A Snicker Of Magic

A snicker of Magic book report

By Maya Kent

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd: Felicity Juniper Pickle is no ordinary girl, although she may seem like it at first. Felicity collects something not many people collect, words. For Felicity words are everywhere. Some words dance or fly, some crawl around and some glow in the dark. Some are all different colors, shapes and designs. Felicity sees words around all sorts of things and words are always floating around people about what they are thinking or words that they want. But there is one word Felicity has never seen before, Home. That is until she moves to Midnight Gulch. Her mama has a rambling heart, and they never stay in one place for long. When they move to the town of Midnight Gulch that used to be full of magic, Felicity believes there still is a snicker of magic left. So along with her new best friend, Jonah Pickett, Felicity has to figure out how to use her words to bring back magic, and break the curse cast years ago to fix her mama’s wandering heart. So that Midnight Gulch can once again by a magical place to call home.

Dear Felicity Juniper Pickle {Flea}                                                                                             Hello Flea! I heard your spindidly story from Natalie Lloyd. She wrote a book about it! I guess Midnight Gulch won’t be much of a secret anymore. But most people think it’s all made up. I don’t though! I wish I could live in Midnight Gulch. It would be splendiferous to live in a magical town. So what is it like to see words everywhere it sounds spindidly. What is your favorite word you have ever seen? Do you still catch poems very often? All the ones you wrote were so good!

      So how long have you lived in Midnight Gulch for now? I live in Houston, TX and it seems totally different than Midnight Gulch. There is no magic and it’s huge! We definitely don’t have ice cream as good as Dr. Zooks! I would go to Midnight Gulch just to try Dr. Zooks ice cream! The blackberry sunrise flavor sounds so good! Is it true that if the blackberries taste sweet you remember good memories and if it’s sour you remember bad memories? Hopefully it’s always sweet!

     OH, I almost forgot! How is Jonah? Is he up to anymore secret projects? I think every town should have a person like Jonah {a beedle} I’ve been wondering, if you were thinking about me and saw my name floating around what does it look like? How is your family? Has your mama been painting a lot? Sorry if I’m asking too many questions, I have about a gazillion more but I’ll save those until my next letter! Well I better go. I loved your story and hopefully you are not too busy to write back! I wish I was there in Midnight Gulch BYE!                                                                                                   Love From, a fan and a friend, Maya                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

To Maya,                                                                                                                                        Hey-yo, thanks for the letter! Wow! I didn’t know someone wrote a book about our story in Midnight Gulch! That is spindidly! To answer your question, it is very splendiferous to see words everywhere! I can’t even really explain it, it makes the world a whole lot more colorful and interesting for me. And every day I see lots of words that I’ve never seen before. I try to write them all in my blue book but if I don’t have that with me I write them on my shoes! I have so many words I love I don’t think I could pick a favorite! Hope is one of my favorite words. It’s red and very pretty, but spindidly and splendiferous are awesome too! Yes, I still catch poems a lot. It comes easy to me since words are everywhere. My little sister, Frannie Jo, always wants me to catch poems for her.

      I’ve lived here in Midnight Gulch for almost a year now. I really can say it’s my home. So now when I introduce myself I don’t have to say my name is Felicity Juniper Pickle and I’m from here and there and all across the world. Now I can say I’m Felicity and Midnight Gulch is my magical home. Yes, Dr. Zook’s ice cream is one of the best parts of Midnight Gulch! The blackberry sunrise is delicious {when it’s sweet} but it took me a while to have the courage to try. Now I’ve learned how to forget the bad memories and only remember the good.

      Oh and Jonah is great, he actually wanted me to meet up with him today because he has an extra special secret project to tell me about, so I better finish up this letter. Yes, I agree it’s very splendiferous to have Jonah, or a beedle, in our town I’m surprised that was in the book. Right when I started writing this letter I saw your name. It was flipping all around, and the letters were bold and kind of fancy. It was purple-ish, pink-ish, I guess you could call it fuchsia, and it had gold sparkles. It was very pretty!  My family is spindidly and yes mama has been painting a lot, it’s great! It is fine that you are asking a lot of questions. I do the same thing, it’s how you learn things.  Well, I better go meet up with Jonah now! Please write back! I hope your day is as good as blackberry sunrise! 

