After finishing that huge Harry Potter book, I decided to take a short break from the series and read some other books. I got "Where is the Empire State Building?" at my school library. It is not a very long book. This book is part of the Who Was series, which has over 200 titles. All their books are very informative, but they also do a good job of making their books interesting. I will be honest there were a few parts of this book where I was a bit confused. I did understand the most of it though, and it was fascinating. The empire state building is not the tallest building in the world anymore. It is not the tallest building in the US. The Empire State building is not even the tallest in New York! This magnificent building still won a place in a lot of peoples' hearts. The book walks you through every step that led to the Empire State Building being built. It explains that when all of the tall buildings were going up, each builder hoped to have the tallest building. The Chrysler building and the Manhattan Company building were competing to be the tallest. What these two companies did not know is that there was one more company who secretly joined the race to the sky. This company closely watched how the other buildings were going up and then they built the Empire State Building. That was taller than both of the other buildings. This is just one fact out of many that I found in this book. If you want to learn more about this stunning building I recommend you read the book!

I am reading The Royal Diaries: Marie Antoinette Princess of Versailles. If you don't already know, Marie Antoinette was the Princess of Versailles. She was born into Austrian Royalty and had to marry well. This book is based on her life and tells Marie's innermost thoughts. Marie Antoinette explains how she feels about the marriage. I like to think Marie Antoinette wrote it. This book is not word for word of what she wrote because it is fiction. Either way it is a good book. The book does not have chapters or anything; it just has a date and what she is thinking about that day. The book stars with really short passages. Once she starts to improve her writing though, the passages become longer. (I'm close to the middle of the book right now and passages are reaching up to three pages.) In the diary, Marie Antoinette has many lessons- such as French etiquette, history, horse back riding, dancing, and gambling. She talks about all of these lessons. Marie Antoinette loves horseback riding. The one lesson she does not talk much about is gambling, but she only has that two times a week. This is a very brief summary of what is going on in the book. There is much more. I visited Europe and one of the cities we went to was Paris. While in Paris we went to the palace of Versailles. After going, my uncle's girlfriend got this book for me. I am in absolute love with the book and I highly recommend it. If you have any questions, I recommend you read the book!

Last year in fourth grade, my teacher read my class The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney. My class absolutely loved it. I finished my book about Marie Antoinette on September 23, so I I had nothing to read. I went to my class bookshelf and saw the book School Days According to Humphrey. Since loved the first book so much, I decided to read this one. This is a great way to pick out books because when you find an author you like you can read many of their books and you know they will be great books. ------------- Do you ever think, "What is going through my pets head? " This book is about a class hamster. It tells what the hamster, Humphrey, thinks. Even though nobody notices, Humphrey does the homework the teacher assigns. The book kind of shows how much we may be underestimating our pets. Humphrey loves all the kids. The book is cute because it explains everything Humphrey experiences in his point of view. I would recommend reading the first book first though. The book will be easier to follow. If you have any questions or are wondering: "What does go through that small hamster's mind?" I recommend you read the book.

My mom started to read us the Ramona series again. I want to clarify that I'm not reading these books, but my mom is reading my sister and me this book. It's perfect for kids around the age of 7, but I still like listening to them. Ramona the Pest is about a young girl, Ramona, going into kindergarten. Ramona has a horrible first day and gets in trouble many times. She is not a bad girl, though. She just has a lot of misunderstandings. She didn't know that of she pulled on Susan's hair it would hurt her. Susan also overreacted. Her first day was horrible. Hopefully every day is better than the last and Ramona begins to like Miss Binney and her classmates. Right now my mom, my sister, and I are still at the beginning of the book. ..... The book is very funny. The book is pretty old but is not outdated. It was made in 1968 and the author is Beverly Cleary. She wrote this whole series and plenty of others such as The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Runaway Ralph , Ribsy , and Henry Huggins. Beverly Cleary is an amazing author, and I don't think you are ever too old for her books. If you have any questions I recommend you read the book!

