Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: Follow the Elephant

Author: Beryl Young

Publisher: Ronsdale Press

Place & Year of Publication: British Columbia, 2010

Number of Pages: 243

Where I Found the Book: School library

Story Review:

It hasn’t even been a year since Ben Leeson’s dad died, and Ben tries to forget about it by playing computer games 24/7. So going on a trip to a foreign country with your grandma for 2 weeks is a great idea, right? Wrong! The last thing Ben wants to do is hang out with his grandma. But his mother thinks differently, she thinks it would be a great idea! So, off he goes. But this isn’t just some fun trip for tourism; it’s to find his grandma’s old pen pal Shanti, who she hasn’t heard from in 50 years, who lives in India.

When they arrive in Dehli, India their hopes are high. But they end up going on a “scavenger hunt” for Shanti all over (literally) India. Along the way they meet some people who become very good friends. Like Padam and Madhu, their cab drivers. Ben and his grandma also do some sightseeing. Such as the Taj Mahal, lots of different temples, and elephants, which are Ben’s favourite!

Ben feels like he has a connection with the elephants and he becomes very interested in Ganesh, a god with the body of a boy but the head of an elephant. Ganesh listens to children and helps them. Ben admires Ganesh very much and he asks Ganesh for help throughout their trip.

But will Ganesh answer Ben? Will they find Shanti, or are they on some wild goose chase? Even if they don’t find Shanti, Ben feels like he’s learned something. And it’s that dying is part of life so he shouldn’t be angry about it and there are just some things in life that can’t be explained.

There’s a theme of adventure throughout the whole book as Ben and his grandma search for Shanti. The book is titled “Follow the Elephant” because they feel like they’ve been following the elephant (Ganesh) everywhere they’ve gone in India and like he’s been helping them.

Christian Perspective:

Throughout the book Ben tries to figure out what happens after death. He hears of reincarnation as he travels through India but he’s not sure if it’s real or not. There are some other Hindu beliefs mentioned in this book and it’s interesting to learn what other people believe. I learned that Christians, and other religions, need to respect other religions beliefs even if they don’t believe in them. Everyone has a right to believe in whatever they want and if you’ve grown up with a certain belief it can be hard to accept something else. Ben never really makes a decision as to what happens after death but he does realize that his dad is everywhere around him. He can see him in different things, such as people. So he doesn’t have to worry about forgetting him.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and it gave some very interesting facts about India and some beliefs of other religions. I couldn’t put the book down. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next in the story. I chose this book because it sounded like a really good book and I like learning about other religions and cultures. I’d recommend this book to someone who likes adventure and realistic fiction because this book is both, and to someone who wants to learn about India because the book gives detailed facts about India throughout the story. 

Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: My Life with the Chimpanzees

Author: Jane Goodall

Publisher: Pocket Books

Place & Year of Publication: USA, April 1996

Number of Pages: 156

Where I Found the Book: School library

Story Review:

Jane Goodall herself wrote this book and she tells us her story. Jane was born in London on April 3, 1934. She lived in England with her mom, dad, and younger sister Judy, till she was 5 years old. Then they moved to France. But when WWII started it was no longer safe to live in France, so they moved back to England.

When she was 7 years old she read “The Story of Doctor Dolittle”. That’s when she decided that she had to go to Africa someday. She became very interested in animals and she started to study animals near her home- squirrels, birds, and all kinds of insects. She spent a lot of time with horses and taught tricks to her dog Buds and her neighbours dog Rusty.

After she finished school she lived with a family in Germany for a few months, because her mom wanted her to visit the country that had been their enemy during the war. When she moved back to England she went to school in London to become a secretary, because her mom had told her that secretaries could work anywhere in the world.

One day Jane received a letter from her old school friend, Clo. Clo’s parents had bought a farm in Kenya and Clo invited Jane to visit. Finally Jane’s dream had come true. She was going to Africa!

While she was in Africa she got a job. She was a secretary for Louis Leakey. Louis was an anthropologist and paleontologist (in other words, he studied animals and Early Man). When Jane had raised enough money she sent a check to her mom so she could come to Africa.

Louis Leakey had told Jane of some chimpanzees he heard of living in Tanganyika. Jane wanted to go and study these chimpanzees. Through many struggles, Jane was able to go and study the chimpanzees, and her mom was with her for a while. Jane tells us all about what she did and what she learned.