               

  ~Felicity Juniper Pickle {Or just Flea}                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                         

A Mango Shaped Space

“A Mango Shaped Space” is about a girl named Mia and her experience with synesthesia. Synesthesia is the mixing of two senses. So in Mia’s case, she sees color and shape when she hears noise, or music, and black and white words have color. Also, names have color as well. Mia figures out about her synesthesia and learns more about, while dealing with school, life and a horrible loss.

Voice recording starts: 

“Hello?” “Is this on?” “Ahem” “Okay” “My name is Mia Winchell and I am 13 years old.” “And I have a thing called synesthesia” “It’s like different senses that mix with each other.” “Or at least, that’s what Dr. , I mean Mr. Jerry said.” “And, I didn’t tell my best friend about it, and she got super mad at me” “So then, I told her and she got, yet again, super mad at me” “Sometimes, I just don’t understand people”

(In background)“Mia!”

“Just a sec mom!” (Voice recording ends)

Voice recording starts again:

“Okay, sorry, had to help my mom” “Anyway, I started going to these acupuncture sessions, and they were amazing!” “I saw colors and auras I didn’t even know existed!” “I also went to a synesthesia meeting and got to meet people who were just like me!” “Except, some people had different forms of synesthesia.” “And guess what?” “Most of us are left handed! ”It’s apparently a thing for people who have synesthesia. ”And, I think this boy , Billy, has synesthesia too.” “But his mom doesn’t believe me.” " I'm going to try to talk to her some more and convince her"“Anyway, got to go, I will talk to you soon!” “Mia Winchell, out” 

The Mighty Miss Malone

                                                  The Mighty Miss Malone

                                                    Book Report


Summary:  The Mighty Miss Malone is about Deza Malone, her older brother, and her parents during the Great Depression.  They live in Gary, IN. But Deza's father goes to Flint, MI in search of work. When the rest of the family doesn't hear from him they move there also. Deza, her mother, and her  brother end up in a camp in Flint where they are hungry and homeless. Deza's Brother, who has an amazing singing voice, leaves the camp one day hoping to make some money as a performer. This captivating story shows the struggles and hardships of African American families during the Great Depression.

 (Monologue telling of the characters expieriences) 

 Deza Malone

      May 1936

 One day I woke up very early in the morning to the sound of someone bumping around downstairs.  I went down and saw that Father was up already, and then I saw that mother had come down also. “Why are we all up so early?” I asked. Father told me that he was going fishing with some friends of his in Lake Michigan. When he said they were going to the lake mother threw a fit. She said it was way too dangerous to go fishing in a boat on the lake. But he went anyways saying that we would have some wonderful fish for dinner that night.  That evening I was waiting for father to come home, and I was starting to worry. Finally a knock sounded on our door.  At first I thought it was Father, and I was getting ready to scold him for making us worry. But then I thought, why would Father be knocking? I opened the door and it was Mrs. Henderson, the wife of one of Father’s friends. She told Mother that her husband wasn’t home yet either. She had talked to the wives of the other men and none of them had come home yet. Mother and Mrs. Henderson rushed to get our friend Mr. Rhymes because he is one of the few people that own a car.  And they all went searching for the men. At 8:00 Mother got back home.  She stepped out of the car and I noticed that she had been crying.  

Test for A Wrinkle in Time

Test for A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Summary of the Book

Meg Murry was the oldest child in her family. She had three brothers, two of which were twins. Their names were Dennys, Sandys, and Charles Wallace. One day, she, Charles Wallace, and a boy named Calvin, tessered (traveled through space) with three strange ladies to save Meg’s father from IT, a giant controlling brain with the power to destroy planets. Meg encountered many creatures on her journey. In the end, Meg saved her brother from IT and brought her father back home.

