Author: Scott O'Dell
Main characters: Ramon, Luzon (the old Indian), and Sevillano (the diver)
It is set in La Paz, Mexico (interesting because I have a friend with the same last name). Ramon and his father own a pearl diving company. They sell pearls that they find from the coves. He has recently turned sixteen and his father has made him a partner in the Salazar company. Luzon comes from a neighboring cove to sell pearls. Ramon decides to ask Luzon to take him to his cove to teach him how to dive. During this time he hears that the infamous Manta Diablo lives in the cave near there. I believe that the manta is what we would call a mantaray...or a large sting ray. I am not sure but it is what I imagined it to be. Apparently, in their culture there is the largest and meanest manta they call Manta Diablo. It is a legend mothers tell their children, sort of what I would guess to be like the big bad wolf. During his last dive, Ramon finds the largest pearl he has ever seen and he takes it. Luzon warns him that it belongs to the Manta Diablo and that he should give it back. Sevillano turns out to be Ramon's adversary in the story. One of the last scenes of the book has Sevillano fighting the Manta Diablo while Ramon watches from the boat. It is an interesting story. I think a middle school student would like it, though I did not enjoy the story as much as some of the others. The ending was not finite enough for me because the author does not actually say what happened in the scene near the end of the book. This was another book from the science literature list. I will probably not use this one.
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Voyage of the Frog
Author: Gary Paulsen
Main Character(s): Uncle Owen and David
The story begins with the death of David's favorite uncle who taught him to sail. He is set upon a quest to scatter the uncle's ashes at sea where the adventure really begins. He survives great peril when he gets caught up in a storm and some wonderful encounters with the ocean like the whales he rested with in a cove. It is a story where the 13 year old boy comes of age and learns what life is really about. I really enjoyed the book. I read it for my science literature collection and would highly recommend it for any middle school student to read. As a matter of fact, I am contemplating having my students read it as a whole class novel.
Main Character(s): Uncle Owen and David
The story begins with the death of David's favorite uncle who taught him to sail. He is set upon a quest to scatter the uncle's ashes at sea where the adventure really begins. He survives great peril when he gets caught up in a storm and some wonderful encounters with the ocean like the whales he rested with in a cove. It is a story where the 13 year old boy comes of age and learns what life is really about. I really enjoyed the book. I read it for my science literature collection and would highly recommend it for any middle school student to read. As a matter of fact, I am contemplating having my students read it as a whole class novel.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Incredible Journey
Author: Sheila Burnford
Main Characters: Bodger (old white terrier), Luath (young retriever), and Tao (siamese cat)
The story was a poignant tale of three pets that were put up at a friend's house 300 miles from the owner's home while they were away on holiday. When the friend went on a trip, the younger dog who never forgot about his master decided it was time to go home. He led the journey and the other two followed along. Each animal had its strength, without which they would not have survived. The old dog had trouble in the beginning and almost dies. With the help of the cat, he is nursed back to health and they continue. The cat is the main hunter, the young dog is the one with the internal compass and size, and the old dog has the good attitude and faith in humans. All of these traits help them on their journey home through often rough terrain. They fight off bears, a raging river, a porcupine, and a lynx. It is a very interesting book. I read it for my science class because of a literature-based approach book. I am glad that I did. I would recommend this book for middle schoolers, but they should be warned there is a fight for survival which includes animals eating other animals.
Main Characters: Bodger (old white terrier), Luath (young retriever), and Tao (siamese cat)
The story was a poignant tale of three pets that were put up at a friend's house 300 miles from the owner's home while they were away on holiday. When the friend went on a trip, the younger dog who never forgot about his master decided it was time to go home. He led the journey and the other two followed along. Each animal had its strength, without which they would not have survived. The old dog had trouble in the beginning and almost dies. With the help of the cat, he is nursed back to health and they continue. The cat is the main hunter, the young dog is the one with the internal compass and size, and the old dog has the good attitude and faith in humans. All of these traits help them on their journey home through often rough terrain. They fight off bears, a raging river, a porcupine, and a lynx. It is a very interesting book. I read it for my science class because of a literature-based approach book. I am glad that I did. I would recommend this book for middle schoolers, but they should be warned there is a fight for survival which includes animals eating other animals.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: JK Rowling
Main Characters: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Voldemort and countless others
It was definitely an interesting way to end the series. I foresee a gory movie though. I think at some point the story morphed from a children's tale to more of an adult one. There was cruelty, probably due to the fact the story revolved so much more around Voldemort than ever before. I like the way Rowling wrapped up the subset stories in this book and answered the questions that had been burning in my mind for some time. She gave Snape more depth, along with Ginny. It was put forth to me that Hermoine lost some of her moral compass in this book. I am not sure that I agree with that thought process, I would like to think that she simply gained the life experience she needed to realise that people aren't perfect like the books would like them to believe (the books from their educational experience at Hogwarts). I think she may have finally come to the understanding that there is a time and place for decisions that are not favourable to most "moral" people.
