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| Ages 5 to 7 | Ages 8 to 10 | Ages 11 to 14 | Teens & Adults |
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This book was about a boy names Stanley
who has bad luck. He is sent to a detention center called Camp Green
Lake that has been dry for over 100 years. Every day the boys are
forced to dig holes. One day, Stanley decides to run away.
He finally makes it across the dry lake but has no water. He can
only find onions to eat. When he finally returns to camp, he must
face the poisonous lizards and the truth about his family's bad luck.
This was a really good book. I liked the ending with a twist. 
Cindy, 4th grade (Woodward, Oklahoma)
The rats are attacking New York. It is up to Sarah and Michael to save New York. The mutant rats are eating people's insides.
I liked this book because it's puzzling because it's scary in places and funny.
Devan, age 10, 4th grade (Woodward, Oklahoma)
RATS by Paul Zindel
The book RATS is about two kids named Sarah and Michael. They have to save New York City from mutant rats.
I like this book because it's a skin-crawler.
But I would recommend it for 9 year old kids and up because it's a horror
story and it might be sickening for some kids. But if you like gory
books, this would be a good book for you.
Marshall, age 10, 4th grade (Woodward, Oklahoma)
Rats escape from an island and start attacking people. Sarah and Michael have to stop the rats. They have a pet rat named Surfer. Surfer can talk to the other rats. Surfer tells the rats to leave Sarah and Michael alone.
Recommendation: If you like horror movies and scary stories, then you will like this book. I liked the book because it was both scary and funny. This book should be for children age 8 and up.
Joni, age 10, 4th grade (Woodward, Oklahoma)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine
L'Engle
Charles Wallace is a five-year-old boy who has blonde hair and blue eyes. He uses big vocabulary works like exclusive. He has a special way of understanding his mother and sister, Meg; like he knows what they’re thinking and feeling. He has two brothers, Sandy and Dennys. They’re twins that just want to get B’s in school.
Mrs. Murry, Charles Wallace’s mother, is a very beautiful woman. “She has violet eyes, firey red hair, soft, smooth skin, and light pink cheeks.” Mr. Murry, Charles Wallace’s dad, has orange hair that needs to be cut, and glasses. He has been gone a long time. He is stuck on a planet called, “Camazotz” where a huge brain named “IT” controls everybody by rhythm. Mr. Murray has not yet been controlled by “It”.
And then there’s Meg, Charles Wallace’s sister. She is a stubborn, impatient, ignorant 12 year old. She wears glasses and braids in her hair. Calvin, Charles Wallace’s friend, has orange hair, and freckles. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which help Charles, Meg, and Calvin find Mr. Murry. He is stuck in a transparent column and can’t get OUT! If I give you any more information it will spoil the fun of this wonderful book!
Keyla, 4th Grade (Classical Charter School)
It started out in the days of King Harry the Second of England. There were forests for the king that nobody else could hunt in. One day as he was walking down the road he came to a group of the king’s foresters. Robin Hood not knowing who they were said, “I’ll bet you twenty pennies I can hit that deer in the forest over there.” So Robin Hood shot and as you might have guessed, took the deer down. That’s how Robin Hood became an outlaw.
Robin Hood always hated the Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff always hated Robin. Thankfully, Robin Hood and his sevenscore yeomen were too clever for the Sheriff and his forces. The Sheriff held many archery contests in order to capture Robin. Robin always escaped secretly.
Robin’s tale should end happily, but it
does not. An arrow wounded Robin. At first the injury was not
serious. The cut healed on the top. It left a lurking fever,
however, and robbed him of his strength. At the end he called Little
John and asked him to help shoot an arrow. “Whence this arrow lands, ask
the yeoman to dig my grave. Bury my bow with me.” So Robin
let go his final shaft and that is where the legend lies.
Alex , Age 9, 4th Grade (Classical Charter School)
The book Pollyanna is a great book.
I would recommend Pollyanna for ages 7-adults. It is about
a young girl named Pollyanna. She is eleven years old. And both of
her parents died. So she goes to live with her Aunt Polly, who is
very proper. Pollyanna is a very PLAYFUL girl so you could imagine what
would happen at this house. With Pollyanna's glad game she finds
something glad in everything.
Sloan, Age 10, 4th Grade (Classical Charter School)
The Bridge in the Clouds by William
Corlett
This is the 4th and last book in the series,
The Magician's House. It is about three children, Mary, Alice,
William. They are visiting their uncle at Golden House in Golden
Vale in England. They meet a magician who lived in the same house
a few centuries before them. He can time travel and he teaches them
how to time travel as well. The Magician's Assistant wants the house
and power. He encourages his animals to fight the Magician's animals.