True or False

1.              Charles Wallace was the hero.

(False)

2.              To keep from being hypnotized by IT, Meg sang  “Georgie Poorgie”.

(True)

3.              The planet of Camazotz was full of chaos.

(False)

4.              Meg used magic glasses to break into her father’s cell.

(True)

5.              IT sometimes calls ITself “The Happiest Sadist”.

(True)

Multiple Choice

1.              Who were Mrs. Whatzit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which?

A.     Old people

B.     Guardian angels

C.     The police

2.              Which planet did Meg and her friends tesser to first?

A.     Camazotz

B.     Tatooine

C.     Uriel

3.         What really was IT?

           

A.     An purple elephant

B.     A giant brain

C.     A spiky haired man

4.         What happened to Meg when she tessered through The Black Thing?

A.     She froze

B.     She burned up

C.     She became another Black Thing

5.   How did Meg save Charles Wallace from the clutches of IT?

A.     By loving him

B.     By pulling him away from the planet

C.     By bribing him with a hamburger

Essay Questions

1.              When IT was throbbing in a hypnotizing rhythm, how did Meg resist it?

She sang many songs with different beats, and by doing so, resisted the rhythm of IT.

2.             When Meg and her friends landed on Camazotz, what did Mrs. Whatsit give to Charles Wallace and Meg?

Mrs. Whatsit gave Charles Wallace a stronger power to communicate with people and gave Meg her faults.

 3.              Describe a tesseract.

The first dimension is a line. You would square that line and then it would be a flat square. That’s the second dimension. To make the third dimension you would then square that square and you would have a cube. Square it again and then you would have a cube in a cube for the fourth dimension. The fourth dimension is called Time. Square it one last time and you would have a tesseract.  In the book they used a tesseract to travel between two places more quickly than going in a straight line (like a wrinkle).

4.              When Meg saved Charles Wallace from IT, what did Meg learn about herself?

Meg learned that she was smart and useful, and that her family needed her.

5.              What was the fault of Charles Wallace that led to IT controlling him?

He was too confident of himself, and because of this, he willingly entered IT to find out about his father.

Regarding the fountain: A book report by Libby Alley

Dear friend,

Today I just read a really good book called "Regarding the Fountain", by Kate Klise. It's about a middle school that needs a new drinking fountain, and the principal writes to a fountain designer in California about it. The stories are told by combining letters, notes, and newspapers to make a story. The illustrations tell a lot, and it is very fun to read! I think you would really like to read it!

Love,

Your pal

Dear pal,

I did read the book, and I couldn’t put it down! It was so creative, and I really like that it has kids in it that we can relate to! One of the characters is called Wally Russ, and if you think about it, if you say “Wally Russ” fast, it sounds like Walrus! There also was a kid named Tad Poll! It was so funny! You were right about this book being good! I loved it!

Love,

Your friend

BREAKING NEWS!

There is a new book called “Regarding the fountain” that everyone is reading! It is a school story that is funny, cute and enjoyable! Riots are breaking out in libraries as people try getting their hands on the book everyone loves! The Mayor promises to get enough books shipped in for everyone.

Dear Teacher,

I’d just like to thank you for recommending “Regarding the fountain” for my daughter. She doesn't like reading very much, but I have never seen her read as much as she does when she reads this book! (I might even read it myself sometime!)

From, A Grateful Mom

Creative Book Report! DUE 4/22

Hello A Dozen Pencils!

Our next assignment will be a creative book report.  Below are some prompts to get your creative juices flowing.  (You don't have to use one of these, but are welcome to.)  This book report can be about any book you have read and is approved by your teacher (mom).  Really think about how you can write your creative report in such a way that would make others want to read the book too!

I would like everyone to be able to read a quick synopsis of the book prior to reading your report, so that it may be better understood.  So please include a short summary at the beginning of your post before your creative assignment.  (If the assignment is involved and lengthy, I am not at all opposed to copying the summary of the book from an outside source- I leave this up to your teacher- again, your mom- to decide what you are allowed to do.)  Please also be sure to include title and author of the book, of course!  DUE APRIL 22nd- but please feel free to post it as soon as you're ready!

Creative Book Report Ideas

•Make a paper doll likeness of one of the characters in the book you read. Design at least threes costumes for this character. Next, write a paragraph commenting on each outfit; tell what the clothing reflects about the character, the historical period and events in the book.