I liked finally learning more about Dumbledore and his family. It was a nice twist to have the brother finally come around and be a help in the war, though he seemed a bit peeved at first. I loved to hate Rita Skeeter and this book just egged that on. I thought it to be a very interesting twist that Rowling chose to make Voldemort unaware, and even daft about certain things. I thought he was supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing. I suppose that would have been one of the only ways that Harry had to beat him without the help of Dumbledore. I also like the fact that the Malfoy family finally came to realise that Voldemort was not as great as he once seemed.
I liked the book. In the end, Harry turned out to the be the boy (man) that everyone hoped he would be. It was a fitting end to a fabulous series. Oddly enough I can't wait until the last two movies come out. I have enjoyed the films thus far and I am intrigued to see how they finish off the series.
Main Characters: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Voldemort and countless others
It was definitely an interesting way to end the series. I foresee a gory movie though. I think at some point the story morphed from a children's tale to more of an adult one. There was cruelty, probably due to the fact the story revolved so much more around Voldemort than ever before. I like the way Rowling wrapped up the subset stories in this book and answered the questions that had been burning in my mind for some time. She gave Snape more depth, along with Ginny. It was put forth to me that Hermoine lost some of her moral compass in this book. I am not sure that I agree with that thought process, I would like to think that she simply gained the life experience she needed to realise that people aren't perfect like the books would like them to believe (the books from their educational experience at Hogwarts). I think she may have finally come to the understanding that there is a time and place for decisions that are not favourable to most "moral" people.
I liked finally learning more about Dumbledore and his family. It was a nice twist to have the brother finally come around and be a help in the war, though he seemed a bit peeved at first. I loved to hate Rita Skeeter and this book just egged that on. I thought it to be a very interesting twist that Rowling chose to make Voldemort unaware, and even daft about certain things. I thought he was supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing. I suppose that would have been one of the only ways that Harry had to beat him without the help of Dumbledore. I also like the fact that the Malfoy family finally came to realise that Voldemort was not as great as he once seemed.
I liked the book. In the end, Harry turned out to the be the boy (man) that everyone hoped he would be. It was a fitting end to a fabulous series. Oddly enough I can't wait until the last two movies come out. I have enjoyed the films thus far and I am intrigued to see how they finish off the series.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Hop-Frog
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Main Characters: Hop-Frog, Trippetta, the King
Poe writes poetry, short stories, and novellas. I have enjoyed many of his poems and long stories so I decided that I will try to read as many as I can find on the open source. This particular story is about a jester named Hop-Frog. He was taken from his home along with another, Trippetta, when he was young because he was a dwarf (as was the girl). The dwarf was aptly named Hop-Frog because he didn't walk, but rather hopped which the king thought to be amusing. The story crescendos when Hop-Frog convinces the king and his court to dress up as orangatans for the masked ball. He basically tarred and feathered them, got them to wear chains, hung them from the ceiling and caught them on fire. Wow. Poe sure has one heck of an imagination. In the end, the dwarf and the girl get away. It goes to show that one can only take so much abuse before they get away and/or retaliate.
Main Characters: Hop-Frog, Trippetta, the King
Poe writes poetry, short stories, and novellas. I have enjoyed many of his poems and long stories so I decided that I will try to read as many as I can find on the open source. This particular story is about a jester named Hop-Frog. He was taken from his home along with another, Trippetta, when he was young because he was a dwarf (as was the girl). The dwarf was aptly named Hop-Frog because he didn't walk, but rather hopped which the king thought to be amusing. The story crescendos when Hop-Frog convinces the king and his court to dress up as orangatans for the masked ball. He basically tarred and feathered them, got them to wear chains, hung them from the ceiling and caught them on fire. Wow. Poe sure has one heck of an imagination. In the end, the dwarf and the girl get away. It goes to show that one can only take so much abuse before they get away and/or retaliate.
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Catalogue of the Universe
Author: Margaret Mahy
Main Characters: Angela, Tycho, Dido
I originally saw this book and though it might be a good one to add to my classroom collection. So I put it on my wishlist. It was given to me as a gift a few weeks ago and with time on my hands I decided to read it. This book was more of a romance than I expected and less of a science book. While it had some good science material in it about the stars, I do not believe it would be good for kids at age 12. Two teens become friends after viewing a lunar eclipse, though they have known each other since they were 5. He has been in love with her since they met, and she has been in love with romance. It seems like a typical one-sided relationship for him until she realizes that romantic ideas have a place, but do not rule all we do. She finally sees him for the wonderful person he has always been and falls in love with him. Though I do not usually read romance-type stories, it is a nice story and I am glad that I read it.
Main Characters: Angela, Tycho, Dido
I originally saw this book and though it might be a good one to add to my classroom collection. So I put it on my wishlist. It was given to me as a gift a few weeks ago and with time on my hands I decided to read it. This book was more of a romance than I expected and less of a science book. While it had some good science material in it about the stars, I do not believe it would be good for kids at age 12. Two teens become friends after viewing a lunar eclipse, though they have known each other since they were 5. He has been in love with her since they met, and she has been in love with romance. It seems like a typical one-sided relationship for him until she realizes that romantic ideas have a place, but do not rule all we do. She finally sees him for the wonderful person he has always been and falls in love with him. Though I do not usually read romance-type stories, it is a nice story and I am glad that I read it.
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