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!!

JOEL'S BOOK REVIEW

Title: Spy Smuggler

Author: Jim Eldridge

Publisher: Scholastic Canada

Place of Publication: Canada

Year of Publication: 2007

Number of Pages: 192 Pages

Where I found the book : Christian Heritage School Library

Story Review

This book is called Spy Smuggler because it is about a boy named Paul Lelaud who helped smuggle a spy into and out of France. This took place from 1942-1944 and was based in France in a town named Chinon. The main characters in this book are Paul Lelaud, Paul’s mother,and Paul’s uncle Maurice. The problem in this book is that the German army had occupied their town, Chinon and they have had their freedom ripped away. So Paul’s uncle Maurice brought him into a group called the Resistance, the Resistance does secret things that go against the Germans and smuggle stuff in and out of the country without the Germans finding out. So Paul joined the Resistance group and he helped bring a British spy into France. The spy found a German general that wanted to help the British so they needed a plan to get the general back to Britain so they made a plan which used two planes one was a decoy that was used to fool the Germans the next was landing in a different place and that was the plane that was picking up the spy and general. In the end the plan worked and the spy and the general got safely back to Britain and the general helped Britain quite a bit. One of the important events were when a group called the Maquis who fights for the same cause as the Resistance but instead of keeping a low profile they attack Germans and kill them, the Maquis killed three Germans soldiers and the sheriff. The Germans killed five civilians for every one soldier killed this made the people in Chinon very angry at the Maquis. The theme of this book is working together to reach their goals because all the people worked together to drive the Germans out of Chinon.

Christian perspective

I do not think that this book was written from a Christian Perspective but there are some Christ like things in this book like the people all work together to free France. There are also some non Christ like things in this book like people are always lying to each other to the point you don't know if their lying or telling the truth. People also betray each other in this book but all the lying and betraying was to keep undercover so no one finds out but that doesn't make it right.

My Thoughts

I chose this book because I like reading books that are about people who fought in the war or were involved in the war in some ways. I liked the book because it was very interesting and you never knew if the people were going to get caught or get away and it was based on a true story so that is another reason I liked it because I like realistic fiction books or books that are based on a true story. I would recommend this book to the people who like books that are based on a true story and books about people that helped the war effort.

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH

Title: Have A Little Faith
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
Place and year of publication: New York, 2009
Number of pages:  249
Where I found the book: At home

Faith, the foundation of every belief and the center of every day life is the theme of the book " Have A Little Faith". The true story begins with the journey of the author, Mitch Albom, to write the eulogy of his Jewish rabbi, when he discovers the true meaning of religion. The title "Have A Little Faith" is a calling to people of all nations, tongues and races to see beyond everyday life and believe in the power of faith.

" Will you do my eulogy?" was how it all began. To Mitch Albom, a sports reporter, it was a big surprise. To go back to his New Jersey temple and speak about the "Man of God"  that he barely knew was a huge task. But one that he can't refuse either. So, he decides that it is time for him to know Albert Lewis [ his rabbi ] as a friend and not as the figure of Judaism that he long abandoned. To Mitch, Judaism was a religion of long rituals and conservative life that he did't need. He was fine and healthy, rising the social ladder with a thriving career and making money. What else did he need? God?

Yet eight years later it's 2008, and he is still meeting with the rabbi. He had become his friend. Albert Lewis no longer reminded him of his childhood memories in the synagoge. Mitch saw the man in a new light. No longer as a man of religious authority that he saw on Saturdays. The meetings with Albert changed his life and perspective on Jewish faith and opened his eyes to other faiths too. In fact, he even met another man of faith like Albert Lewis called Pastor Covington. Henry Covington wasn't your average church leader. He accepted Christ behind a garbage can in a New York alley begging for God's mercy from the drug dealers who were out to kill him. But when Mitch saw the peace and love in Albert's and Henry's hearts something deep down changed in his life, something that he never had experienced before.

A year later, as he stood in the synagoge in memory of Albert Lewis, he realized what this journey had taught him. The value of his life isn't tied to his materialistic accomplishments, but to making this world a better place. After seeing Albert Lewis and meeting Henry Covington he regretted all the times that he didn't appreciate his own faith. The times when he walked away from his culture, his heritage, and most of all when he walked away from God. But this time he learned his lesson well, he wasn't going to leave God again. Both of these men had left the world a better place than it was before them, and for that their legacy of love and faith will live on.