My favourite part is when the animals fight. To make it more interesting
the children go into the animal's bodies!
David, 4th Grade (Classical Charter
School)
Old Yeller by Fred Gibson
Old Yeller is a fun and exciting story
about a dog who runs loose from his owner and arrives at a stranger's farm
in Texas. The farmer is away on a cattle drive and his 14 year old
son Travis is home with his mother and brother Arlis. Old Yeller
the dog arrives at the farm after the farmer leaves on the drive.
Old yeller steals some meat and wrecks the farmers fence. At first
Travis is ready to shoot the dog but little brother Arlis will not allow
it. Little does Travis know that one day Old Yeller will do something
for Travis that he will never forget. This is a story that proves
that a dog is a man's best friend.
Ty, Age 10, 4th Grade (Classical
Charter School)
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Night by Elie Wiesel
Summary: Elie, his family, and his town
are taken by the Nazi Germans to a concentration camp when he is only 15.
His father and he are separated from his mother and 2 sisters. The story
tells of his close-ups with death and the hardships he faced: 1) watching
a boy being hung, but not dying immeadiately and so he hangs there, struggling
between life and death for a few hours, 2) surviving food poisoning,3)
surfering through painful injuries to his foot (frostbite?), and many more.
His father also had his close-ups and dies after a long, forced run and
a wagon ride for days without food or water. Shortly after, the people
are rescued. It teaches of the evil of prejudice and of the miracles of
believing.
Rachel L., age 13 (Classical School)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Summary: I like this book a lot it is lots
of fun yet sad and scary at the same time it has a lot of adventure and
you never know whats going to happen next its so exciting although it is
sad especially when Sikes killed his own girl friend Nancy with a club.
It shows how hard life was back then and you learn plenty of lessons that
can help you in your life it also teaches you not to take life for granted.
this book is, fun exciting, happy, sad and adventurous I would recommend
it to anyone fom ages 8 and up!
Anna, age 12 (Classical School)
This is an astonishing book is about a
Hobbit named Bilbo, a small, hairy, fat, and dwarf-like creature that would
like nothing more than to be left alone in his Hobbit hole with peace and
quiet. However, one day a wizard named Gandalf appears at his door and
notifies him that he will be going on an adventure with 13 dwarves and
himself to defeat the evil dragon, Smaug. On the adventure, they have to
fool trolls, escape from goblins and fight evil spiders. All of this would
have been very hard if Bilbo hadn't found a magic ring that makes you invisible
when you put it on. They float to Lake town in wine barrels after being
captured by elves and make it to the lonely mountain where Smaug lives.
He is shot by Bard the bowman and there is a war between goblins and elves
to see who will regain the land. The elves win and Bilbo Baggins heads
back home to his hobbit hole.
Student, Age: 14 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
Alexander L., Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
This book is about a young man in the Sanh,
Vietnam, 1968. He gets out of college to go to the marines.
He meets a few guys in his post and then become good friends. He
is assigned to different jobs and soon goes to war. When he fires
his first rifle, he is shocked and stunned. Patrick writes journal
entries about how he is dong and what is going on. His tent is soon
blown up, one of his friends dies and he is in critical condition.
He soon recovers and goes back home. I really liked this book a lot
because it is about war and it is action packed. I would give this
book five stars because i really liked it. It war interesting, exciting,
and descriptive.
Pat H., Age 14 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
Dread Mountain from the Deltora Quest series
by Emily Rodda was a thrilling fantasy that left you hanging. It
was a tale of wisdom with suspense around every corner. A classic tale
of how friendship and trust can destroy the most powerful evil. It was
a thrilling 5 star event that deserves 2 thumbs up.
Geordie F., Age 11(Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
Summary: In this book, a young boy
named Paul finds out who he really is, after years in the path darkness.
He is a legally blind boy, and moves from Texas to Tangerine, Florida.
This book was wonderful. I really enjoyed it.
Student, Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
My friend recommended this book to me,
and at first, I had doubts. But, after reading it, I learned that it is
a great book. It is about two girls named Willa Jo and JoAnn (whose nickname
is Little Sister) who have to live with their Aunt Patty in Raliegh, North
Carolina. They have to live with her because their youngest sister, who
they call Baby, just died. Their mother needs time alone to herself, so
she sent the girls to live with Patty. Aunt Patty is not a very nice lady.
She treats the girls like they are both two years old, and is very strict.