There’s the constant theme of adventure in this book as Jane talks about some amazing experiences she had in the jungle. She traveled a lot and her life was far from dull. The book is titled “My Life with the Chimpanzees” because the book is about Jane’s life studying the chimpanzees.

Christian Perspective:

Jane talks about going to church regularly and stuff like that but she never actually says that she’s a Christian. But it would’ve taken A LOT of courage to go live in the wild with the chimpanzees. Christians need that type of courage. God gives us courage like that. Studying animals in the wild also takes a lot of patience. Patience is definitely a gift from God. Unfortunately, not a lot of people have that gift. At least, that’s what it seems like.  We can learn a lot from Jane’s life.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. Sometimes autobiographies can be a little slow or boring but Jane wrote in a way that makes you want to keep going. She connects with the reader. I choose this book because I’ve heard a lot about Jane’s life and it sounded very interesting, so I wanted to find out for myself what her whole story was.  I’d recommend this book to someone who loves animals or someone who wants to work with animals when they’re older because that’s what Jane did. Almost everybody’s heard of Jane Goodall but I encourage you to read the book anyways because she has some amazing stories!

Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: The Capture

Author: Kathryn Lasky

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Place & Year of Publication: USA, June 2003

Number of Pages: 219

Where I Found the Book: School library

Story Review:

This is the 1^st book in the series of “Guardians of Ga’Hoole”. It’s about a barn owl named Soren. There have been many baby owls captured and even eggs have started to disappear. And one day Soren is snatched away from his family when he’s only a few weeks old. He and lots of other owls are taken to a place called St. Aegolius Academy for orphaned owls. While Soren is there he meets a girl elf owl named Gylfie. They become really good friends and they work together to try to find out why they were snatched.

When any owl first arrives at St. Aegolius Academy they’re given numbers to replace their names and then they are all moon blinked (which is like being brain washed). But Soren and Gylfie are smarter then anyone thinks. They figure out that the legends of Ga’Hoole keep them safe from being moon blinked and then they just pretend to be moon blinked.

But something bigger is happening then just moon blinking, something that could destroy the world for all owls. But can Soren and Gylfie escape from St. Aegolius Academy? The only way out is up and that means they have to do something they’ve never done before… fly. They need to believe in the legends of Ga’Hoole, so hopefully they’re true!

The book is titled “The Capture” because it’s all about Soren being captured and his adventures he has with Gylfie after he’s captured and taken away from his parents. There’s a constant theme of adventure and mystery in the book because of all the adventures Soren and Gylfie have and the secret of St. Aegolius Academy that they’re trying to find the answer to. There’s also the theme of friendship. Soren and Gylfie become very close and they trust in each other. They can just look at one another and know what the other is thinking.

Christian Perspective:    

I’d say this book wasn’t written from a Christian perspective but Soren dealt with his capture well. He didn’t give up even though he sometimes felt like it. We, as Christians, need that same type of perseverance. When things get tough we need to believe in God and trust in him. Sometimes that can be hard but it’s always worth it in the end. We also need the same type of trust in our friendships that Soren and Gylfie had in each other.  It’s good to have a friendship like that, where you know you can trust that person no matter what, and it can sometimes be hard to do that.

My Thoughts:

I don’t always enjoy fantasy books but this one was very well written and I couldn’t put it down. The author does a really good job with her descriptions and details. It makes you feel like you’re there. I chose this book because when I first saw it, it looked really interesting and I wanted to read it. I’d also heard good things about it from other people. You really get to know the characters as the story continues and that makes it fun to read because you can put yourself in their place. I’d recommend this book to someone who enjoys mysteries and fantasy books and someone who doesn’t mind the mention of bloody scenes because there are a couple in this book. But it’s an amazing book and I encourage you to read it!

Survival Convincing Paragraph

Would you be able to survive in the wilderness…alone? Us humans rely on others a lot. Companionship helps us survive everywhere, even in the wilderness. Companionship gives you something to live for. When you have a reason to survive you want to gather food and find shelter. Companionship also helps you to not get as lonely or depressed as you normally would. In Cast Away, Chuck was on the island for four years. Without his friend volleyball, Wilson, he wouldn’t have survived that long. Chuck wanted to survive for Wilson. So when Wilson floated away Chuck became sad and he didn’t care anymore if he lived or died. To survive in the wilderness you need companionship. 

