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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Masha's posts

Title: The Rise of the Black Wolf from the series of The Grey Griffins. Book #2
Author(s): Derek Benz & J.S Lewis
Genre: Mystery Book

I wasn't really looking at the volume of the book when I took it. I hoped I would understand it even though I didn't read the first one. Some names were unfamiliar to me otherwise I enjoyed this book!
This book is about a boy called Max and his friends known as the Grey Griffins group. Max and his friends were magic. They realized that since whenever they'd notice a little fairy or goblin no one but them would notice them. Max had a book called the Codex which protected him from the magical beasts. Even cute little fairies could be horrible! The book would suck up the creatures into the book where they would stay away from the risk of harming anyone. Now the problem was that the Codex had terrible power that some evil little goblins wanted to take the book. It was Max's responsibility to take care of the book, as well as it was for the guardians to take care of him. Max's father was a really important man. He was a Templar which in the fairy world was someone really important. His parents were both important, but they hated each other so that's what caused them to divorce. Max hated that. He loved his dad as much as he did his mother. But somehow he didn't know about him much. He was his father but he never lived with him. But when Max got an invitation asking him and his friends to stay for Christmas with his father, Max couldn't say no. Much to his mother's surprise he eagerly went to his father's place, expecting a relaxing holiday, but with those evil goblins threatening to take his Codex away, Max couldn't relax. And even being close to his father Max couldn't spend time with him; he was far too busy. But one day Max got the news that his father was going on a business to another country. This upset Max very much. He expected to stay with his father during Christmas.
But a few nights before Christmas, while his father was away Max received a terrible surprise. During the night The Black Wolves burnt down  the castle Max's father owned. The Black wolves were evil men who could transform themselves into werewolves, and who worked for an evil with called Morgan Le Fay. Morgan knew the power Max's father father had. She wanted to rule the world as well as destroy it, but she couldn't do it without the spear. The spear had three pieces and the only person who could get it was the true owner of the Codex  which in this case meant Max. Max's father was captured by Morgan Le Fay and of course Max wanted to save him. He st searching for the pieces of the spear, fighting along the way with the monsters that tried to stop him. The whole point was that if Max gave the spear to Morgan, she would free his father. After a long battle with the werewolves, Max found the spear and went to Morgan Le Fay. But he didn't know that grief and disappointment would meet him. Max didn't want to give the spear, he just proved he found the spear and asked to get his father back. But his father said that it was best gor them to join The Black Wolves. All the friends they made and that they thought were their father's servants had gone to serve Morgan Le Fay. There was nothing Max could do about it. He had to help his friends get safely back home. Just because his dad served Morgan it didn't mean he would. He managed to get his friends home but that didn't mean unharmed. Max's friend Ernie got comma. This was bad news. The spear was gone, his father was gone, Maybe even his friend. But Max didn't want to stay mourning. He decided to take revenge and the next serie will tell us about it.
I find this story a bit scary as well as sad and exciting. I wouldn't like someone beloved from my family to betray me.



Title: King Solomon's Mines
Author: H.Rider Haggard
Genre: Classic
This book is about an old man, who has a son called Harry and who is a hunter. One day he made a friend called Sir.Henry. Sir.Henry told him all about his younger brother, who he didn't hear from a very long time. Hr told him that when he was younger, he had terrible fights with his brother, so they hated each other. But when the father died, the money went to the older son, Sir.Henry. Sir.Henry was prosperous. Because at that time he was having fights with his brother, he didn't give him a single penny. That meant his brother was really poor, and so he set off, trying to find something that would help him grow rich. But in the meantime Sir.Henry started worrying about is brother.  He felt guilty for what he had done, so he decided to search for him. But the only person who could tell him where he was, was the old hunter. He could tell him because he met the man, who told him all about the Solomon's Mines. Not a single person ever managed to cross the long dessert, without dying. It wasn't only the dessert they had to pass but also the mountains. But that was the only hope Sir.Henry's brother had. If he found the mines and dug out the diamonds, he would surely become rich. But like everyone knew, it was impossible to find the mines and Sir.Henry wanted to help his brother. So with 5 men, they set off on the long journey. They meet a lot of danger on the way since there are wild animals.  People warned them that they shouldn't go, but Sir.Henry was reluctant to find his brother. In the end they meet  a Zulu tribe, which will help them find their brother.







