"How to steal a dog"

Title: How to steal a dog
Author: Barbara O'connor Publisher: Square fish
Place&Year of Publication: New York, year of 2007
Number of pages: 170 W
here you found the book: School library

Story Review:

   Georgina is desperate to find a house. Georgina and her family live in a car ever since her father had left her family and they got evicted from their apartment. Her mom works at two different places to earn as much as money so her and her family can get a place to live in and Georgina is stuck looking after her little brother, Toby for after school. Even though Georgina’s mom works at two different places, they still can’t afford enough money to move to a house. Georgina wants to help her mom to get some money, but she can’t get it from anywhere and one day Georgina sees a missing dog poster that says reward of $500 dollars. With the $500 dollars, her and her family will have enough money to move to a house, but of course, she thinks that she won’t be able to find the missing dog, but she thinks that if she “steals” a dog from one of her rich neighborhood and waits until the owner puts a reward sign poster for his or her “missing” dog, and this is why the title is called “How to steal a dog”. She plans everything and how she will steal the dog and finally, Georgina finds the perfect dog, Willy, with his rich and friendly owner. She waits for the reward poster to come up, but the owner doesn’t put the poster up, so she goes to the owner’s house and pretending that she doesn’t know anything about the missing dog, and she figures out that the owner isn’t rich. The owner, Carmella is a very nice person, but only if she has $500 dollars, Georgina would take Willy to her house. Georgina’s mom is so close of getting a house, but Georgina can’t wait any longer and everything seem to be so slow and not working. Finally, Carmella’s uncle says that he is able to lend some money to Carmella. And there is only one more step for Georgina, it is either taking Willy to Carmella’s and receive the money, or tell everything truth to Carmella. Georgina thinks that this is all wrong, so she tells everything to Carmella what had happened. After telling the truth, she waits for Carmella to hate her, but she doesn’t. She is disappointed in Georgina, but she decides to forgive her. After two days later, her mom tells Georgina and Toby that she earned enough money to move to a house! They are no longer living in the car now. The house isn’t very big, but Georgina loves it and she decides and promises that she will never ever steal a dog again!

Christian perspective:

        This book is not written in a Christian perspective, but in the end Georgina deals her problem well. Even though she steals the dog, which isn’t the right thing, in the end she tells the truth to Carmella. Even if we do something wrong, we shouldn’t be afraid to do the right thing, or to tell the truth. When Georgina tells Carmella the truth, Carmella forgives her, and that’s like between us and God. If we ask God for forgiveness, He will always forgive us and in the end, good things will come. We as Christians, we shouldn’t rely on money or worldly things, but we should rely on God. Even if we don’t have something that we need, or want, we can always ask God and He will answer our prayers!

My thoughts:

    I choose this book, because the title was interesting and the story sounded engaging. I enjoyed this book, because it engaged me to the next chapters and I like realistic fictions. It felt like I was there in the book, and it made me want to help her and her family with their problems. It made me realized that there are so many homeless people in the world, and we should be thankful for what we have and not complain. I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t usually enjoy reading, because it has shorter amount of pages and the author writes it easy to read and understand.

THE TUNNEL KING

Title of Book: The Tunnel King

Author of Book: Barbara Hehner

Publisher of book: HarperTrophyCanada

Place of Publication: United States of America

Year of Publication: 2004

Number of pages: 147

Where I found the book: CHS library

Story review

This book is titled the Tunnel King because this book is about a man named Wally Floody who was captured by Germans during world war two when his planed got hit and he had to bail out. The Germans took him to a POW (prisoner of war) camp where he and some other guys planed to escape and his role was the boss of all tunneling operations they nick named him the Tunnel King. This book took place mostly in Germany some of his training to be a pilot was in Brandon MB and his home town was Toronto MB. Wally was captured on his first mission in 1941 when a German fighter plane shot his plane down and he had to bail out. Wally was born in1918 and escaped imprisonment in 1945. The only main character in this book was Wally there were some other characters but they were not main. The problem in this book was Wally was captured and could not escape despite his best efforts all his tunnels were ether discovered or collapsed. The only reason Wally escaped was because Russian forces captured the POW camp he was in so he didn’t really escape he was just set free by Russians. I think this book was about never giving up even if it’s hard because the tunnel collapsed on Wally more than once but he kept trying even though in the end his plan never did come through.

