Reading+Log+-+Kiara

by Jack Lasenby **__The Outsiders__** by S.E. Hinton
 * __ The Mangrove Summer __**

**Genre:** fiction narrative **Plot:** There are two gangs called the "Socs" and the "Greasers". The Socs are the ones who are spoiled and get everything they want. They have good reputations around adults and never get into trouble. The Greasers are the ones who have nothing, but each other. The two gangs are enemies and they attack each other and fight a lot. Then some of the Greasers befriend some Socs and they realize they are not very different. They try to stop the annual fight called "The Rumble". **Book Location:** This book can be found on the Library Shelf in Room 33. **Response:** I did not really enjoy this book, as it contained a lot of violence, disturbing features and it was not appropriate for me. It contained a lot of slang vocabulary and inappropriate language features. **Text To Self:** I can relate to the way they felt when they realized they were very similar. However, I cannot relate to any of the other text. **Text To World:** In relation to worldwide events, people create gangs in a lot of places in the world. **Recommendation:** I do not recommend this book to anyone, as it is not interesting or appropriate for most age groups to read. **Rating:** 0.1 / 5

**__Puppy School__** by Jenny Dale

**Genre:** fiction narrative **Plot:** Dotty is the naughtiest dog in the world, according to Neil and Emily. She is too energetic and never obeys commands. No one can control her. Then, they find out she is expecting a litter. Will the pups be just as naughty as her? Or will they cause more chaos than she ever has? Neil cares for Dotty, but will he manage the rest? Dotty is Mr Hamley's dog, so Neil just can't let him down. **Book Location:** This book can be found in the School Library. **Response:** This book was overall very interesting and I think it hooks the reader in. The author has done a great job of writing it. However, it is too short and contains too many images. **Text To Self:** I can relate to Neil's feelings as I have experienced them before, but I would have handled the situation better than he did. **Text To World:** People all around the world experience what Neil experienced in this book. **Recommendation:** I recommend this book for all little children who love animals and enjoy to read short narratives and like looking at the images. **Rating:** 4 and a half out of 5

**__Double Trouble__** by Jenny Dale = = **Genre:** fiction narrative **Plot:** Sugar and Spice are two naughty dogs who are spoiled and troublesome. Once again, Neil has to care for them while their owners are away. To Neil, they are terrors who are impossible to train. Suddenly, Sugar and Spice disappear and it's up to Neil and Emily to find them! Were they dog napped or did they just go on an adventure of their own? Neil must find out, before time runs out... **Book Location:** This book can be found in the School Library **Response:** This book was really interesting, but it was too short and it had too many images. The author put a lot of thought into it and used descriptive vocabulary, and it hooks the reader in. **Text To Self:** I can relate to Neil's feelings, as I have experienced naughty dogs that seem spoiled and impossible to train. **Text To World:** In relation to this story, many people experience naughty dogs and dogs all around the world go missing. **Recommendation:** I recommend this book for little children who enjoy short novels that contain multiple images. **Rating:** 4/5

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//**__The Monday Sheepdog__**// //by Ivy Baker//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** The holidays were over. The very next day would be Ben's first day at high school. Ben couldn't wait until the next day!// //He was ready to start school and was so excited! Then it happened - all too quickly! Ben suddenly found himself running// //the farm - all alone! He was late and missed the school bus on his first day. But although Monday brought him bad luck,// //it also brought him Charcoal, his new best friend! Charcoal becomes a great help to Ben on the farm, and Charcoal and// //Ben build a special bond with each other - a friendship like no other! But when disaster strikes, will Ben and Charcoal// //be separated forever, or will Ben win his furry friend back?// //Read this book to find out!// //**Book Location:** You can find this wonderful book in Room 33's class library shelf.// //**Response:** I really enjoyed reading this book. I really like the language used because it uses a wide vocabulary and the words are not too sophisticated for young readers. Also, I like how the events are happening in various places - not all in the same setting. I think the author is very creative and really put a lot of thought into this story. I really enjoy this story and I think the author did a magnificent job in writing it. I would definitely not change anything about this story.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to Ben's feelings for Charcoal, because I experienced the same feelings for my dogs once.// //I can also relate to how Ben felt when the man wanted to take Charcoal away from him, because I once found a stray// //dog on the side of the road and I was very sad when I had to part with it and leave it to go its separate way.// //**Text To World:** I can relate to some of the events in this story that have happened worldwide because many people// //around the world find strays that they eventually have to give to the rightful owner.// //**Recommendation:** I recommend this book to people 8 - 13 years old, because people who are younger or older than// //that age range probably would not be interested in this book.// //**Comment About Book:** It is a fantastic story! It has a sweet, heartwarming plot and I would love to read it again!// //**Rating:** 5 / 5//