Title: GILDA JOYCE The Ladies of the Lake
Author:Jeniffer Allison
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 339
Gilda Joyce lived with her mother and brother. Her father had died of a serious sickness and she missed him terribly. Her mother was very fond of girly  things and adored makeup and  fashion altogether. She really wished her girl was like that! One day she decided to take Gilda to a new school where everything was related to pink things and hard work. But Gilda didn't want to go. There was no way that she wanted to go to such a school. She liked boys but somehow she didn't like this school very much. The girl's uniforms were all pink, the classrooms were all pink, there was just too much pink. I wouldn't have gone if I was Gilda. But it wasn't the color that attracted Gilda. The moment she heard about the girl who drowned in the lake and who haunted children, Gilda decided to research a bit more about this. Despite the school being ridiculous, Gilda knew she was there to do an investigation. 
Gilda started researching a bit on the girl who drowned in the lake. Her name was Dolores Lambert and she was a girl like her who went to the same school as she. Everyday the girls would pray for her and mourn her sudden death. But one day Gilda made friends with a girl called Tiara who was haunted by Dolores's ghost. Later on Gilda found out that all the mysterious that happened to Tiara were done by either one of her member of the family or by her. Since it was found out that Tiara was being haunted the teachers sent her to Pennsylvania where she could recover. Gilda interviewed  Mrs Lambert who grieved over her child every day. She found out that Dolores didn't have any friends. She was a hard working girl who believed in success and always tried to do things correctly.
But one day Gilda found out about a secret club called The Ladies Of The Lake. The secret club was made by 3 best students, Priscilla, Nikki and Danielle. And while spying on them Gilda found out a terrible truth. Those 3 girls had something to do with Dolores's death. They were scared of her because she haunted them and there had to be a reason. Danielle who was an honest girl, and who felt concios about Dolore's death knew that Gilda was spying on them. She just felt sure of it. But being scared and honest she told Gilda the whole truth. 
One day Dolores wanted to join them in the group of The Ladies Of The Lake. Priscilla didn't want her to join but she didn't show it, Insted she gave her very hard tests and mean advises fir her to be perfect. But Dolores wouldn't give up. She really wanted to be the member of the club. So one day Priscilla blindfolded her and made her go all alone to the place where normally their meetings took. Dolores didn't see the lake of course. She didn't try to cheat, but in the end she was freezing cold and she gave up. She was about to cross the ice when it cracked underneath her. The freezing water swallowed her up and that was the end of her. The girls who gave her those tests kept them as a secret. They never told any one that it was their fault that Dolores died. But now Gilda knew . Dolores began haunting her asking her for help. So Gilda gave the papers she had as a proof and the whole school knew how Dolores died. It was said that the girls had done a crime and thay had to go to jail for that. Priscilla tried to deny it but no one believed her. So Gilda helped solve a mystery using her knowledge and searching skills. Nothing could stop her from halping Dolores.
I enjoyed this book really. Some parts were a bit boring but otherwise it was a bit scary. I would recommend this book to anyone who is find of girlish things and who loves mysteries!


Title: Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire
Author: J.k. Rowling
Genre: Mystery and Adventure
Number of Pages: 734