Christian Perspective:

In my opinion, this book is not written from a Christian perspective, but from a Jewish perspective. Mitch Albom uses his Jewish background throughout the book to convey his ideas. Most of the conversations with Albert Lewis recorded in the book included a lot of Jewish morals and ideas. But, Mitch Albom himself acted in a Christ-like manner by trying to help Pastor Covington's church and by being at Albert's side until the end.

My Thoughts:

 This book is incredible. I enjoyed reading every chapter and connecting with the author's thoughts and ideas very much. I was amazed to discover that some of the Jewish ideas conveyed in the book are similar in a way to Christian beliefs. I was also impressed to see that the author talked about the way Christ had changed the life of Henry Covington eventhough he personally did not believe in Jesus. Even more, I  like the fact that Mitch Albom wrote this book from an open-minded perspective, and  did not judge the beliefs of others. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in faith and religion, since it provides a great variety of ideas and perspectives that really are worth looking at no matter what you believe in.

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. 

Hachiko

the boy is 6 years old kentero he want to meet has dad in the train station. ha see the dog he looked heaithy and strong. has older was "Dr,ueno works wats kenteras dad he asks Dr ueno the dog's neme. this is Hachoko. Hachoko wats for Dr ueno at the train station every afternoon. he went to the train staion every afternoon and brought tiachoiko a snack in his pockeea one day kentara asks his dad, "whare is Dr ueno ? he see that his father is alone. Dr, ueno had died that marning kentero asks what will happen to Hachoiko Dr, uno's family take him in. Hachiko is taken sereralmiles away to live with Dr, ueo's family. A few days later Hachoiko is dack at the train station comes everydoy and kontaro feeds him other people liked Hachiko too. Mr , kobayashi. was or ueno's gardener. he talked to kentaro and he thought hachiko came everyday to remember Dr, ueno's years went by a Hachiko got old people collected money and made a statue of Hachiko. Hachiko died when kentaro was seventeen years old. todoy the statue of Hachiko is a famous meeting place for people.

Book Review:Nava

Title: After Ever After

Publisher:Scholastic Press

Place and year of publication:New York, 2010

I found his book at Christian Heritage School

Genre:Non-fiction

-Story Review-

After Ever After is a book about thirteen year old Jeffrey Alper,who is a cancer survivor. He cant participate in phys.ed. because of the nerve damage in his right foot that makes him limp. So he gets to ride the bike. He is a serious bike guy so every year he bikes twenty five miles to raise money in a Bike-a-Thon for cancer survivors.

Jeffrey's older, responsible, caring, non-rebelling brother Steven has gone off to Africa for a drumming circle. He tries to keep in touch with Steven, but Steven is tired of taking responsibility after his little brother. Jeff is helping his best friend Tad, who also had cancer, prepare for a secret, surprising plan for their grade eight graduation, Jeffrey and Tad had always been seen as the cancer twins since becoming friends in grade four.

He is also very focused on this beautiful,smart, funny girl named Lindsey Abraham,popular new girl in his grade eight class, who might even like him too. It all happened in the morning of the first day of school in New Jersey, when he sees this girl crouched down gathering her stuff all over the floor, Jeff thinks she will be late for class and if he didn't help she would get walked all over by the people in the hallway. After they are done picking up the items of her book bag, she turns to the side and says thank you to him, when instantly Ka- POW! Jeff thought it was a figure of speech when someone said that beauty can hit you suddenly.

His dad is a big lover of math and numbers, he also works as an accountant but Jeff isn't doing well in math or in other classes so he makes a deal with Tad. Jeff helps prepare Tad for graduation, Tad tutors him. The signifigance of the title After Ever After is how his life is after battling his cancer.

-Christian Perspective-

As a Christian, I thought that the book was okay. I also thought that the characters in the book didn't really deal with issues or problems in a Christ-like way because if Jeffrey and his family were Christians they would pray to God for Jeffrey's cancer and his parents wouldn't be arguing that much. Another thing that wasn't very Christ-like about the characters is that they use the Lord's name as an expression

-My Thoughts-

I really liked this book because it is a non-fiction book and it is about a teen's life. This book made me feel happy, sad, excited, in suspense, and sometimes happy and sad. This book is also about how your life is affected after surviving cancer. I would recommend this book to people who like reading about the life of a teen or to people who like non-fiction.

