Mystery at Chocolate Town

Title: Mystery at Chocolate Town
Author: Carole Marsh

What was the great mystery?
The great mystery was that a lot of silver dollars are missing!

Is Chocolate Town a real place? What can you tell us about it?
Chocolate town is a real place. It is located at Hershey, Pennsylvania.The street lamps are shaped like hershey's kisses.You can go to chocolate world and do lots of fun stuff, like make your own chocolate.  I am trying to talk my parents into taking me there soon!

You've read lots of Carole Marsh mysteries. What do you like about them? Why would other kids like them, too?
I like all the mysteries in the Carole Marsh series. I like all the actions during the mysteries and also the excitement. Other kids would like them because of the mysteries and the fun characters in the Carole Marsh series.

The Son of Neptune

Title: The Son of Neptune

Author: Rick Riordin

I give this book _5_ stars out of 5. 

I give it this rating because of the action and the characters in this story. I'd also give it this rating because the characters are taking care of each other and looking after each other.I also like the fighting and the powers in this story. Neptune is the god of the sea to the Romans. He is also known as Poseidon  in Greek. One of the most exciting action parts of the book is when a kid named Percy turned into a hurricane and knocked down row after row of monsters. Percy is a child of Poseidon.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole - Books 1-6

Book Titles: The Capture, The Journey, The Rescue, The Siege, The Shattering, The Burning

Author: Kathryn Lasky

The Good Guys... 

Soren -  Soren is a barn owl he is from the forest kingdom of Tyto. When Soren was only a hatchling, his brother Kludd pushed him out of the nest.
Gylfie - Gylfie was a elf owl from the kingdom of Kuneer. She and Soren are best friends, and they escaped from St.Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls.
Twilight - Twilight is from the kingdom of Ambala. He lives with a burrowing in a big hole. He is a good friend of Soren and Gylfie. He didn't have any training of anything. He had to train himself how to do the basic stuff like flying, hunting and other stuff.
Digger - Digger is a burrowing owl and is from the desert of Kuneer. He is living with a great gray named Twilight. He is a great friend of Gylfie, Soren, and Twilight.He is the smartest owl of the band.
Guardians of Ga'Hoole - Is a great owl tree where you learn in these different chaws, as they call them. These are the chaws: Tracking, search and rescue, colliering, navigation, and weathering. It is also where Lyze of Keil lives (a great legendary fighter.)

The Bad Guys...

Kludd - Kludd is a barn owl and is from the forest kingdom of Tyto. He pushed Soren out of the nest when they were hatchlings. When he got older, he joined the Pure Ones.
The Pure Ones - The pure ones are these bad owls who are led by Metal Beak, (Kludd). They are trying to take over the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

My Favorite Thing About the Series...
There are lots of things I love about the series, but my favorite is when Kludd gets killed by Gylfie with a ice splinter. Then everybody started to retreat because their next commander (Nyra, which was Kludd's mate) told them to, and that night their chick was born.


One Thing I Can't Wait to Find Out...
After finishing 6 of the 15 books in the series, I can't wait to find out if there will be another war between the Pure Ones and the Great Ga' Hoole tree.


It's Not Quite Like the Movie...
You may have seen the movie, and you don't think you need to read the book. Think again! Here are some ways that the books are different than the movie. In the movie Kludd and Soren end up falling out of the nest, not just Soren. In the movie, you don't realize how evil Kludd is. In the book, he is a bad, bad owl, even from the beginning. He was always jealous of Soren, and he pushed him out of the nest. Also, in the book Egglatine got shattered, but in the movie she did not get shattered. The book is also different because in the movie Soren's nest maid snake she almost became dinner, but in the book they find her while looking for something to eat.

We're Famous!

This morning, David and Tyler's blog was featured at "Figuring Out How the Pieces Fit", a blog written by a friend and fellow educator, Melissa Edwards. Check it out! They are so excited. Tyler can now officially add "guest blogger" to his resume.

Here's the link - "Looking for Clues?"

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero

by Rick Riordin



Main Characters:
The main characters in the story are Piper, Jason, and Leo. They are 3 kids. Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite. Jason is a son of Zeus. Leo is a son of Hephaestus.

Setting:
This story takes place in the past. This story happens in many places, like a Wind God's castle.

Plot:
If I am summing up what happened in The Lost Hero, I would say the problem in the story is that Piper, Jason, and Leo were on a quest. My question about the story is ''Why send 3 kids who just got to Camp Half-Blood on a quest?"  The author wrote this to teach about 3 kids who each used teamwork to free a goddess.

What was your favorite part of the story? Why?
My favorite part of the story was when Leo tamed a metal dragon because I've never known anybody who could tame a metal dragon.