Kourtney's Book Review

Information:

Title: Like Dandelion Dust

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Publisher: Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Place & Year of Publication: USA, June 2006

Number of Pages: 361

Where I Found the Book: At my house

Story Review:

Rip Porter has always wanted a son. After he’s released from a five year sentence to prison (for domestic violence) he finds out that his wife, Wendy Porter, was pregnant when he was in prison. But she gave up their baby boy a few days after he was born because she was scared to be a single parent and because she didn’t want Rip to hurt him. But now that Rip finally knows about his son he wants the boy back and a judges quick decision makes it possible.

Little Joey Campbell is the sweetest little boy that Jack and Molly Campbell could’ve asked for when they adopted him as a newborn baby five years ago. Joey loves his parents and couldn’t have gone to a better home than there in Florida with the Campbell’s. He’s got everything a little boy his age would want. Including his dog named Gus. But now his biological parents want him back and there’s nothing the Campbell’s can do to keep Joey. Or is there?

Jack Campbell is a very successful man and very smart. He devises a way to get out of the country and hide somewhere with Joey and Molly where no one will find them, so they can keep Joey.  His plan goes smoothly and just when it’s about to work someone or something stops them.

Will Joey stay with the Campbell’s, the only family he’s ever known? Or will he have to go live with his biological parents? 

The book is titled “Like Dandelion Dust” because when the Campbell’s are thinking of their plan to keep Joey they see Joey pick up a dandelion and blow the dandelion dust (seeds) away. That’s when they decide to disappear like the dandelion dust. It’s also titled this because in the book both families (Campbell’s and Porter’s) learn that sometimes the greatest love is in letting go - like dandelion dust. The theme of this book is family issues that get thrown at us unexpectedly and how God can help us get through them even if we don’t think it’s possible.

Christian Perspective:

This book was written from a Christian perspective.  I think that Jack and Molly Campbell could’ve relied on God more as they were going through the custody battle but as the story progressed they started to see God more clearly in what was happening to them. The Campbell’s also had very close friends who were strong Christians, and that helped the Campbell's. But I’d say that the one who trusted God the most was Joey. Even though he didn’t understand what was happening he still had a strong faith.  And he always ended his prayers with “Gee this name, amen” instead of “Jesus name, amen”, because that’s what he heard whenever someone else said it!

My Thoughts:

I chose to read this book because it sounded like a good story and very interesting and I’ve read other books by Karen Kingsbury and I knew that she was a very good author. I liked this book because it’s about something that could happen in real life and how God can always help get us through it, and also because God and Christianity were considered important in the story. It was an amazing book and I couldn’t put it down! Karen Kingsbury is a very skillful writer who puts in good details. I would encourage others to read other books written by her! I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading because it’s a longer book, to someone who likes kids because this story is about Joey and he’s only 4 ½ in the story, and to someone who likes reading realistic fiction because this is something that could happen to a family in real life.

Kourtney's Book Review

Information About the Book

Title: Sender Unknown

Author: Sallie Lowenstein

Publisher: Scholastic

Place & Year of Publication: USA 2006

Number of Pages: 258

Where you found the book: School library

Story Review

Mark is a VERY smart guy who graduated at the age of 14. Since then he has loved his job as a fix-it man. But one day, after his high school reunion, he decides to change his life in big ways.

He gets a good high paying job, a new car, and he buys a big old house. But there’s a mystery about this house. Every day (except Sundays) he receives about 15 catalogs.

All these catalogs are toy catalogs and apparently they’ve been coming to this address for 52 years. Another thing that these catalogs have in common is that none of them have a return address.

One day he decides to order out of some of them. He gets his order but it’s not quite what he expected. But there are no refunds and no returns. He tries to find an answer to the mystery of the catalogs by teaming up with an ex-cop. On the way he finds out something very interesting about himself. But will the mystery stay hidden? After all, the sender is unknown.

Christian Perspective

This book has no mention of God or Christianity. But Mark deals with his problems in a nice calm manner. He’s pretty patient with getting an answer. The thing that he could’ve done though, was to ask God for help and guidance. He also could’ve been more considerate of Elliot’s (his personal secretary) feelings, because Elliot was just trying to help Mark with his job, but it got on Marks nerves. Even though it wasn’t a Christian book there weren’t any swears or bad language in it.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s very well written and it made me want to keep reading. The author had A LOT of imagination and I think that in order to enjoy this book the reader also needs to have a good imagination. It’s a longer book so if you’re not a very big reader then it might overwhelm you a bit. It has a pretty small font size. I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read, has a good imagination, and someone who enjoys mysteries.