Book #30                  Words: 30600                     

Title: Tell me about?                                                          Author: Bounty Books

Genre ~ non-fiction  

• Opening Sentence: Who were the Franks?

• Favorite word / phrase / sentence:

none (non-fiction)

• Vocabulary and new terms (with part of speech) and definition:

Trident: (noun) a three-pronged spear, especially as an attribute of Poseidon (Neptune) or Britannia.

Reflection, Connection & Personal Response: 

Tell me about, a nonfiction book written by Bounty Books is based on history and significant events that happened in different countries. I really like the way this book is written, because it answers to exactly 100 questions with solid facts and supporting details about the topic. Another reason why this series is my favorite nonfiction series is because it has very clear and informative diagrams that help the readers understand the facts more thoroughly. Lastly, because the questions are catagrorized into 6 chapters, which are: history and events, the animal kingdom, general knowledge, the plant world, the human body, space and technology, it was easier for me to read about the areas that I’m most interested in. One of the most interesting facts that I’ve learned from this non-fiction book is about the tools that early explorers used for navigations. An astrolabe, an instrument used by early astronomers and navigators, measures the angles of celestial bodies above the horizon. Also, over the centuries, maps became more accurate as people explored the world and developed better ways to make maps.

Book #28,29                    Words: 123485                     

Title: The Enchantress Returns (The Land of Stories)                                                                Author: Colfer, Chris                 

Genre ~ Fiction, Science Fiction      

• Opening Sentence:

The East was in a period of great celebration.

• Favorite word / phrase / sentence:

“Any one can have a once-upon-a-time or a happily-ever-after, but it’s the journey between that makes the story worth telling.”

• Vocabulary and new terms (with part of speech) and definition:

spiteful:  (adj.) showing or caused by malice

Reflection, Connection & Personal Response: 

The Enchantress Returns, written by Chris Colfer, is part of The Land of Stories series, that is a story revolving around Alex and Connor Bailey, who are the 2 main characters. The beginning of this book was more about Alex and Connor figuring out how they’ll get back to the fairytale world, because they don’t have the book to jump through the portal. Personally, I think the beginning of this book was too slow, because there weren’t any significant events that happens with Alex and Connor, but towards the end of the book, everything got really exciting and I absolutely loved it. When the story starts, the twins are in their normal world, and it’s been a year since the events of the wishing spell has happened. Alex and Conner tend to be quite depressed at the beginning because they really want to go back to the fairy tale world. While that is happening, a lot of crazy things are going on in the fairytale world, because the enchantress from Sleeping Beauty is back.  The enchantress wants to take revenge on both the fairytale and the real world, and the only way to do this is to cast the spell in order to create a portal between the 2 worlds. She does this by collecting items, just like the first book. Eventually, Alex and Conner go back to the fairytale world and get involved to stop the enchantress. Even though I’m in love with this series, I think some of the parts in this book is too similar to the previous one. For example, the enchantress and the twins go through a very similar fight to collect all of the items required. 

Book # 26,27                      Words: 118460                     Date: May 31, 2015  

Title: The Mysterious Benedict Society                                                                Author:  Stewart, Trenton Lee                         

Genre ~ Fiction, Science Fiction      

• Opening Sentence:

In a city called Stonetown, near a port called Stonetown Harbor, a boy named Reynie Muldoon was preparing to take an important test.

• Favorite word / phrase / sentence:

” “Really?” Kate gazed at him with shining eyes. She was deeply touched. ”

• Vocabulary and new terms (with part of speech) and definition:

Emitted(verb): produce and discharge

Reflection, Connection & Personal Response: 

The Mysterious Benedict Society is an absolutely wonderful book that I found very interesting to read. It’s mainly about Reynard Muldoon or Reynie, who passes through stages of tests that are for “gifted children looking for opportunities.” He eventually meets a boy named Sticky Washington and two girls who are Kate Wetherall and Constance Contraire. This book captures a story about these children who help one another throughout the test until they reach the last stage. I really like how the author brought out the importance of teamwork between these friends, and how they communicate with each other in order to take appropriate steps. This is actually my second time reading this book, because first of all, I really liked this book when I first read it, and second of all, I couldn’t really remember what this series was about, so before reading the second book, I decided to make sure I understand and remember what this story is based on. I have very similar opinions and thoughts that came to my mind as I read this book twice, and of course, I think the author came up with fantastic ideas related to mystery and puzzle that influenced the story by producing a very strong and unusual theme followed by a very well-chosen plot. Another point that I want to talk about is that each character that appears in this book has their own characteristics, and I could relate this to real life, because students are often expected  to interact with each other very well because of school projects that require them to work and communicate with each other and produce a thorough job.