Ellie's Book Review

The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 8)

2009-05-08T08:27:00.004-04:00

Amazon.com Widgets

The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 8)
Author: Lemony Snicket

Summary:
This is a book about three children named Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They are trying to escape from the police because they've been accused of murder.

My Opinion:
I really liked this book (and the series), the author uses a lot of details. I think the author has written it so that I get lost in the book. I could not put this book down. An excellent read!

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Allie's Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

2009-04-27T20:09:00.006-04:00

Amazon.com Widgets

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day
Author: Meg Cabot

Summary:
When Allie Finkle's parents move into a new home in a different community, 9 year-old Allie finds herself in a new school faced with making new friends. Allie's new house is full of creaks and would be secret passages leaving Allie feeling uncertain about her new surroundings.

My Opinion:
I like this book because it's about a girl who went through the same things I recently went through. I like the way Meg Cabot made it sound like a 9 year-old was telling the story herself. Overall, I thought this story was funny and Meg's style of writing made it easy to read.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Treasure Island

2009-04-21T23:00:00.003-04:00

Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Summary:
Treasure Island is an adventurous story about a great treasure hunt. The main character is Jim Hawkins, a young boy who lives with his mom and dad at an Inn owned by Jim's father. Sadly, Jim's father dies, but that is really the beginning of the adventure and the search for treasure. Jim is joined by many characters including Dr. Livesly, Squire Trelawney and Long John Silver while in search of the treasure. The story takes you from land to sea and back again and includes a battle scence.

My Opinion:
This book was not the type of book I like to read. There was too much blood during the fighting and the rest of the content did not hold my attention. Interestingly, I cannot remember much detail about the book. I know this book is considered a classic, but it really wasn't to my liking.

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Pygmalion

2009-04-20T07:49:00.010-04:00

Pygmalion
Author: George Bernard Shaw

Summary:
This book is about a poor girl, Eliza Doolittle, who sells flowers. She meets Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering and together, they bet that they can train Eliza to behave as a duchess and fool society into thinking she is one.

My Opinion:
This book was so gripping that I devoured it in one hour. I was dying to find out what would happen to Eliza. To me, this story seemed like a great adventure. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes reading.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

The Wide Window

2009-04-08T21:26:00.005-04:00

Archives: March

The Wide Window
Author: Lemony Snicket

Summary:
This book is about three children and how wherever they go, they run into bad luck. In this story, the children go to live with their Aunt by Lake Lyrchmose and reveal the true identity of Captain Sham.

My Opinion:
This book is good because it has descriptive detail and hard words. My favorite character is Violet because she invents useful things for her siblings and friends. I am most like Klaus because he reads a lot and loves books which made the book more interesting for me.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Meri's Dream

2009-03-31T17:21:00.008-04:00

Meri's Dream
Author: Jan Albach Jewell

Summary:
Meri's Dream is about a young unicorn who gets separated from her mother while on a walk in the forest. Meri is kind to the animals she meets and in turn gets the help she needs. She is able to finally understand what her mother meant when she told Meri, "You will feel good about yourself when you help someone else, and your heart will sing all day."

My Opinion:
I like this book because it has really good illustrations and it's very well written. The best part of the story is when Meri gets an apple stuck on her horn. I also like the lesson, be kind to others and others will be kind to you.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Harriett the Spy

2009-03-27T22:13:00.002-04:00

Harriet the Spy
Author:Louise Fitzhugh

Summary:
This is the story of a girl who is a spy. She writes down everything about everyone in her notebook. Then, one day, she loses her notebook. Before she is able to find it, her friends have read all of the things she wrote about them. Harriet has to figure out how to make things right again.

My Opinion:
This was an entertaining book. The best part is when Harriet accidentally makes her friend, Janie, drop something that burns through the floor. This is an easy read, but hard to put down. I learned a new word from reading this book - nonplussed - it means completely perplexed.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Jane Eyre

2009-03-26T17:35:00.002-04:00

Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte

Summary:
This book is about the life of Jane Eyre as told by Jane in the first person. The story begins with the death of Jane's mother and tells of Jane's experiences through life up until she marries her one true love.