I have said that Harry Potter might have been my favorite book, but my favorite book is constantly changing! Right now my favorite book is definitely Anne of Green Gables. This book is a true classic. It was published first in 1908!!! The book has barely aged since the excitements of being a young girl last forever. The main character, Anne Shirley, is eleven years old. Anne has a wild imagination and wise thoughts. She also talks a ton; sometimes she talks too much. One of my favorite quotes from Anne is, "And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?" Anne loves poetry, and she often renames places to sound more romantic. This book is about everything Anne goes through. One major part of the storyline is that Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister, want to adopt a boy to help out on the farm. Matthew comes home with a girl, Anne. He does not tell her that they wanted to get a boy. Marilla has to break the news to Anne. Anne's heart is broken because she thought she had found her home. She says "You don't want me! You don't want me because I'm not a boy! I might have expected it. Nobody ever did want me!" After that the Cuthberts slightly consider keeping her. The book is so well written that you feel like Anne is a real person. You feel the sadness she feels. You feel the happiness she feels. You feel the anger she feels. My mom read this book when she was my age, and I can't seem to stop talking about the book with her. I absolutely LOVE this book. If you are curious if Anne will stay at the Cuthbert's house or not...I recommend you read the book!

With Thanksgiving coming up ( or even just on a daily basis ) we all should observe things that we are thankful for. Of course, I'm very grateful for books. At the moment, I love Anne of Green Gables. The ability to blog also gives me so much joy, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to blog. Those are some things I am appreciative for. In a picture book called the "Thankful Book," the author lists all kinds of things you can be thankful for. This book is by Todd Parr and it is a New York Times Bestseller. This book mentions music, pets, colors, underwear, school, and more. "The Thankful Book" not only names things that you can be excited about but it also names why you should be thankful for these things. The author says " I am thankful for school because I love to learn new things." I can totally agree with that! In addition there are funny pictures on each page. What are you thankful for? You can be grateful for more than one thing! Happy Thanksgiving! It is the countdown (18 days)! If you are curious about what kind of things "The Thankful Book" lists. . . I recommend you read the book!

The first book, Anne of Green Gables was so good! That made me want to read the next book. I have not been disappointed with Anne of Avonlea. This book was made in 1909 and was published by L.M Montgomery. The book has exceeded my standards. The first book is about Anne growing up and becoming a woman. Now, the second book is about her being a woman and what she does with her life. I have to admit that I did like the first one a slight bit better because Anne was high-spirited and talkative. In Anne of Avonlea, you somewhat lose the young and fun side of her. However, Anne is still like that inside. You can tell that Anne is still a child. She lives with her mom, Marilla, because Marilla experiences serious eye issues. Marilla is not allowed to sew or read. They say that if she does she will become blind. Anyways Anne becomes a teacher and it is all about her thoughts on teaching. On one page her, Gilbert, and Jane have a conversation about whipping children. Jane thinks that if it is necessary she will do it but Anne says she shall never whip a child! As always, Gilbert just tries to please both of the girls. He pleases neither. Anne does not find it easy to teach. She finds it quite hard at first and it might stay like that for the whole book. Anne always is very opinionated on topics and it is so interesting to see how she uses all those opinions in her life. I love watching Anne, as a young adult, become smarter and wiser. By the way, if you haven't read the first one you absolutely NEED to before reading this one. It gives you a history of the second book. In fact I would read all of the fourteen books in order! If you have any questions, any at all, like is "Anne happy with being a teacher?" I recommend you read the book! Thank you for reading!