//__**The Twits**__// //by Roald Dahl//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** Two grumpy, grouchy, nasty, useless married people named Mr. Twit and Mrs. Twit, who have nothing better to do than play practical jokes and pranks on each other, have a family of moneys as pets, and they make the monkeys stand upside down on their heads all day. No one knew why they did this - it was ridiculous to force monkeys to stand on their heads all day and overall made the monkeys annoyed, frustrated, and angry! Mr. and Mrs. Twit also stuck glue to a tree, and each bird that landed on that tree, in that glue, would get made into a big bird pie that disgusting Mr. Twit and Mrs. Twit would greedily scoff up. Fortunately, one day, a bird named Roly-Poly warned the other birds about the bird pie they would be made into if they landed a foot on that tree, and Roly-Poly also helped the exhausted monkeys to escape from their prison cage where they would usually spend all their years standing on their head 24 hours a day. The monkeys and birds decided to take revenge on the nasty Twits. While the twits were out, the birds and monkeys did something terrible - something horribly, terribly disastrous! Life was never the same for the Twits after that. They were finally free of the terrible Twits who yelled and screamed at them all day, forcing them to stand on their heads. And the birds finally did not have to worry about getting made into bird pie. To find out what the birds and monkeys did to the Twits, read the book!// //**Book Location:** You can find this weird, wacky book at most public libraries.// //**Response:** I quite liked reading this book. It is weird and wacky and very funny! The author really wrote a lovely story and the illustrator imagined the scenes really well and drew magnificent illustrations. I think the author has a wonderful imagination, and the illustrator has a marvelous imagination, too! I would not change anything about the story because it is already a fun and hilarious story as it is!// //**Vocabulary:** It uses powerful language and vocabulary. As well, the language is not too sophisticated for young readers to read. This book used really descriptive vocabulary, such as "bristly", "slimy", "peered" and "specks" to hook the reader in and it interested me.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to how mean the twits were because I know someone who is very much like them - mean, nasty, terrible, horrid, disgusting etc.// //**Text To World:** I can relate to how the Twits' house looked when it was arranged upside down because many people in Christchurch have houses that are probably upside down (or nearly upside down) after the catastrophic earthquake disaster struck Christchurch in February 2011.// //**Recommendation:** I recommend this book for people of all ages because it is such a funny book that people of all ages would be interested in this book and would really enjoy it!// //**Comment About Book:** This is such a funny book and I would love to read it again!!// //**Rating:** 5 / 5//



