Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

     It's Monday, and that means it's time for us to tell you all about another wonderful Middle-Grade Book.  This meme was started by Ms. Shannon and she's gotten a lot of other bloggers to join in.  This is a great meme for discovering new books that are just for Middle-Graders.  Make sure you visit Ms. Shannon's blog for the list of all the bloggers. http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/

           Marsh & Emiline

Emiline's Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday Book Pick is

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling

     I love The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a wonderful collection of wizarding tales by J.K. Rowling. The stories are like fairy tales for wizards.  I love it because you can connect to the wizarding world.  It's like everyone's coming out of the book.  It just feels so real.  
     I love that the book has a straight connection to The Deathly Hallows; because now, not only can you hear great wizarding tales, you actually feel like Dumbledore's back with you because of his commentary.  And everyone knew Hermione was going to publish a book eventually!  She translated it from ancient runes!
     I liked that J.K. Rowling wrote another Harry Potter book.  I love her books.  If you're sad the series had to end then read the real ending to the story with The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

 

It's Monday! That means it's time for us to tell you about another fantastic Middle-Grade book.  We aren't alone.  This is a great meme started by Ms. Shannon and there are lots of us that want to share our picks for Middle- Grade Mondays.  Make sure you visit Ms. Shannon at http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/ to see all the bloggers who are participating.

Marsh & Emiline 

Marsh's MMGM is Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles #1) by Suzanne Collins

  So many of you have read The Hunger Games, but have any of you read Suzanne Collins's other series, The Underland Chronicles?  It is about a boy named Gregor who goes into a grate in his apartment, falls way down, and finds a whole world underground.  He is in one of the Underlanders prophecies and now he is involved in a conflict between giant rats and humans.  This is a great series packed with adventure and I recommend it for all fans of Suzanne Collins.

Marsh

This is the first book in the series and we are giving it away to one public follower!  Just leave us a comment, and make sure you leave your email address so we can contact you if you are the winner.

The Eleventh Plague

Book Review of The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

by Marsh

     In the distant future . . . The Chinese drop a virus in the United States called P-11.  It kills many but some survive, like Stephen and his dad.  One day they are wandering and his dad falls into a canyon with a river running through it.  Settlers from a village called Settlers Landing offer to help.  Stephen finds out that his father has fallen into a coma and it may be years before he wakes up. He also finds out that every one is not scavenging, and they have more that one pair of clothes, and people are actually learning.  But everything is not perfect.  There are also threats to the settlement, like an opposing colony and the dangers of winter.  Can he face these threats?
     I thought this book was very interesting.  I enjoyed the characters and thought they were well developed.  I also enjoyed the dystopian setting.  It is cool to picture an American wasteland.  It made me think, what would I do in this dystopian environment?  What would you do?  Leave a comment with your answer.

I give this book Five Monsters out of Five.

In case you needed a little more, here is the book trailer:

To find out more about The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch please visit his website.  You can also read the first four chapters.
http://www.jeff-hirsch.com/

I bought this book at my favorite Indie Bookstore, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia.  You can get this book at your school or local library or your favorite bookstore.

If WE Had a Magic Lamp

On Fridays, we TRY to post our Magic Lamp Wishes, but sometimes we get really busy. We are back today with If I had Magic Lamp Meme started by Ya-Aholic. To find out all the details please visit . We get to make 3 Wishes each!  Hop on our Magic Carpet and see what we have wished for! 

Marsh & Emiline

I'm reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and my wishes are:

1.  I wish there wasn't tension between between Erudite and Abnegation so Beatrice's Mom could visit her brother, Caleb.

2. I wish the Divergent could have a separate faction where there are higher standards for learning.  And the Divergent can also be used for special operations to fight against opposing threats to society.

3.  I wish I could have an epic paintball war with my friends like the Dauntless did for training.  I would like to go out in an abandoned city in the middle of the night for the paintball war.

  

I'm reading Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling and my wishes are:

1.  I wish I could know more about the Tales of the Three Brothers.  It's such a fascinating story.

2.  I wish Harry had the Resurrection Stone so he could bring the people who were important to him back to life.  Sirius' and Dumbledore's deaths were heartbreaking.

3.  I wish I could go to the Lovegood's house.  I would love to see all the mysterious items they have, and I would like to meet Luna.  Luna reminds me of me.