I interviewed Erin Schultz. Erin has a English Major and used to be a social justice lawyer. She absolutely loves books so I thought she'd be perfect to interview! She also has two children my age so she knows what kind of books we are reading. When her children were young she would read picture books to them such as: Curious George , Rosie Revere the Engineer , and The Book With No Pictures . Erin enjoyed reading funny and interactive books to them. She likes to read books such as The Wild Robot and The One and Only Ivan to her kids. Interestingly enough though, she chooses different books to read to each child. For her girl, Erin will read Judy Blume books like Are You There God Its Me Margret. Her boy, one the other hand just wants a book that can make him laugh. This is why Erin gets books such as, The Terrible Two and The Tapper Twins. Another book that Erin reads to her kids is Ban this Book . Ban this Book is about many books that get banned from a school library so a young girl named Amy Anne starts a secret banned book library. Erin said they have used this book to find other good books because all the books they ban are great literature. If you have been wondering what kind of books she grew up reading though, the answer is Babysitters Club . The Babysitters Club Series was her favorite series at my age. Erin also LOVED a good mystery. She was really into the Nancy Drew Series . As you may know, I have read a few Nancy Drew books but not many. Though Erin loves to read and even liked to read as a child, she did not have a strong start. Erin just had a really hard time reading when she was young which made her not like reading as much as a child. The thing is, when she learned how to read she loved it and this love of reading helped Erin through her English major and her law degree! Although, the joy of reading helped her succeed, she will admit reading in law school and even as a lawyer was not a fun as just reading for fun. As a grown adult, Erin still finds time to read while juggling all the parts of her life. Typically, she will read before bed, but she will be so tired she can only get through two pages. Her favorite time to read though is on vacation! When Erin travels, she makes a lot of progress. Of course she also likes it because reading on vacation is relaxing. Erin's favorite book that she has read as an adult is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. She likes this book because it gave her a different perspective on video games. The book is about two kids that grow up to be adults who become game designers. They slowly grow apart and the author describes this really well. I hope, reading this blog post gave you some book ideas. I love doing interviews because they give me ideas of good books to read or post about. These interview help broaden the perspective of books. Therefore, I have a few thank-yous First of all, I would like to thank Erin for agreeing to do this. Second of all, thank you for taking the time to read this. Finally, if you have any questions just comment!

As we are digging deeper and deeper into the holiday season I thought it would be nice to do some Christmas books. The book I will be talking about has been made into three different movies because it was such a hit! I've always loved this specific book because of its moral. I am also a huge fan of rhyming! The book is How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The book was made by Dr. Suess who has also made The Cat and the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Green Eggs and Ham. The book is not as funny as some of Dr. Suess's other books but he found a way to make the story lively and fun! The story is about the Grinch who hated Christmas. He hated every bit of it but he hated most of all when they all came together and sang. One year the Grinch decided to END CHRISTMAS! He stole all of the Christmas stockings, trees, and presents. He stole every food in the house only leaving breadcrumbs too tiny for a mouse. Then he was caught by a two year old girl named Cindy Lou Who. If you are interested in this book or even are just curious what happens to the Grinch I recommend you read this book The Polar Express is probably as great of a book as the Grinch. The Polar Express has won a Caldecott Medal. I personally have a signed copy of this book. The author is Chris Van Allsburg. The book is about a young boy, Chris, who wakes up in the middle of the night to see a train in front of his house. The conducter ushers him on and seats him. The train is full of kids. They all drink hot cocoa and everyone gets along. The Polar Express takes them to the North Pole. They get a chance to see Santa Claus. There Santa gives out his very first gift. Santa randomly gives one of the kids the first gift of Christmas. That random kid was Chris! Chris could choose anything he wanted. Chris picks a bell that people can only hear if they believe in Christmas. The bell was directly from Santa's sleigh. When they get back into the Polar express Chris realizes his bell is not in his pocket! The every kid on the train starts looking for it but it is no use. My only problem with this book is that if you see a train pull up to your house DO NOT GET INTO IT. If you are curious how the book ends I recommend you read the book. Thanks for reading and happy holidays.