//__**The Great White Man-Eating Shark**__// //by Margaret Mahy//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** This story is about a boy named Norvin. Norvin has a face that is rather the shape of that of a shark. More than anything, he loves swimming, shooting through the water like a silver arrow. But the other people swimming at the beach always get in the way. One day, he comes up with a cunning plan to clear the beach of all those annoying, frustrating people. Norvin sure does teach those boisterous people a lesson, but soon, his cunning plan backfires!// //**Book Location:** You can find this book in most public libraries and probably in the Pukekohe Intermediate school library, too.// //**Response:** I really like this book. It is funny and I think the author has really put a lot of thought into it when she wrote it and the illustrator definitely imagined the scenes well and drew illustrations that I would have definitely imagined. The author and illustrator both have great imaginations, and that is what made this such a lovely story! I would not really change anything about this book, even though it is rather boring.// //**Vocabulary:** This book did not use descriptive vocabulary, as it was written with simple basic vocabulary for little children to understand. I was not hooked in by the vocabulary and I would definitely not read it again.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to how frustrated Norvin was when the people got in his way because sometimes when I am swimming in the pools or sea, people swim into my way and it gets really annoying... and I feel really frustrated!// //**Text To World:** Many sharks have been found at beaches, and I once found a dead baby shark washed up on the beach.// //**Recommendation:** I recommend this book for people 9 years or younger, because it is funny and has a creative plot, but people who are older than 9 years of age would probably get bored when reading this story.// //**Comment About Book:** This book is quite funny and has a great plot, but I would not read it over again because it does get quite boring.// //**Rating:** 2 and 1/2 out of 5//



//__**Puppies In The Pantry (Animal Ark)**__// //by Lucy Daniels//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** Mandy's parents work at a veterinarian practice called "Animal Ark". Mandy helps them out there a lot. They have dealt with many types of animals, such as cats, dogs, monkeys and much, much more. Then a sick puppy is brought in. An ill puppy is brought in just seconds after. Then another. And another. And another one. And yet another. People are bursting through the doors, tears rolling down their cheeks, cradling young, helpless, unhealthy puppies. While Mandy's parents are tending to the poor puppies, Mandy is puzzled. "Where are all these sick puppies coming from?" she wonders. Each day, Mandy heads back to her parent's veterinarian practice, to check on the poor puppies. One day, she decides to find out what is making all those puppies so sick and get to the bottom of the mystery. After much thinking, puzzling and solving, she figures out why all those puppies are so ill. It was not a disease or flu going around - it wasn't that at all. A very horrible man was responsible for those sick puppies. He did something very terrible. Instead of trying to cure all those puppies, he sold them to unsuspecting people who had no idea they were buying sick little puppies! To find out what became of that horrid man, read this book!// //**Book Location:** You can find this book in most public libraries, and probably in the Pukekohe Intermediate school library!// //**Response:** I certainly enjoyed reading this book! Some of the events felt so real that I thought I was actually there at that moment! I enjoy hearing about the different settings, but it was a bit boring because, for most of the story, it was set at the exact same place - the 'Animal Ark' veterinarian practice! I think the author is quite creative and put quite a lot of thought into writing this story. I really enjoyed reading this story and I think the author did a fabulous job in writing it! I would certainly not change anything about this story at all.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to Mandy's feelings for the poor sick puppies, because I felt just that way when my dog was ill and in pain. I can also relate to how determined Mandy was to find who was behind the sick puppies, because, when my dog was ill, I was determined to make her better and I persevered to make her happy, as she was living her last days.// //**Text To World:** Puppies get very ill all over the world because of illnesses and diseases which are passed on to a lot of dogs, but I haven't heard of people who are selling sick puppies (luckily!)// //**Recommendation:** I recommend this book to people of all ages, but a young audience may struggle to read or understand it.// //**Comment About Book:** I really enjoyed this book. At first, when I read about the sick puppies, I was very sad, but I urged myself to finish the story, and I am glad I did because it had a happy ending and it was a marvelous story!// //**Rating:** 4 and 1/2 out of 5//



