Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author: Roald dahl

Publisher: Penguin Group
Number of pages: 155

Place and year of publiction: 345 Hudson street, New York, NY, USA, 2005

Found in: Christian Heritage School Library

Story Review:

Charlie Bucket lived in a small house at the corner of a big city with his 4 grand parents and 2 parents. There were only two bedrooms in the house. The first bedroom his four grandparents shared a bed and the room. The second bedroom, Mr and Mrs. Bucket and Charlie shared the room and the bed. Mr. Bucket was the only person in the family who had a job. He worked at a toothpaste factory screwing toothpaste caps on, even though the job did not pay enough to feed seven people. They could only afford bread and margarine for breakfast, boiled potatoes and cabbage for lunch, and cabbage soup for supper. Every year when it was Charlie`s birthday, he received a chocolate bar as a gift. Charlie loved chocolate and that was his favourite thing in the world. everyday when charlie walks to school he goes by Willy Wonka`s chocolate factory. Willy Wonka`s factory was the best factory known. Everyone indulges themselves with the hundreds of different types of chocolate bars. Ever since Wonka`s workers tried to steal the recipes of his special chocolate bars, nobody has ever entered the factory.


One day Willy Wonka randomly put 5 golden tickets in his chocolate bars. He announced that whoever finds those golden tickets will get the chance to get a grand tour of his chocolate factory and get a lifetime supply of chocolate. This announcement got people all over the world go crazy!Everyone was on the hunt, looking for the golden tickets. Who will be the 5 lucky people to win the most amazing historical event of all times? What adventures and mischief will they run into?

Christian Perspective:

We as Christians are supposed to be humble and gracious to others. Charlie, in this book, was really humble. He always thought of people before he did of himself. He always offered to share his chocolate bar with his family when he got one for his birthday. Charlie's parents always tried to feed him a little bit more than everyone else in the family, but Charlie always refused. He was there for his family. Even though he isn't Christian, Charlie showed good character.

My Thoughts:

I chose this book because the title caught my eye. The first word that I saw was chocolate and I decided to read it. It's an engaging book and it keeps you hungry. There were themes of greed, anger, jealousy, joyfulness and of course CHOCOLATE! I recommend this book to people who love chocolate as much as I do! Have a blast reading and make sure you have food nearby!!

90 Minutes In Heaven

Title: 90 Minutes In Heaven

Author: Don Piper

Publisher: Revell

Place and year of publication: United States of America, 2004

Number of pages: 206

Where you found this book: Public Library

Story Review

At the moment the truck impacted the car, Don finds himself standing in heaven surrounded by a brilliant light. A large crowd of people were standing before a large gate. The crowd moves toward Don, and he begins to recognize people he knows. The first person he sees is his grandfather, Joe Kulbeth. Joe embraces Don with a strong hug, as Don remembers riding in an ambulance with his Grandfather and then receiving the news that Joe had died. Many others crowd in to embrace and welcome Joe. A childhood friend killed in a car accident greets him; Don's great-grandfather appears, as does his great-grandmother and several school teachers. Don realizes that each of these people have played a role in his own Christian walk.

Don Piper dies in a horrific car accident. Ninety minutes after his death, Don Piper begins singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" inside his crushed car. In what can only be explained as an amazing miracle fueled by intense faith. Don Piper dies and then lives again after spending ninety minutes at heaven's gate. For the rest of his life, Don will try to come to terms with why he was allowed to experience the comfort of heaven only to be sent back to earth. In this book there are themes of prayer and faith. This book is called 90 minutes in heaven because Don was in heaven for 90 minutes.  