My Opinion:
This book is good if you know a lot of difficult words. I like this book because it tells of a girl and her hardships. It made me think twice about my life and compare it to hers. Her life was a lot different than mine; she went through a lot harder times than I have. I found the story of Jane very interesting, so much so that I began and finished this book in one day.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

A Bad Case of Stripes

2009-03-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

A Bad Case of Stripes
Author: David Shannon

Summary:
This is the tale of a young girl who forgoes being herself in order to feel accepted at school - until she she develops a bad case of stripes. The story takes the reader through several funny attempts at curing stripes before revealing the cure is for the young girl to simply be herself.

My opinion:
I like this book because the author has a wild imagination. I also like the moral in the story. It's kind of like a fable, except it's written, not collected. I've read this book several times and even brought it to share last year with my Brownie troop and my 2nd grade class.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Heartsongs

2009-03-24T16:29:00.003-04:00

Heartsongs
Mattie J.T. Stepanek

Summary:
Heartsongs is a wonderful book of poetry written by Mattie Stepanek when he was just 11 years old. This book is filled with kid-like imagery and poetry that shifts from upbeat to deeply meaningul making it easy for a reader of any age to enjoy.

My opinion:
I love this book. My favorite poem is "A Special Candy" because it's a fun poem about this boy who's going to make special candy when he gets older. I think this book is a great way to introduce young children to poetry. I've read it many times and am now reading it to my younger sister.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words

2009-03-22T08:30:00.004-04:00

I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words
Dr. Suess, by Michael Frith

Summary:
This is a funny, rhyming tale of how a pet owner thinks about teaching his dog 100 words.

My opinion:
This book is very entertaining. If you have a younger sibling, you should read this to them. You can teach young readers lots of new words with this book. My favorite part is the last page where the dog's owner says, "I think I'll start next year," and the dog looks relieved.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Wacky Wednesday

2009-03-21T09:18:00.004-04:00

Wacky Wednesday
Author: Dr. Suess

Summary:
Wacky Wednesday is all about a day gone backwards! Dr. Suess tells readers of how a little boy wakes up to find everything turned around in his town.

My opinion:
In this book, I enjoyed reading about things that aren't possible. I liked the illustrations because they are strange and I enjoyed finding things that are out of place.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

2009-03-20T09:33:00.005-04:00

Miss Suzy
Author: Miriam Young

Summary:
This book tells the story of Miss Suzy, a lovely lady squirrel who sings and cleans and makes acorn cakes in her beautiful tree home. Suzy is very happy until one day a band of red squirrels comes along and forces her to leave. Suzy finds solace in a new home with new friends, but still misses her home in the tree. Her new friends help her get her beloved home back.

My opinion:
My mom found this book and gave it to me for Christmas. It was a book from her childhood that she loved and that made it even more special to me. The book has very good illustrations. I liked this book because the soldiers got Miss Suzy's house back by being brave and making the red squirrels leave. My mom's favorite part are the songs Miss Suzy sings. They remind her of her mother because her mother used to read this book and sing the songs to her. They should make Miss Suzy a movie.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Pumpkin Soup

2009-03-19T08:36:00.007-04:00

Pumpkin Soup
Author: Helen Cooper

Summary:
Pumpkin Soup is a book about the friendship of three animals. It tells the story of how they make soup. There's a cat that slices the pumpkin, the squirrel who stirs the soup, and the duck who pours the salt. Everything runs well until one day the duck wants to do something else.

My opinion:
I liked this book because it had to do with animals, friendship, pumpkins, and soup - all things I love. It's a good story with really nice illustrations.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Nany Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock

2009-03-17T16:44:00.007-04:00

Nancy Drew Book 1: The Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene

Summary:
As Nancy is driving down the road, she witnesses the escape of two robbers from a nearby house. Nancy does some investigating and finds that an old clock has disappeared - a clock that contains a hidden secret that could change the lives of the owners forever.

My opinion:
This was the first Nancy Drew book I read. The story was very mysterious, I thought I knew the answers but it turned out I was wrong. I think this is a great book to read on vacation because it is a chapter book. When I finished the book I wanted it to keep going because it was so cool and awesome.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)