Christian Perspective

This book  was not based on a Christian perspective but it showed some of Christ like qualities for instance Wally did not get all upset  when things didn’t go his way instead he kept trying and the Germans even though they were the enemy the Germans still showed respect to them. The prisoners also showed respect to the Germans they did not try to kill them or say words to them that were negative. Even though this book was not based on a Christian perspective it still showed Christ like qualities.

My thoughts

Over all I liked this book but some parts like the beginning of the book  were it  was telling about his normal life and all that  kind of stuff was a little on the boring side of things but closer to the middle and the end of the book it got more eventful. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books that are true and is based on wars and history. 

Thura's Diary

Information

Title: Thura’s diary 

Author: Thura Al-Windawi

Publisher: penguin group 

Place and year of publication: 2004  

Number of pages: 144

Where I found this book: school library

Story review

Well Thura’s diary is about war in Iraqi, Baghdad and how Thura saw it in her own eyes. Thura was just like every other girl before the war started. So when it started she too started to write a diary. The diary was about what was going in the war and what her and her family went through to stay alive. So after they spent a while in Iraqi, Baghdad they saw that it was getting worse and that most of their friends and neighbours where leaving for some where safer. So they left for the country side to their nephew house.

When Thura and her family got there most of her other relatives were there too. So they worked together and helped each other out, and Thura learned a lot of new things from her relatives. After a while Sedam Hussein was killed in the war by the Americans, so by the time the war ended Thura and her family went back to Iraqi and went on with their lives. Most schools were closed and destroyed; even her father couldn't go back to work. 

Even after the war ended life in Baghdad became harder and there was less freedom. Women had to where headscarf's so that they can be safe. So Thura's diary was turned and made into a book when she was 20 years old and it became published. Some of it was on the times newspaper in UK. This all happened about 10 years ago in Baghdad, but know it’s not as bad. So the title for this book is named Thura’s diary because before it became a book it was her diary so that's probably why she named it that.

Christian prospective

This story isn’t from a Christian’s point of view but more from a Muslims. But even so it was still a good book to read. Thura went through a lot, but even though she still had hope that one day she could have the freedom she had back then. So this book thought me that I should be glad that I don’t have to go through war and, be in the middle of it trying to stay alive. So I hope that as Christians that we are thankful of where we live and that we are in a free country.    

My thoughts

Thura’s diary thought me many things and it showed me how people who have to go through war fell like. So I think that this book is good to read and it teaches you more about what other people have to go through. I choose this book because I thought it would be interesting to see what happens in war and what Thura felt like. For all those people who enjoy peoples stories and their thoughts. I recommend this to you all peoples.      

Paris' Book Review

Harry Houdini

Author: Vicki Cobb

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley 

Place and year of publication: Canada August 1 2005

Number of pages: 128

Where I found the book; School library 

Summery 

Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss. He was born on March 24th 1874. He came from a very poor family. When he was 12 years old, he preformed in a "dime museum." A dime museum is a place were you could go and pay very little to watch people preform. When he was just starting out, he did simple coin tricks. He met a girl named Bess. Erich and Bess preformed together. Ehrich's hero was Robert Houdin. Robert was a very famous french magician. One of Ehrich's  friends sugested that Ehrich name himself after Robert Houdin. Harry is the English translation of the name Ehrich and Houdini means "Like Houdin" in french.

After preforming in dime museums for a long time, a European agent came and asked Houdini to preform in Europe with him. When he was on his way to Europe, he studied alot of Robert Houdin's tricks. He became very skilled in lock picking. He trained himself to be flexible so he could pick locks on his hands with his toes. He trained himself to hold his breath underwater for long periods of time so he could do water escapes. One of his greatest escapes was from England's strongest prison. He was searched and he had no picks on him. Then he was put in a cell with nothing in it. A little while later, Houdini came out of the jail cell. This escape gained him lots of publicity. He became very famous in Europe and England. Soon, he went to America to preform there. he preformed many great tricks. He became very rich and he sent most of his money home to his mother. He later became the president of the SAM (Society of American Magicians).