Overall, Willa Jo and Little Sister do not like Aunt Patty at all, and
don't like staying with her. The book was really confusing at times,
because the author would throw flashbacks in the middle of the chapter,
and I got mixed up sometimes. I would give it 4 stars . I recommend it
to ages 11 and up. I enjoyed reading it a lot!
Liz B., Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
This book was about to inseparable friends
who have to face one of the most difficult situations in life. Cancer.
Jules, one of the friends, finds out that she has cancer. This affects
not only her family, but also her best friend for life. As the situation
gets worse, the friends and family become closer. Sadly, Jules dies leaving
behind a great life full of love and happiness. She leaves behind her best
friend, her one and only to struggle through life without her. This was
a great book and I absolutely loved it. It made me laugh at times, and
more so, cry at times. I loved the story and the message given to me through
out the book. That message is, learn to love while you still have the chance.
In conclusion, this was a great book.
Courtney N., Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights
School District - New Jersey)
Why I liked it: I liked this book
because Louis Sachar described every little detail very deeply. It
gave me an excellent picture of what the character's surroundings were
and what they looked like. At most times in the book, I felt like
I was right there with the characters, experiencing what they did, feeling
what they did, and going through what they did. I rate this book
5 out of 5 stars. This is one of the best, if not the best, book
that I have ever read.
Craig C., Age 12 (Spring Lake Heights
School District - New Jersey)
This book was full of the most unfortunate
things. Three children, Violet; 14, Klaus; 12, and Sunny;4, all were at
the beach when they suddenly heard that their house had just burnt down
and their parents had died. While they were not only shocked, confused,
and in despair, they learn of how they must live with a relative but they
had none. Little did they know, Count Olaf was a relative. They are sent
to live with him but he is the worst thing that ever happened to the children.
He is mean and greedy. All he wants is the children's fortune since their
parents were rich. Since Olaf has a theatre troupe, he brings them over
and makes the children to horrible things. Olaf forces the children to
act in his play and plans of having Violet be in a wedding scene with him,
but it is going to be a legal wedding. Of course, Klaus, Violet and, Sunny
outwit him but he escapes. Through all these terrible, unsatisfying events,
I loved this book. It was fantastic because you get to learn how lucky
you really are with also getting a few chuckles.
It deserves this rating since it fulfills all of my reading enjoyments.
I laughed, I was in suspense, and most of all, I was part of the book.
It is just that type of book.
Leslie L., Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
Mia Thermopolis is a princess who lives
in New York City. In this book Mia spends all her time doing three things:
preparing for her nerve-racking enter into the Genovian society under the
slave-driving Grandmere, struggling through a unique December in Manhattan,
and avoiding further smooches from her hapless boyfriend, Kenny. All she
wants is a little peace and quiet and a certain someone else to be her
boyfriend. I give this book 5 stars. It was well written and has a great
plot that keeps you thinking.
Margaret B., age 14 (Spring Lake Heights School District - New Jersey)
Summary: This book was about a female dolphin that got washed ashore. A group of bird watchers found her and they took her to the Maryland State Aquarium. The Marine Mammal Rescue trainers discovered she was ten months old and very sick with a liver disease. She was very close to death. They nursed her back to health and named her Aster.
Soon Aster got strong and was put in a pool arena with the other dolphins. She learned to perform. Then she had a baby boy. He almost didn't live. Then one day the trainers saw him bobbing around. That is why they named him Bob.
In a few months, Bob got very strong, healthy and full of energy. He wanted to be the star of the Maryland State Aquarium. So, he did a lot of pranks to prove to the trainers that he could be the star.
I loved this book! Anyone who loves dolphins
should read this. Some parts were so sad. Other parts were very funny.
This book has a lot of information on how dolphins learn and behave. I
learned that if people throw coins in a dolphin tank, the dolphins could
become very sick if they eat it because of the zinc, copper and nickel
in coins.
Melissa V., Age 11 (Spring Lake Heights
School District - New Jersey)
One of the books I read was Holes, by Philip
Sachar. I enjoyed this book for the simple reason of the mystery
it had to it. You could not figure out what was going to happen next.
Like the time that the yellow spotter lizards were crawling all over Zero
and Stanley, and nothing happened to them. Or, the time that Zero
and Stanley ran away to big thumb to see if there was water. Their
wasn't only water but their was food also. Another time was, was
when those two were stuck in hole and the lawyers came. You had know
clue what was going to happen, but they got out of camp green lake safe
and sound. I would give this book 4 stars because I personally like
mystery books.