Emiline's Review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 Book by: J.K. Rowling

Report by: Emiline

     Many people have been inspired by J.K. Rowling’s books because of one series--Harry Potter.  Here’s my report on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

     Back to another amazing year at Hogwarts, but something else lies before Harry and the other students, the legendary Triwizard Tournament.  Hogwarts is competing against two other wizard schools and there can only be one champion from each school.   The champions put their name in the goblet and the goblet decides the champion. Somebody mysteriously puts Harry’s name in the goblet and he becomes the 2nd Hogwarts champion! Harry, along with his other friends Ron and Hermione, tries to solve the case.  

     But the Triwizard tournament is not all that happens.  Hermione starts to make a club for people who think it’s wrong to own house elves, also  known as S.P.E.W.  Harry prepares for his tasks and Rita Skeeter, The Daily Prophet newspaper writer  reports bad things about him .

     Will Harry and his friends succeed?   Find out in the fantastical book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

REVIEWERS RESPONSE:

Harry Potter’s adventures always have me hanging at the edge of my seat but this one has to be my favorite! She writes as if she were right  there as if she were the character. She inspires me to write more because of the way she writes.

Happy Memorial Day!

It's Monday, so that means it's time for us to tell you all about another Marvelous Middle-Grade Book, but we aren't alone in this, make sure you go and visit Ms. Shannon Messenger's blog and see the list of all the bloggers who have found great Middle-Grade reads to tell you about. 

http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/

Thanks,

Marsh and Emiline

Happy Memorial Day!

     I picked We Were Heroes: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, a World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers for my MMGM.  I loved this book.  It was factual, yet entertaining at the same time--  that's a first!  I liked how you were reading about the battles from a soldier's point of view.  The author made you feel like you were actually there in the middle of the battle.  I thought this book would be great for my Memorial Day MMGM because it's all about our courageous troops.

Remember WHY it's Memorial Day,

Marsh

Summary of We Were Heroes: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, a World War II Solidier, Normandy, France, 1944 taken from Scholastic:

A Tale of Courage in the Face of Impossible Odds, Told by a Newbery Award-Winning Author!Follow one soldier's path to safety through World War II's most lethal battle! At the height of World War II, Scott Pendleton Collins signs up for the Army. After all, both his father and grandfather fought for their country. But at first the only enemy he faces is boredom. He and his unit want to be out in the fields, doing something to help the Allied forces, but instead they meet with endless delays.There's a rumor that something big is coming, and finally Scott discovers what it is. In the dead of night, he and his comrades find themselves on a boat heading to Normandy, France. At last, as his boat approaches the beach, Scott suddenly realizes what they are up against. Nothing in basic training, nothing he's heard from other soldiers or from his father or grandfather, nothing he has ever experienced could prepare him for what awaits on Omaha Beach.As D-Day rages around him, Scott is separated from his unit. Lost in the bloody chaos, he must find a way to live through the battle.

When I started to research this book I found out that it is a part of a series, My Name is America.  This series has lots of interesting books about Americans and who we are. 

This is a great discussion and activity guide for this book:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/journal-scott-pendleton-collins-discussion-guide

This is the author, Walter Dean Myers website:

http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/index.html

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

It's Monday! That means it's time for us to tell you about another fantastic Middle-Grade book.  We aren't alone.  This is a great meme started by Ms. Shannon and there are lots of us that want to share our picks for Middle- Grade Mondays.  Make sure you visit Ms. Shannon at http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/ to see all the bloggers who are participating.

Marsh & Emiline

     I chose THE GIRLS' GHOST HUNTING GUIDE by Stacey Graham as my MMGM because of it's scary potential.  It has everything from scientific evidence of the existence of ghosts to urban legends!  After you've read this book you'll be a ghost expert.  It's a great book for sleep overs because of its urban legends. (Have you ever heard of resurrection Mary?)  I liked that the book had questions that girls of all ages responded to with logical explanations.  You are going to love this book if you are fascinated by graceful creatures who lurk in haunted houses, aka, ghosts.  I think if you are a creature of reading (who prefers horror), you should read this.

     CAUTION, not for people who are scared easily!

 Boo! Emiline

If you are interested in this book you really need to check out the Girls' Ghost Hunting Guide Site!

http://www.girlsghosthuntingguide.com/

and the author has a really cool site too:

http://weeghosties.blogspot.com/