•Choose an interesting character from your book. Consider the character’s personality, likes and dislikes. Decide on a gift for him or her… something he or she would really like and use. Design a greeting card to go along with your gift. In the greeting, explain to your friend from the book why you selected the gift.

•Write the copy for a newspaper front page that is devoted entirely to the book you read. The front page should look as much like a real newspaper page as possible. The articles on the front page should be based on events and characters in the book.

•Pretend that you are one of the characters in the book you read. Write a monologue of that character telling of his or her experiences.

•Make a test for the book you read. Include 10 true-false, 10 multiple choice, and 10 short essay questions. After writing the test, provide the answers for your questions.

•Write a scene that could have happened in the book you read but didn’t. After you have written the scene, explain how it would have changed the outcome of the book.

•Write a diary as the main character would write it to explain the events of the story. Must have at least 5 entries.

•Write a letter to the main character of the book. Write the letter he or she sends back.

•Write the plot of the story as if it were a story on the evening news.

•Rewrite the story for younger children in picture book form.

•Write an obituary for one of the characters. Be sure to include life-time accomplishments.

•Suddenly the book becomes a best seller. Write a letter to a movie producer trying to get that person interested in making your book into a movie. Explain why the story, characters, conflicts, etc., would make a good film. Suggest a filming location and the actors to play the various roles. YOU MAY ONLY USE BOOKS WHICH HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES.

•Write a feature article (with a headline) that tells the story of the book as it might be found on the front page of a newspaper in the town where the story takes place.

•Create a mini-comic book relating a chapter of the book.

Why Technology Is Harmful For Kids

Why Technology IS  Harmful For Kids

By Maya Kent

Do you ever wonder why lots of kids never come outside? Well, the answer is technology. If you look around most kids are on their phones, tablets or other devices. Do you think this is good for them? Technology has many benefits to it, but it also has tons of things that are harmful to kids. Technology is not safe, it can change the way you act and kids are addicted. And these are just a few of the reasons why technology is not so great for kids.

One of the biggest reasons technology is bad for kids is because of how much they are on it. Kids get addicted and are constantly on devices playing video games, texting and much more. If they used it in moderation technology would not be nearly as bad, but that is not the case. Kids from the age of 8 to 18 are on technology and average of seven and a half hours a day, and the number is increasing. And it’s recommended to be on it only two hours a day. One of the reasons of obesity these days is kids don’t get enough exercise while they are inside on technology. 31% of kids are overweight, that is triple the amount from when our parents were little.

  Also since kids are addicted they miss out on other things like reading, which develops critical thinking, problem solving and vocabulary. And  playing outside which is essential for kids. Play is very important because it helps your brain develop and it lets children use their imagination and be creative. But now most kids don’t play that often because they are too busy on technology. What did you like to do when you were younger? I have so many memories of playing outside all day, building teepees, climbing trees, riding bikes. What memories will kids now have when they grow up, sitting inside playing video games?

Did you know that technology can actually rewire your brain? When you are on it too much it can change the way you think, act and it can affect your mood. Kids can have a hard time developing social skills and because they can always look things up they are not as good at remembering things.  

Technology is also not a very safe place for kids to be spending so much time on. Yes, technology has good things to it also, like it’s easy to access information, but it is also easy for kids to access inappropriate content. Whether its song lyrics, websites or a post on social media, it’s way too easy for kids to find something that is not appropriate. So one more big reason technology can be harmful is that there is not a lot of safety for kids.

Now that I have named a couple harmful aspects to technology does it still seem so good? Technology has changed the world in many ways both good and bad. Now it’s so much easier to communicate with people and you can do lots of cool things with technology, but overall in the way kids use it it’s harmful. And being unsafe, rewiring your brain, and getting addicted are just a few negative things. So stop reading this essay, go outside and do something!  

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus

http://learningworksforkids.com/2015/07/how-much-time-do-kids-spend-with-technology/

http://stateofobesity.org/obesity-rates-trends-overview/

  http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182