//__**Pony in the Porch (Animal Ark)**__// //by Lucy Daniels//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** Mandy Hope loves animals and she knows a lot about them, too, since her parents are vets. She is sad when Prince, a nice healthy pony, that belongs to her friendly neighbour, that she has known forever, is sold. At school, Mandy meets a snobby new girl named Susan Collins. She soon finds out that Susan Collins is the new owner of Prince! Susan wants to enter Prince in a contest at a show, but Mandy realizes that Prince is ill and not fit enough to take part in the contest. But Susan Collins is determined to make Prince win, and ignores Mandy's warnings of Prince's deadly illness! Mandy does something reckless to keep Prince from competing in the show and from getting killed. To find out what Mandy's reckless act was and if Prince is saved by Mandy's glorious efforts, read this story!// //**Book Location:** You can find this book in the Pukekohe Intermediate school library!// //**Response:** I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! Some of the events felt so real that I thought I was actually there at that moment, even though I actually wasn't. I enjoy hearing about the different settings, as there were various interesting settings that were described very well in the text. I think the author is quite creative and put heaps of thought into writing this story. I really enjoyed reading this story and I think the author did a fabulous job in writing it! I would certainly not change anything about this story at all. It is such a fabulous story!// //**Vocabulary:** This author used brilliant vocabulary that made this story very interesting to read. She used very descriptive vocabulary, like "snobby", "determination" and "threatens" and I think the vocabulary suited this story well. The vocabulary really hooked me in and made me want to read the book to the end. There is nothing I would change about the author's vocabulary choices.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to how Mandy felt when she knew Prince was ill and how determined she was to keep him from facing deadly consequences, no matter what, because my sister once put a collar around my kitten way too tight, and I just knew my little gorgeous kitten was going to choke, so I was trying to do everything possible to get her away from my kitten so I could take the collar off of her.// //**Text To World:** The same thing that Susan was trying to do to Prince happens to animals all around the world, a lot! Many animals have been abused in the world. Animals have been choked and hurt and have been forced to do things that affect their illnesses and can have fatal, deadly consequences for the animal.// //**Recommendation:** I recommend this book to people of all ages who enjoy wonderful fiction novels about friendship and animals (especially ponies) and how forcing an animal to do something it is frightened to do may have fatal, deadly, detrimental consequences on the animal's health.// //**Comment About Book:** I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely read it again!// //**Rating:** 5/5//



//__**Dolphin in the Deep**__// //by Lucy Daniels//

//**Genre:** fiction narrative// //**Plot:** Mandy and her friend Joel enjoy going to the local park to play with two tame dolphins named Bob and Bing. The two friend dolphins are completely happy together. One day, poor Bob dies. Bing is heartbroken and upset because he has lost his best friend. Joel and Mandy want to help Bing, but how can they help the poor dolphin when Bing's owner won't even let him stop working for a day! Read this sad, but truly heartwarming book to find out!// //**Book Location:** You can find this glorious novel in the Pukekohe Intermediate school library!// //**Response:** I definitely greatly enjoyed this magnificent book! The events even felt so real, I felt I was actually there at that moment! There weren't many different settings, but I still enjoyed reading this book. The events, settings and characters were described very well and the descriptive vocabulary helped paint a picture in my mind. The author did a marvellous job of writing this fantastic story and I wouldn't change anything about it at all.// //**Vocabulary:** "When Bob dies, Bing __pines__ for his best friend" is a very effective way of stating that Bob is dead and Bing misses him. This story also used a lot of descriptive writing and adjectives, such as "dilemma", "depressed" and "daring" and I think the author wrote this story very well. There are no words I would rather use to tell this story.// //**Text To Self:** I can relate to how lonely and sad Bing the dolphin was when his close friend Bob died, because I have experienced many deaths in my whole lifetime and I felt terrible! And when my closest friend, a dog named Sasha, died when I was still very young, I was overcome with sadness and loneliness and I have never stopped grieving.// //**Text To World:** Around the world, many dolphins die a year. They die of old age, of slaughter, of starvation... they die for many reasons.// //**Recommendation:** I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age who likes the famous animal ark series written by Lucy Daniels, dolphins, or both! But to read this book, you have to be able to endure reading the saddest things, like dying dolphins.// //**Comment About Book:** I really enjoyed this book, although it was really sad and made me cry!// //**Rating:** 4 and 1/2 out of 5//