If you could have changed one part of the story, which part would it have been? Why?
If I could change one part in the story, it would have been when Piper, Jason and Leo rode on the back on the back of a metal dragon. I would have changed this part because it is not safe, and I wouldn't have wanted anything bad to happen to them.

Series of Unfortunate Events - Books 1-6

Titles: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Erastz Elevator
Author: Lemony Snicket

What are these books mostly about?
These books are about three little kids named Klaus, Sunny and Violet and they are on a incredible journey after what happened to their parents and they keep running away from this man named Count Olaf. Count Olaf is after them because he wants their fortune.

What is one new word that you learned from these books? What does it mean?
One new word I learned is erastz. The meaning of this word is that it is not real. So in this story there really a elevator.

Who is your favorite character from the stories? Why?
My favorite character is Klaus because he is a reading fan and so am I. Also, he likes to try and help people.

Who is your least favorite character? Why?
One person I can't stand is COUNT OLAF!!! He is always in disguises and is threatening and lying to everybody.

Would you recommend these books to other kids? Why or why not? 
I would recommend these books because it is a great series. It is a great series because it can be really funny at some parts; and the other times, it is really scary.

Percy Jackson's Wold - Book Series

Titles: The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian

Author: Rick Riordin


What is the series mostly about?

• The series was mostly about a boy named Percy Jackson who went to Camp Half-Blood and learned to fight. He had 2 friends named Annebeth and Grover. He is a son of the sea god Poseidon. He found another friend named Tyson, who was a cyclops. He helped fight the Titan army. The god Hades and 2 other water gods helped out, too. Percy and his friends each got a wish. 

What is one interesting thing that you learned as you read?

• One interesting thing I learned is that there is a mist that makes us not be able to see what is really happening. That is how we don't know that there are gods around.

Who was your favorite character? Why?

• My favorite character is Grover. Grover is my favorite character becuase he likes to eat cans and he is really funny.

Which book of the series was your favorite? Why?

• My favorite book out of the series is Battle of the Labyrinth because Percy, Annebeth, Grover,and Tyson traveled through a maze. On there way they met a hundred-handed one.  

You can find more information at Rick Riordin's page!

The 39 Clues Series

Titles: The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, One False Note, The Sword Theif, Beyond the Grave, The Black Cirle, In Too Deep, The Viper's Nest, The Emporer's Code, Storm Warning, Into the Gauntlet, Vespers Rising

Authors: Rick Riordin, Gordan Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson Haddix


Quick Summary of the Series:
To start the series, Dan and Amy Cahill were at the funeral for their grandmother, Grace Cahill. Soon they learned that they were given the choice between $1 million dollars each or to go on a clue hunt, with the chance to find the 39 clues and to be the most powerful kids in the world. They picked to search for the 39 clues. Dan and Amy Cahill had to travel around the world with Nellie, their Au Pair, and their grandmother's cat, Saladin. They had to steal a lot of  ingredients that would make a master serum to make the kids the most powerful in the world.There were 5 branches of the Cahill family. The 5 branches of the family are Lucian, Thomas, Ekaterina, Janus, and Madrigal.At first, Dan and Amy thought the Madrigals were bad people who killed their parents. Later, they learned this wasn't true, along with a secret that surprised them. Sometimes they worked with people from different branches, and other times they worked alone. They always had to be careful and suspicious.


Why I loved the books:
I loved the books because of the mysteries, the clues and the different branches. I also liked this series because at the end, the branches worked together. I won't tell you too much about the end though. I don't want to give it all away. I thought Dan and Amy were pretty cool kids because Dan liked tombstone rubbings and Amy was very smart. I would like to be like Dan because I'd have a very good memory of everything I've ever seen. I liked learning about different places around the world and history. I can't wait to see the movie, which is supposed to come out in 2014. I wonder if it is better than the books I have read. We'll see!

Wolves of the Beyond

Title: The Wolves of the Beyond series
Author: Kathryn Lasky


A brief summary:
This is a series of five books.The main characters are Faolan, Esme, and Thunderbolt. The main issue in these books is that Faolan and his sisters get left alone after their mother has to go away. She had to go away because she was dying and couldn't take care of her kids. After their mother went away, they went to The Ring Of Sacred Volcanoes. That is where they met Esme and started learning how to leap over a volcano. Throughout the five books, the wolves face the dangers of other wolf tribes, having to move to the Beyond the Beyond, and learning how to stand up for themselves and others. They make new friends and protect one another.

Why  I love these books: It is like it taught me a lesson, and whenever I read the books it just brings me to life. The lesson was that you can't judge others by their looks. What I mean when I say that is it brings me to life if I'm depressed. It just makes my depress feel like a dream. The only thing I don't like about this series is that there are only five books! I just learned that the sixth book is coming soon. Yay!