Christian Perspective

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 28:11 We as humans have plans and goals for ourselves, and if we are followers of Christ, the plans that God has for us will come to play. Don’s plan was to go to the conference and preach, but that wasn’t God’s plan for Don at the moment. Instead he got into an accident and shattered his leg. At the same time he experienced the time of his life in heaven’s gate! God’s plan for our lives is so much better than we expect from ourselves. God’s plans for his children are good and plans that will help us grow, never to harm us. God’s plan for Don turned out to be for the better, when Don came back to life he was sharing his story and related with people who lost a loved one. Don’s story impacted many just because God had something to do with it. Make sure God has something to do with your story, because without him it’s like a sandwich with nothing in it but bread, bland and bitter.

Your Thoughts

I chose this book because I like reading stories that are true and give me knowledge.  Since I have a desire of having a good understanding of heaven, this book caught my eye. I would recommend this book to people who would like to know more about heaven.  The book is so interesting; I would like to read it again.  The reason I liked this book is due to the clearer explanation that it provides about heaven.  I want to have God in my story, and to see heavenly things outside of this world. 

Letters From a Slave Girl

Title:Letters from a slave girl

Author: Mary E. Lyons

Publisher:Simon Pulse

Place andyear of publication- New York, NY, 1992

Number of pages: 163

Where I found the book: CHS Library

The title fits the book perfectly. The book is about a girl, Harriet, who is a slave. She writes letters to her family and to the man she loves.

There were themes of slavery, depression, hope, and racism in the book.

The author is plotting the book from what happened first to what happened later. There wasn’t a lot of jumping around from time periods to another; it was all chromatically in order

SUMMARY

HarrietJacobs was born into slavery; it was the only life that she knew. When hermistress, Margaret Horniblow, who taught Harriet to read and write (veryunusual practice), becomes ill on her deathbed, Harriet has hopes that she willbe set free. But when it comes time to read the will, she’s devastated thatshe’s instead being gifted to Miss Horniblow’s three-year-old niece. With hernew mistress being so young, she falls under the control of Dr. Norcom and hiswife Maria.

It isn’t long before Dr. Norcom begins making sexual advances on Harriet, even to the point of building Harriet her own cottage to be out of the house from his wife. Harriet begs to be married to a free black man, but Dr. Norcom becomes enraged. Thinking that if she becomes pregnant with a white man’s baby, Dr.Norcom will sell her, she does just that not once but twice. When she realizes that he plans to sell her two children to a plantation owner, she knows thatshe must take matters into her own hands.

She does manage to trick Dr. Norcom to selling the children who are then purchased by their white father, who although is a kind man, doesn’t set them free.Harriet then sets her eyes on her own escape to freedom. Harriet runs away and leads Dr. Norcom to believe that she has fled north, but in all actuality she is hiding in a crawlspace at her grandmother’s house. She lives in this tiny crawlspace for SEVEN years watching her children, unbeknown to them, through a peep hole in the wood. She eventually does escape to the north and is able to be reunited with her children and become a force in the abolition movement and writing her autobiography.

Christian Perspective

Harreit and her family were somewhat Christians. They knew there was a God and they also mentioned about him in the book. They were slaves and people who hated them owned them. The owners could do anything they wanted to do with their slaves, so that didn’t give the slaves a lot of freedom. Harriet’s family knew some of their owners were pastors, but because of what they were treated like by them, it didn’t quite convince them. The slaves weren’t allowed in the upper part of the churches. They got the run down basement, but they used it anyway. Looking at this book at a Christian perspective, this book teaches me a lot. Hope is a big part of Christianity and also was to the slaves. Hope is what kept them going every day. We as Christians believe in a God that we can’t physically see and some slaves like Harriet believed in God and believed in freedom to come. Harriet dealt with things in a mature manner and a miner that id Christ like. When Dr.Norcom was threatening her and her children, she held them close and prayed. She always cared of the well beings of others, and will do anything to take care of someone else. She hid from everyone for 7 years to protect her children!! Her children didn’t know about her until it was safe for them to. To me I think that is genuine behaviour. God was with her and her family and the hope of freedom became reality!