This book is about a boy called Harry Potter. When he was a small boy his parents were killed by a very powerful magician, Voldemort. But Harry's mother protected him so Voldemort couldn't kill him. He left him only with a scar on his forehead and no family. So that's how Harry Potter turned famous! Books were written about him even movies were made after him. He was the first person to escape from Vold- sorry I meant You Know Who (magicians were usually scared to say his name). Harry had to then live with his  horrible aunt and uncle, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. They also had a son called Dudley, an annoying fat boy who got all the attention in the family. He got upset once because he got only 36 presents (Harry got none). They scared out of their wits of Harry and they really hoped that Harry would never know anything about being a magician. When he did find out they wouldn't let him say the word magic under their roof. If they heard Harry saying it or do anything about it they would explode.
Harry also attended a magician school called Hogwarts. There he made good friends with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasly. They solved mysteries together, learned about the most powerful and most dangerous wizards and most important of all Harry learned more about his past. In this book he was going to 4th grade in Hogwarts. Being 14 he already knew quite a lot about wizards which prepared him for his next adventure. He spent the rest of his holiday with his best friends ( much to uncle Vernon's horror). He saw the live Quiditch match,  a famous wizard match. It's like soccer on broomsticks. Harry had played Quiditch before. In fact he was the youngest Quiditch player in centyries. Being able to spend the rest of the holidays with his friends made Harry really happy. He looked very much forward to going back to Hogwarts. 
The day Harry arrived back to Hogwarts he found out some very interesting as well as disappointing news. He heard that there was going to be a competition known as the Triwizard Cup. It was a sort of race where 3 best wizards fought against each other so the last one to survive would be the champion. Wizards under the age of 17 couldn't participate. That meant Harry couldn't go. He was only 14 and this competition was bound to be very dangerous. All the wizards who wanted to compete had to put their name in The Goblet Of Fire. It was said that the goblet would choose the 3 best wizards. And just as the 3 champions were chosen the Goblet chose yet another champion and who did it choose but Harry Potter. Everyone then believed that it was Harry who managed to put his name in the Goblet Of Fire. No one would believe him that he was innocent not even Ron. He didn't want to compete because that game was a matter of life and death. But yet somehow someone wanted to him to compete, probably to die... Harry couldn't think of anyone else... Voldemort.
The whole term he had been upset that no one believed him that he was innocent, some said that he was to young, others were dying of jealousy, while others were congratulating him and were stealing food from the kitchens  magica to make a party. But Harry was not in a mood. He only wandered who was the one who put his name in the goblet. Sometimes he suspected professor Snape, a teacher who hated Harry, much as Harry hated him. But professor Snape had saved his life before, so it could have been just as well been someone else. But Harry had no idea. He decided to think about what his first task may be so he would get prepared. It happened that Hagrid was the one who showed him. Hagrid was a giant who helped Harry ever since he found out he was a wizard. He was very fond of dangerous creatures which included dragons! So Harry's first task was to fight a dragon and take it's golden egg. He was at first worried how he could fight an enormous dragon using only a wand. Then he remembered that he was very good in Qiditch. He learned  a magic trick where he was supposed to "call" his broom. That way he made the dragon stand up which gave him the opportunity to snatch the egg.
 that's Hermione
He had to then open the egg which would give him the next task. But the problem was that whenever he'd open the egg it would scream. When Harry finally found out what the next task was going to be, he realized he found out too late. He found out that he had to dive underneath the deep lake to find something he lost and to his horror, it happened to be Ron. Harry had no idea what to use to be able to dive for one hour in a lake. In the end it happened that Dobby, a small ugly house elf helped him found out. He ended up having to eat what seemed like rats tails, but they helped him grow flippers and scales just like a fish. In the end he found Ron under the water, but he also found Hermione. He realized the wizard Krum, who was supposed to save her wasn't coming. He tried to save her but the mermaids wouldn't let him. In the end everyone except a small sister of a girl called Fleur, had been saved. Harry dragged her as well as Ron up on the surface of the lake.
That's Harry
It wasn't long before Harry found out what his next task would be. Everyone was congratulating him. But before he had time to think of the third task he realised that his lightning scar hurt. He wondered why it was so because normally it only hurts when Voldemort was around, and when Voldemort was around that was not such good news. It meant normally trouble and that was the worst thing possible that could happen to Harry. 

This is Ron Weasly

The day the 3rd task came everyone was super excited. Harry willingly set on his task. So far he was doing pretty well. He was in a tie with a another famous Quiditch player Cedric. Cedric and Harry have been pretty good friends. They have helped each other a lot. In the middle of their third task which was to find the Winning Cup which was in the middle of a maze. Harry fought with the big monsters that went in his way. He was about to finish when he met a Sphinx. He had to answer a riddle which had probably taken some of his time away. He realised at the end that it was only Cedric and him who were fighting for the cup. And just as he got there, a gigantic spider attacked Cedric. Harry rushed to help only to get an injured leg. He had given up and let Cedric take the cup. But Cedric didn't want it. They helped each other and they would take the cup together. So they did but that's when trouble began. The cup was a sort of instrument wizards used to take themselves somewhere. And this cup ended up taking Harry to Voldemort. The dark lord had risen again. everyone feared the dark lord would return they were right to be scared. Harry was the one who had to fight him, Harry was the one who had to watch him rise and Harry was the one who had to kill Voldemort. Voldemort killed Cedric and tried to kill Harry too. Butt Harry was far too strong and he managed to fight Voldemort again. HE felt that it was his parents protection that helped him and they probably will for 2 more  years. 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Hello from Mrs. Hancock!

I have input your email addresses (that I have) and will add the rest on Tuesday from my computer.  You should be able to click on the upper right-hand tab and post.  Please begin:
1) Title and author
2) Genre
3) Some book-related comments of interest: likes, dislikes, a great or interesting quote, connections, "A-Ha" moments...
4) Posting complementary images is highly encouraged 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF READERS!

Please read 35 pages/week outside of class.  This reading is "free choice", but reading any assigned book report book is always a great choice. :)   You will blog a response to this 35 page section every week here.  Always include the book's title and author before your posting.  Also include a response to a classmate's weekly posting.  Enjoy!