Harry Houdini preformed many dangerous tricks. These included: Escaping from a sealed milk can filled with water, Being buried alive, escaping from straightjackets underwater, and many more. He also made many movies, but he stopped that because his acting skills were poor. He became the first man to fly a plane in Australia.

On October 31 1926, Houdini died of a ruptured appendix. A few days before, a student asked him if his stomach was hard enough to withstand any punch. Houdini said it was. Before Houdini was ready, the student punched him right were his appendix was. Houdini refused to get medical attention. 

The book is called Harry Houdini because it is all about Harry Houdini. 

Christian Perspective

Houdini was born in a Christian home, but he never really showed that he believed in God. I dont think this book was written in a Christian perspective. 

Houdini never thanked God for giving him the ability to preform in Europe and America. He could have thanked God  for letting him preform and for giving him the skills to pick locks. He could have prayed that all his performances would go well. He could have also prayed that his appendicitis would get better.

My Thoughts 

I picked this book because I had to do a Biography, and this one seamed the most interesting. I dont really like biographys, but this one was kind of interesting. I liked learning about all the tricks Houdini did. I found it interesting how he started out poor and became rich. The author did a great job describing all that Houdini did. I recomend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Houdini or is interested in magic tricks because that is what the book is all about.

Liesl and Po

Title: Liesl and Po

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: Harper Collins publishers

Place and year of publication: New York, 2011

Number of pages: 307

Where I found this book: I own this book

Summary:

This book is named Liesl and Po because this book mainly revolves the adventure of Liesl and Po. Three days after Liesl’s father died, a ghost named Po appeared in her dark bedroom in the attic( thanks to her step mom) with a dog or cat looking pet named Bundle. They wanted her to start drawing again, because she used to draw before her father died. She thought that Po is a ghost, and if he can find her father, tell him her message, then she would start to draw.

After a lot of searching, Po finally found the ghost of her father. He asked him exactly what Liesl wanted to ask him “How did you die and I really miss you.” He replied “I really miss you too and I should have never eaten that soup.” Liesl found his response really confusing.

At the same time, outside her house was a boy named Will, holding a wooden jewellery box. It contained world’s most powerful magic. Suddenly, he remembered that he needed to get some supplies for the alchemist like a blind man’s eye, some chicken hearts, etc. from Mr. Gray.

When Mr. Gray went to get the supplies he fell asleep and put the world’s most powerful magic next to an identical jewellery box. After Will and the alchemist took the ashes to her. Her face was burning red, when she figured out that it was not the magic, but some person’s ashes. Will raced out of the mansion with his full speed before the alchemist and Madame Premiere to catch Will.

There at Liesl’s house, Liesl thought of a plan to run away from the attic and go to her old house to bury her father’s ashes next to her mother’s. When Karen (a maid who always brought Liesl’s food in the attic) comes to give her food, Po scared her. In the hurry to get down the stairs, she forgot to lock the door, giving Liesl a way to escape.

On their way to her old house, Liesl and Po met Will and they started their journey together. Do Liesl, Po and Will get to the old house in time?

Perspective Christian:

I don’t think this book was written in a Christian perspective. One thing Liesl could have was to trust in the Lord and she should have prayed when she got stuck in difficult situation. Just like the verse Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” When Madame Premiere got angry at Will, she could explain it to her angrier at Will; she could have explained it to her more nicely and calmly. Just like God forgives our sins.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this book. One of the things that stood out to me the most were that how much she loves her dad and how her step mom was so rude and she didn’t like her. I felt really sad for her. One thing I really liked about her character was they she was always calm and always knew what to do. The main reason I read this book was because I haven’t read a fantasy book yet. I f I could recommend this book to somebody, I would recommend this book to a person who enjoys reading fantasy books.