My Thoughts

I chose this book because I liked the topic and I like realistic fiction books. This book was a real story and it actually happened which made to like it even better. This book is really good and I really enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this book to a person who would like to learn more about slavery and how it affected people. Even though it was a bunch of letters put together it told astory which I enjoyed.

PERSEVERANCE!!!

With perseverance you will have a reason and a purpose to live through surviving alone. Perseverance will always tell you to keep on going and to never give up, so no matter what you do you will have a reason to find what you are looking for. Food and water will quench you for awhile but perseverance will give you the mentality to go on and look for more food. When Chuck was tyring to make a fire, he failed a lot of times, and if he gave up he wouldn't have a fire, but because he kept on trying he ended up in success. Chuck was on the island for 1460 days, imagine if Chuck gave up on any of those days, he would die, but again perseverance got him through. He looked for a reason to live and he got it. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is courage to persevere that will count(Winston Churchill)."

Pictures Of Holls Woods

Pictures of HollisWoods!!

Title: picture of holliswoods

Author: Patricia ReillyGiff

Publisher: ScholasticInc.

Place and year ofpublication: 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 2002

Number of pages: 166

Where I found the book:CHS library

Pictures of Hollis Woodsby Patricia Reilly Giff is an emotional story about a little girl searching fora family. This book has themes of joy, sadness, sympathy, and adventure! HollisWoods was left with nothing, nothing but the news paper she was lying on andthe note that said to name her Hollis Woods when she was 10 days old. HollisWoods is abandoned as a baby and spends her life being sent to various fosterhomes. Her story alternates between the time she spends with Josie Cahill andthe summer she spent with the Regan family, who wanted to adopt her. Picturesof Hollis Woods is a heart-warming novel about a troubled girl finding a familywho will love her.

She was known as a "mountain of trouble" because she wasalways running away from the homes she was sent to if she didn't like them. Shenever goes to school and has just found a home shelikes. Her foster parent was Josie Cahill and she as an old artteacher who is losing her memory and now Hollis must be taken away from her. She also was sent to another home she reallyliked over the summer. That was the Regan family.

Inthe Regan family there was Izzy who was the mother, the Old Man who was thefather, and Stephan who was the son. Hollis got along with everyone in thefamily. She could always talk to Izzy who would make candyand try to keep things under control. The Old Man and Stephan were alwaysfighting but still loved each other. Stephan and Hollis made very good friendsand were always doing everything together. She mentions Stephan a lot in herflashbacks. Now there's a new addition to the family, her name is Christina andis a six-week-old baby girl that Izzy just had. Christina made the family complete for Hollis.

"Themustard woman." She's the one who is arranging homes for Hollis. She hasearned the name the mustard woman from Hollis who saw her for the first timewith a large mustard stain on her sweat pants. Hollisisn't too fond of her because she's going to take Hollis away from Josie.Hollis is actually happy with Josie and isn't considering running away from heranytime at all. She's setting her up with another home because of Josie'smemory problem. BUT... will Hollis get to stay with Josie? Is Hollis’ searchfor the perfect family over? Pictures Of Hollis Woods.....

Christian Perspective

Hollishas gone through a lot in her life. The one thing everyone needs is a family,someone to love them and care for them. Hollis thought she didn’t have that,but what she didn’t know is that God is with her wherever she goes. That’s thesame with us, when times of trouble come we need to turn to God and He will bethere for us. Nothing here on earth will satisfy us in anyway, even though itmight seem that way at the time. Heavenly things always will over power earthlythings! Depend on nothing and nobody except God! God is the one guaranty ofsatisfaction!!!

