This book was really good and I think you should all read it.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

2008-12-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Today in the morning at 10 a.m., I saw the movie "the tale of Despereaux". I must say, It was pretty good. There's nothing really wrong about the movie, but if I were to rate it between 0 and 100, I'd say 80.

What the book is really about is a mouse who isn't like the other mice, but when he got sent to the dungeon for talking to the princess of the castle(which is so strictly against the rules in Mouseworld), he meets a rat who does not eat mice like other rats, does not eat garbage, and even likes light. and he tells him about how he killed the queen by falling in her soup and her dieing by shock and ow he's really innocent since he did not do it on purpose. and when Despereaux finds out that the princess has gotten tricked by the rat, along with the servant that gives her tea every day. the rat tricked the servant into taking the princess to the dungeon and putting them both in jail. the rats find the princess and decide to eat her, so it is up to Despereaux Tilling to save her.

Anyway, i don't want to spoil it for you.

One thing that they didn't have in the book that they had in the movie is this one guy made of vegetables that helps Despereaux get back to the dungeon since he escaped. At first, I thought he was pretty funny. until my mom pointed out that he had no purpose to be in the movie when he wasn't in the book.

"The tale of Despereaux" is an amazing story with complete mystery, bravery, and awesome adventure.