Jamie V., age 13 (Spring Lake Heights
School District - New Jersey)
Summary: In this book Harry is back for
his third year in Hogwarts. The school is being protected by Dementors
because of an escapee of Sirus Black one of the prisoners at Azkaban. Harry
is having trouble with the but his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher
Professor Lupin gives Harry a spell that keeps the Dementors away.
During the rest of the year Harry uses secret passage ways to get to Hoggsmead.
Hey with a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Prongs and Padfoot anything
can happen! I would definitely give this book five stars.
Age 13 (Spring Lake Heights School District
- New Jersey)
My Antonia is an enchanting novel that
everyone should read. It is a story about a young boy named Jim who
moves to Nebraska after the death of his parents to live with his grandparents
on their farm. As he is traveling to Nebraska, he meets an immigrant
family that ends up living next to him. Their eldest daughter, Antonia,
becomes Jim's best friend and companion throughout all of the years ahead.
Jim and Antonia face many hardships, joys, and grief throughout their lives.
This book is a beautifully written classic that you shall treasure and
keep for a lifetime. Ask your parents to buy you a hardcover of this
book for a present so when you are older, you can sit in your beautiful
leather chair in your study, reencountering this book.
Jessica, age 11 (Classical School)
RATS is a good book and it is about two kids named Sarah and Michael. Their mother just died and now they live with their dad. One day, mutant rats escape from a Staten Island dump and now it's up to Sarah and her little brother, Michael, to stop the rats from terrorizing New York City.
I liked this book because it was full of action and mystery.
CAUTION: Kids under eight might get nightmares from this book. It would be suggested for kids age 9 and up.
Kade, age 11, 4th grade (Woodward, Oklahoma)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
D'Artagnan sets out on a journey to see Mr. Treville, captain of the king's Musketeers. On his way, he is stopped by an unknown person who steals his letter of recommendation for Mr. Treville. After this mishap, he continues his journey. He eventually arrives at Mr. Treville's, where he stays for most of the book. While there, he is drawn into a duel by three Musketeers: Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. After proving to them that he is a worthy swordsman, he becomes their friend and is accepted into their circle. D'Artagnan falls in love with a lady who is abducted. Throughout the remainder of the book he searches for her.
This book is about D'Artagnan's experiences toward becoming a great Musketeer. It is also filled with many dangerous, political, and exciting intrigues. A few mysteries are involved in the book. One of them is to find out the identity of the person who stole Mr. Treville's letter of recommendation and the reason why he stole it.
I would recommend that you read an unabridged
version of this book, because you will not want to miss any of its exciting
details.
Jessica, Age 11 (Classical School)
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Imagine searching for a bloodthirsty vampire
and one of his poor victims to free their spirits from an evil force.
While the characters try to escape a wily predator, anyone could become
a victim or servant of this terrible monster. This thrilling tale
is a mystery that must be solved. It is not extremely frightening
or gory, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat through the whole
book. I highly recommend this chilling classic for those in grades
5-8.
Jessica, Age 11 (Classical Charter School)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann
Wyss
(I think kids from ages 9 and up would
like this book.)
The Swiss Family Robinson is a suspenseful
and adventurous book. It is similar to Robinson Crusoe, although
instead of a single man, it is a whole family. Once shipwrecked,
they needed to look for shelter on an island close by, being the only survivors
of the ship. Thankfully, the ship didn't sink entirely so they could
take supplies that they would need to make their shelter. There were
also animals on board including a cow, a donkey, and their dog, Juno.
Not knowing the perils that awaited them, they dutifully set to work.
They found many animals on the island which they claimed and used for food.
I would highly recommend this book so you may experience the whole adventure
with the Swiss Family Robinson. I hope you enjoy this book.
Jessica, Age 11 (Classical Charter School)
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A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin
A short summary: Sam and Jules have been
best friends forever. The closeness of their friendship startled me in
the beginning, but it is lovely to read about. When Jules is diagnosed
with cancer, both her and Sam's worlds collapse. The two friends slowly
drift away from each other. It's an incredibly touching book. I fell in
love with about a year ago, and have read it about 3 times already. It
makes me cry every time. One of the most moving parts was when Jules noticed
that she was losing her hair. I know that I might be a bit too old to read
ATFD, but I live in the Netherlands, so my native language isn't English.
Therefore, I chose an English book that wasn't too difficult. It's a wonderful
book, and the movie (with Shiri Appleby) is great as well.
Stefanie de Poot, the Netherlands, age
17