My Thoughts

Ireally liked this book, this book taught me to appreciate the family that Ihave! This book was recommended to me by our school librarian, and I turned outliking it! I would recommend this book to someone who is searching for the “perfect family” or someone who needs encouragementof hope for finding the family!! What each person`s thoughts on a perfectfamily is different. Maybe you come from a family with one parent or even noparents. I never stop to think on how lucky I am to have both my parentstogether. Even if I don’t think my family is perfect I still know that withthem I would probably be on the streets. A prefect family to Hollis was peoplethat she liked. She had been to many foster homes that she can`t keep track ofhow many she has been in. I think there is no such thing as a ``perfect family``, all families havesome flaws, some bigger than others and some even more noticeable that others.But all that doesn’t matter, what matters is that you have some that caresabout you. Even if you don’t think so there is someone out there that cares foryou!!

The "Colonel" AKA Villian

I’m a weird sophomore that is anxiously exuberant all the time. I never get the chance to tell a synopsis of my hyperbole story to the colonel who actually is villain who eats quesadilla all day while wearing his beige vacuum costume and bouquet of flowers in his hand. The colonel and the accompaniment of his superintendent are beneficial to have in the town because they discipline the unnecessary graffiti by the parliament done by caffeine filled sophomores like me. Everyone in the town should have figured it out by now, if they could disentangle their brains. The colonel is truly the villain, this is no phenomenon. The possessive colonel is making his people into teriyaki quesadilla loving, evil minded. He deceives them into thinking that it’s best to forfeit, to be half conscience and now the whole town is secretly making an allegiance to this weird minded colonel. But what can I do in another caffeine filled, half conscience, teriyaki quesadilla loving! I...I am the weird sophomore that is anxiously exuberant all the time, who am I kidding they won’t listen to me...

BETHEL

The Skin I'm In

Title: The Skin I’m In
Author: Sharon G Flake
Publisher: scholastic Inc
Place and year publication: 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, 1998
Number of pages: 170
Where you got this book: CHS library

STORY REVIEW
This book is the story of a seventh grader named Maleeka. Maleeka has very dark black skin. She used to be proud of it, but when her father died, kids started picking on her. Char, the most popular girl in the grade, makes a deal with Maleeka that if she does her homework, Char will stick up for her, and Maleeka can hang out with her. A new teacher arrives, Miss Saunders. She too gets made fun of because she has a big blotch on her face, which is a birth mark.

Every morning Char, Maleeka, and the twins Raina and Raise hung out in the bathroom. They smoked, did drugs, and gave Maleeka clothes, all before class started. All the girls at some point went into the bathrooms to smoke and do drugs. It came to a point where the principal didn't like it, so he took down all the stall doors and walls, but that didn’t stop them. Maleeka goes along with Char, and gets in trouble. Maleeka ends up having to work in the office. A boy named Caleb started liking Maleeka, but then he stops talking to her because everyone is making fun of them.

One day, Miss Saunders makes Char really mad, so Char drags Maleeka along and they go to the school, up to Miss Saunders’ class room. Char makes Maleeka light the room on fire and runs away, leaving poor Maleeka to get caught. Maleeka takes the blame at first, but then tells on Char. In the end, Maleeka and Caleb are back together and Maleeka is friends with Miss Saunders. Also, Char gets expelled and sent to a new school.

MY THOUGHTS
Even though I don’t like reading fiction, I really enjoyed this book. This is the best book that was fiction I’ve ever read! This book would be for someone who’s been insulted hurt because what race, religion, belief, strengths or weaknesses. At the beginning Maleeka was ashamed about her colour but that just brought her down. I’m black and I really am proud of it. This book related to me very much and would have been useful for my middle years, but it really shows that it doesn’t matter the way you look or dress we are all the same. Everybody has flaws, so there is no need of making fun of someone else’s when you have another type of flaw.

CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
1 Peter 4:14 says... If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of God rests on you. You can fill in the words underlined with anything else that you are insulted by. If the Spirit of God lives in you then it doesn’t matter what people say on the outside because the inside of you are gorgeous. Maleeka isn’t what the people around make her to be, you decide if you are going to believe what people say, or be who you really are. How you live in the real world should reflect who you are inside, and Jesus lives inside of us who believe in him, so we should be showing Christ like behaviour!