Thanks for reading my book review people!=)

alex rider: scorpia rising

Information about the book

Title: Scorpia rising

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Publisher: Walker Books

Place and year of publication: first published in 2011 in London

Number of pages: 431

Where I found it: I bought it at a bookshop

Plot:

Part one of this book gives a introduction on the activities and characters of the Scorpia operation. When Zeljan Kurst arrived in London, MI6 became very suspicious and followed him to the British Museum. At the museum the MI6 operation failed and Scorpia agents assassinated all the MI6-agents. Despite high alert throughout the whole city to find the Scorpia agent he escapes with a brilliant disguise.

Part two takes up the majority of the book. Here the reader gets introduced to Alex and MI6 as well as the conflict with Scorpia and their agents. Meanwhile Alex Rider is trying to live a normal live again, but once a spy, always a spy. This means he will never have his old live back. At school his class comes under attack by a sniper. Alex follows the sniper to an old a house where he managed to disable the getaway helicopter. To his dismay the sniper and his accomplice were already gone. With all their agents killed MI6 recruits him again.

Scorpia helped Julius escape from prison to kill Alex, as a distraction to Alex. Scorpia tries to bring disgrace to England, steal and return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. It seems to be the end of Alex’s career and life....

One bullet

and

one life

the end is near, and this is where it starts.

Christian perspective

No, this book does not reflect a Christian perspective. Because it is about revenge agianst Alex and the MI6

Julius Grief is a character from the second book of the Alex Rider series. He was created in a lab by his “father” Hugo Grief hoe wanted to duplicates of the worlds most wealthy men‘s sons. Fortunately Alex stopped him and Hugo was killed in the proses. Now Julius would do any thing to get revenge.

Julius should forgive Alex and forget about it, and go on with his live. Or listen to his prison psychiatrist that could have helped him with his problem with Alex and help him continue with his live. He chose neither and escaped from his prison and tried to kill Alex but got killed him self.

What did I think about the book and who should read it:

This book and the rest of the Alex Rider series is brilliant and I would recommend it to any one who likes action packed books. I would also recommend to start by reading the first book in the series an work trough them sequentially.

Demiana's Book Review On "The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)

The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Published by Scholastic
In 555 Broadway, New York, NY, USA, year 1995
The book is 237 pages long
Found in Christian Heritage School’s Library

Story Review

Who could’ve she been from the inside? The one who brought unto us the Elizabethan Age! Did she go through torture as a child, or lifelong happiness? The one, who changed the future of England, was once seen as nothing but a shadow, Elizabeth. As a child, Elizabeth was skilled with needlework, and knowing many languages. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, and his second wife Anne Boleyn, who was known in England as a “witch”. Elizabeth was later on, known as the Virgin Queen, as she never agreed to marry, because of her father who had six wives, two of them he beheaded, and two of them he divorced! This book is a brilliant piece written as a royal diary of the childhood of Elizabeth I, hence the title, “The Royal Diaries (Elizabeth I)” with true historical notes at the end of the book to complete the events.

In England, 1544, Elizabeth received a diary as a gift from her governess Kat. That is where she poured out her pain, secrets, and most important events on paper. The first thing she emphasized was her feeling of being invisible. First reason is because her father would exile her whenever he was unpleased with her. Another thing is the fact that she shall never rule, because she is third in line to the throne. Finally, how people look at her as half witch, because of her mother whom Henry VIII beheaded. Of course, her father was pleased with her sometimes, and still loved her, and so did Kat, and her good friend Robin. Years passed by, and things didn’t change from there.

And just as Elizabeth was waiting for her life to become more interesting, things instead started becoming very strange, and poison took place! The duchess of Lexford was poisoned. Elizabeth thought that it could’ve been her own sister, Mary, in the plan, because the duchess was getting in the way of Mary’s marriage plans! As all this chaos affected everyone in the palace, things get worse for Elizabeth, as Mary finds out about her diary that she has hidden! Back in the day that would’ve been a big deal, as she wrote how she truly felt about certain people in the diary that she would never say to anyone if she wanted to keep her life! As all this takes place everyone is waiting anxiously to find out if Edward will rule, or not, because his father, Henry VIII is terribly ill!