The Girl with the White Flag

The Girl with the White Flag

Author: Tomiko Higa

Publisher: Dell Publishing

Place and Date of publication: New York 1992

Where i found the book: I found this book at Christian Heritage School Library

Number of Pages:127

~Story Review~

This book is about a Japanese woman named Tomiko Higa, who retells about her life when she was a young girl living in Okinawa, Japan, around the time of WWII, when she was 5 years old. She is living with her 2 elders sisters, her elder brother, and her father when suddenly, one day Tomiko's father comes back with shocking news."Now I want you all to listen carefully. There's going to be fighting here in Okinawa very soon. Lifes not going to be peaceful for us anymore. You must be prepared, so when the time comes, you'll be able to keep your head and know what to do." It was until about a month later that Tomiko was to learn something of the tradgedy of war. This story tells about the survival of Tomiko in World War 2 who later on in the book gets seperated from her siblings and makes a journey to find them. The signifigance of the title " The Girl with the White Flag" is that after the war was over, Tomiko was told to hold the flag up and a picture wasd taken of her. The genre for this book is an Autobiography

~Christian Perspective~

The themes for this book are war and violence and survival. Even though Christians do not agree with most of these themes,I don't think this book should neccesarily be titled Christian or non-Christian. This book is just about an innocent 5 year old girl who is caught up during the war. Tomoki never really talked about God or thought about the subject. Tomiko was a very good child, even though she got into trouble sometimes. But she didn't have anything against God. But Tomiko did show good character of love, kindness, and gentleness. Even if a good person isn't Christian doesn't mean they should be labelled as bad. But this book wasn't written in a Christian perspective and everybody mentioned in the book isn't Christian but some showed good character like Tomiko did and acted Christ-like.

~My Thoughts~

I thought that this book was a good book and found it somewhat interesting. Survival/ War books aren't exactly my favourite, but wasn't too bad. It shows me how a young child would react and felt like during the war. I am just really proud of the author for putting a great effort of explaining this and fitting it into a 127 page book. It also makes me think of how people today shouldn't take things for granted because Tomiko literally had nothing but the clothes on her back and how she would search dead soldier's backpacks for her to find food for her to survive on for a couple of days until she'd find another backpack. I'd suggest this to people who LIKE autobiographies, survival and war type themes.

I hope you'd enjoy the book if you are reading it! :) and by the way, Go Peeta!!!

Iwan's book report

Title: Caught by the sea

Author: Gary Paulsen

Publisher: Dell Laurel-leaf

Place & year of publication: September 2004

Where I found it: CHS library

Number of pages: 103 pg.

Summery

After Gary Paulsen retires from the army he decides to head out to sea.  While reading he takes you along on his maiden voyage. He also proves that ignorance can be a real bliss and dangerous.  His inspiration to go sailing and to buy a sailboat came when a Hollywood star invited him and a few writers to his cabin by the lake. One morning going for a walk he meets a man who offers to take him sailing on the lake.  He enjoyed it so much he decided to buy his own sailboat.

Finding a sailboat wasn’t as easy as he thought. Some looked brilliant from the outside, but inside the wood was rotten right trough. So he tells of the many boats he had good, bad and beloved and how they brought him trough many storms.

Gary takes you on his journey on the Pacific Ocean.  Sailing under the stars, fighting monster waves, sailing in tropical lagoons where dolphin’s leap by his side. Gary Paulsen takes readers on his lifelong learning curve, because you don’t learn to sail overnight and readers will see why his passion has lasted unto this day.

Christian perspective

There isn’t really much that the character does wrong from an Christian perspective. Gary didn’t say he was a Christian and but trough his writing you can see Christian characteristics like patience. In this book there is no battle between good and evil, but some of the businessmen did cheat him by trying to sell him old and rotten boats at extremely high prices.

My thoughts

I don’t really like biographies but this one wasn’t too bad.  It was an action and adventure packed book and I would recommend this to someone who likes adventure books and is forced to read a biography.