The holidays have been crazy and I've been meaning to post, but I've had trouble finding a time to blog. I read Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper. This book is about a girl, Melody, who is disabled and can't talk or walk. She has cerebral plasy. I started reading this book a while back, but I stopped reading it just because I didn't really like the book. Then, over the holidays, my cousin came into town and told me, "You should start reading that again." I started reading it again, and I really liked it! I'd say the first half of the book is all childhood flashbacks. For instance, there is one chapter about her goldfish dying because it jumped out of the water when she was young. Then the book catches up to her life at school. My favorite part of the book is when the book describes her life at school and what she does with it. Melody has a communication board which means she can point to the words she wants to say, but even then she has a very limited selection of words. It also takes her a long time to point to each word. Melody and Catherine, her aide at school, find something that might allow Melody to speak. It is called a medi-talker. In Melody's perspective: IT WAS PERFECT! Could she get it though? It was a computer, an expensive one at that too! If she could, it would change her life and the world could see how smart she was. If not, she would never be able to talk! I highly recommend this book. I really liked it because it gave me a whole new perspective on things. This book was made into a sequel Out of My Heart. Do you think Melody will get the medi-talker? Either way you can find out if you just READ THE BOOK! Thank you for reading this!!!

I have just finished a great book recommended by a friend, Hatchet. Brian Robeson's parents are divorced. He lives most of the year with his mom and he can visit his dad in the summer (not because he wants to but because that is what the court ruled). Brian couldn't wait to see his dad who lived in the oil fields of Canada. Only Brian and the pilot were in the plane heading towards Canada. All of the sudden the pilots starts complaining about chest pain. Then the unimaginable happens the pilot has a heart attack. Brian crashes in an L- shaped lake. All Brian has is a hatchet his mother had given him. A hatchet... the hatchet leads him to more. At first it seemed that he had no chance of survival. Brian has no fire, no food, and no shelter. Soon, Brian finds a nice shelter. Now it was on to food. Brian couldn't do anything without food. All of this changes Brian from a city boy skipping along the streets to a wise explorer in the wilderness. He will hear a rustle and turn towards it to find the wind. He knows the sounds of everything but still looks in that direction. Brian also has a secret chewing at him that he truly wanted to tell his dad...the divorce... the reason... his mom. Brian was riding his bike with his friend, Terry, before the divorce when he saw it happen. He saw his mom kissing another man. Brian had no idea who this was but now he would tell his dad. Only, he was in the middle of the forest and his dad was not there. He was bursting to tell but nobody was near him...nobody. He was alone. If you have any questions you can always comment below or read the book!!!

Sorry that I have not posted in a month but I have been busy. A friend recommended this book (along with another book that I posted about last week). I loved her first recommendation so much that I decided to read Unplugged. This book is turning out to be really good. Unfortunately, I have had to stop reading Unplugged mid-way through because of a book report. I can tell where the book is going, though. This book is interesting because each chapter is in another person's perspective. The book starts and ends in the main character's perspective, Jett Baranov. Jett is the son of a world famous billionaire, known for his amazing technology. Jett is a trouble maker so his Dad had to get him a guardian, well more like a babysitter, named Matt. Jett is told that he will be going to some place in the middle of Arkansas. Matt tells him that his Dad had to pull a few strings to get in. Jett's logic was that any place that you have to pull some strings to get into must be high end. It turns out the place he was really going to was The Oasis of Mind and Body Wellness. Jett is furious, The retreat includes rules that Jett despises: no pets, no meat, but worst of all the Oasis does not allow screens. This is devastating for Jett. Meanwhile there is a young girl, Grace Atwater who loves the Oasis. The one part she doesn't like is no pets. Of course she is willing to give up anything for a good time at the Oasis. This year at the Oasis is a new kid named Jett. He is practically ruining her whole Oasis experience. He whines during meditation and throws his food across the room if it's bad. He even bought a Dance, Dance Revolution machine, fireworks, and meat and sent them to the Oasis. Of courseshe can't tell any of the instructors because then they will just say " Be whole. It seems meditation has not rubbed off on him yet. Give it time. Be patient. He just needs more of the Oasis." This was what Grace wanted the least. She didn't want MORE Oasis for Jett! Surprisingly eventually Grace and Jett begin hanging out with each other, noboby would call them friends. They just hung out in the same group. This book is interesting because days pass and you get to see character's reactions to what happens. I had to stop in the middle of this book because of a book report but once I finished the other book I came right back to "Unplugged" by Gordon Korman. If you have any question suggestions or about what I should post next just comment below! Also, if you have any questions about the book I recommend You read the book.