And it came upon them as the darkest hour, King Henry VIII dies! Of course now Edward becomes King, and rules by the guidance of his advisors, as he is still very young! Elizabeth from that point on was going through her hardest times. She would trade her life of royalty, but also of pain, and torture for a bird’s life! As she writes the last thing in her diary, “Would I trade my title for a bird’s life, a palace for a nest a realm for the sky?” Did Mary ever reveal her? Or rather did Elizabeth blame her sister for the poisoning of the duchess of Lexford, and announced it? How will Elizabeth ever rule? What is ahead of her before victory, as she discovers her destiny? The answer is in the book.

Christian Perspective

This book was written in a Christian perspective, because all the characters are Christian in the book. However there were many actions that were not Christ-like what so ever. For example, Henry divorcing two wives, beheading two, and exiling his daughter! Also, Elizabeth made terrible assumptions, and blamed her sister for poisoning the duchess! I think that if they were truly Christians, not just by name they would’ve had a lot less conflict in the family, and I also wonder how much the story would’ve changed if that was the case.

My Thoughts

I personally admire this book. It is a historical fiction written from the perspective of a royal victim. Because this book was written in the first person, it is easier to understand what Elizabeth really felt like in the book. It is an everyday journal in which you can find what might’ve been the inner feelings, and thoughts of Elizabeth I! I strongly recommend this book to history lovers, mystery lovers, and those who are interested in knowing what royals had to go through, because of their uneasy life. If you are one of those people, you won’t be able to put this book down!

Meredith’s Book Report, October 24, 2011 - The boy who came back from heaven

Information:

Title: The boy who came back from heaven

Author: Kevin & Alex Malarkey

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Place and year of publication: Carol Stream, Illinois, 2010

Number of pages: 232

Where you found the book: I heard about it from my Oma

Story Review:

Kevin Malarkey and his son, Alex, were involved in a terrible car crash in 2004 on their way home from church. Luckily Kevin wasn’t hurt; but Alex, only six at the time, suffered severely and was paralyzed from the neck down. It seemed completely impossible that he would survive, but God had other plans.

The doctor told Alex’s parents, Beth and Kevin, that in the unlikely case of Alex surviving he would not have normal brain function, would never breathe on his own, would never move on his own below his neck, would never be able to swallow food, and would never be able to talk. That’s a lot of “never’s,” but Beth simply told the doctor, “You are wrong.” She believed that God would show His mercy on Alex and would fully heal him. Even though his head was detached from his spine, she believed that God would perform a supernatural miracle, and that God had a special plan for her son on this earth.

Two months after the accident, Alex came out of his coma and returned to Ohio. He had an unbelievable story to tell because in those two months, Alex had been in heaven and had experienced absolutely incredible things. This book is about the amazing journey of a young boy and the unimaginable encounters with God that he experienced.

This book will show you just how magnificent God is and what amazing things He can do. It will teach you that God hears you when you pray and that it is important to listen to what God is trying to say to you. When you read this book, you can’t help but wonder about things beyond earth, and it will give you new ideas on heaven, angels, and the power of God.

Christian Perspective:

The boy who came back from heaven was written from a Christian perspective, and Christ-like behaviour is reflected. In the book, the authors are going through a huge struggle, and although Kevin Malarkey admits to sometimes losing his temper and getting frustrated, I think that for the most part Alex’s family dealt with the issue in a Godly way. This book often talks about prayer, and how much prayer affected them by strengthening and comforting them. This book affected me as a Christian by showing me that God really does hear me when I talk to Him, and that I can have a personal relationship with Jesus Himself. It inspired me and made me think a lot about some of the ideas that were presented.

Personal Thoughts:

I thought this book was very powerful, and it really got me thinking a little bit more about the spiritual realm. I like how the point of this book isn’t to convince you of anything but rather to share with you an amazing experience exactly how it happened. I also really liked how the authors gave the glory to God and didn’t put the focus on themselves by pointing out that they are just ordinary people like you and me. One thing I would have liked was if there was more to read from Alex and his personal experiences in heaven as I found that the book was a little more focused on the dad’s perspective. I would not only recommend this book to Christians who are seeking a closer relationship with God and who have questions about heavenly things, but also to nonbelievers to get them thinking about spiritual matters and what knowing God can do in their lives. If you haven’t read this book already, I would really encourage you to! It’s a truly amazing story that will show you what faith can do.