Charlie and the Chocolate factory is a book written by Roald Dahl. This book full of imagination can be called realistic fiction because it talks about a real setting and about a possible happening. We can see that its fiction because we can see various impossible happenings in the factory.
Summary
This realistic fiction book talks about a famous and exuberant owner of a famous chocolate company. He is named Willy Wonka who has the smart idea of putting a golden ticket in 5 chocolate bars. This golden tickets were a permission to enter the most important chocolate factory and one of the 5 winners would have a candy supply for life. The fortunates are Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Mike Teavee, and the protagonist which buys only 2 chocolate bars(because his poor) and has the fortune of wining a golden ticket named Charlie Bucket. During the visit various kids try to get somethings and fail because they are trapped. The protagonist Charlie doesn't do anything wrong and wins the whole wonka company.
Main characters
Charlie Bucket- Charlie Bucket is the protagonist of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is deprived of adequate food, a bed, and any privacy. In spite of all this, he never complains, nor does he ever accept charity from his family when it comes at their own expense. He is rewarded by fait with a golden ticket.
Willie Wonka- is the owner of the world-famous Wonka chocolate factory. He needs a child which is humble, respectful, and willing to run his factory exactly how Mr. Wonka runs it himself
Grandpa Joe- Grandpa Joe is the oldest and wisest of the characters in the novel. However, like Charlie and Mr. Wonka, he remains young at heart. Infact he had never got up in 30 years but decides to walk and accompain Charlie to the choclate factory.
Major themes
Justice- is th major theme which is reflected during the novel whch is demonstrated by the punishments the 4 other characters receive. This is because they were grown in the wrong way while Charlie was a genourous an d obediant kid who would sacrifice his free time to hand out newspaper so he could get some money to give to he family.
Sacrifice- is one themes that is rapresented in Charlie who is always trying to give the family some help by doing work until late to get 3 pounds. So the family can buy some bread.
Warnings/Recommendation I fund this book enjoyable even though a little bit "babyish" if it is even a word. Even though I would still recommend because it made me reflect on what I have especially now during christmas.
School Blues by Daniel Pennac Daniel Pennac is a French writer who wrote many novels for children and then wrote his book series “La Saga Malaussène”. He became very famous for writing an autobiography called “school blues” which won the Prix Renaudot in 2007.
As you can read from the title, the book is about school and the main difficulties that it can create in many unsatisfactory students. He was an unsatisfactory student, so he wrote about his years as student when the only things which he could get were bad grades and his years as teacher were he was trying to help unsatisfactory students as many teachers did with when he was a student. This is an interesting story that travels into the darkest secrets and beauty of school. It is not always seen as a positive thing by many people, but sometimes it can change direction leading us to a beautiful future and not as bad as we had imagined.
The protagonist in the book is the author himself, although during the entire chapters appear different characters that were part of his past. As you can imagine from the summarize, Pennac presented himself in two different age of life : himself as student and himself as teacher. He with the many small chapters tried to explain his problems during middle school and high school and the many impressions that he had during his many years as teacher. During the entire story, the protagonist presented four main teachers that had a positive reaction on him because they helped him to pass 4 years of high school. One of them discovered the author’s big passion for literature. It’s because of this teacher that Pennac wrote romance and passed one year of high school and it’s because of him that he became a writer.
The most important theme in this book, is the school. In fact, the whole book was concentrated in the concept of how difficult is to pass the years in middle school and high school if you are not very good at school. So, throughout the book the author seeks to present a very friendly atmosphere at all, but seen through the eyes of someone who has never been very good at school until he came to the last year of high school where his grades rose compared to the unprepared he received during all the other years in school. Another important theme is the fact that the author focalizing his attention on the unsatisfactory students also proposes a reflection in teachers. In fact one theme is the way in which the teachers could better understand students’ talents and feeling, that is understand if they have some particular passions that emerge with difficulties. So I can end my summary underlining that the main characteristics of this book is the importance of the points of view. An unsatisfactory students can, in fact, became a big writer as Pennac if he meets a teacher with a deep sensibility.
It is a good book, that’s why I enjoyed read it ! It presents a truth that no one can hide: the idea that even the most famous people have had a very eventful childhood. Were unsatisfactory students that over time have become famous because they had found what could make them really good at. From the cover, I quickly realized that it would be the perfect book for me and that surely even my friends could try to feel my reactions to this book. So, that’s why I recommend this book to my classmates, but not only ... even adults, to those who would relive those years with a different point of view.
Hello Ms Gelso and classmates, the book report is written in two parts
Title, Author, Genre
The book I read during the winter break is called “The 39 clues: In Too Deep”, and it is the sixth one from a series of ten books. Each book of this series isn’t written from the same author, but from different ones. This one was written by Jude Watson and it is a children and adventure novel.
Summary
Amy and Dan Cahill are two orphan children that live with their aunt (that hates them) in Massachusetts. When the only person they love, their grandmother dies, they have to make a decision; either to get 1 million dollar each, or participate in the world’s most dangerous hunting, searching for 39 clues all over the world having as a prize the ruling of the world. Why dangerous? Because of their ruthless relatives that could do anything to stop them (or kill them). In this book, Amy and Dan’s clues drive them to Australia, in order to discover more things about their parents (and their relation to the clue hunt) and of course find the next clue. There, their uncle Shep Trent, who is a surfer and a navigator of a plane, helps them by transporting them all over Australia. They are on the trail of a criminal named Bob Troppo who they believe was about to find all the clues. As always they were true and with the help of another uncle they translate a poem that leads them to the sixth clue. Unfortunately, Amy and Dan lose one of their secret allies who sacrificed herself to save them and Amy remembers things of the night her parents died, making her believe that she was the cause of their death.
Main Characters
The characters become more and more in each book. Sometimes they don’t appear at all but most of the times their role is very dangerous. The main characters (that also appear in each book) are Amy Cahill, Dan Cahill and finally their au-pair Nellie Gomez. Amy Cahill is a 14-year-old girl that is very shy and when she panics or she is among many people, she stutters. She is a bookworm and she remembers everything her grandmother Grace had told her. She likes history and she always wears a necklace of Grace that she used to wear. In the clue hunt, she is the sensible person that connects all the information and finds the solution. In this book, she finds the meaning of the poem (and the clue) and who really was Bob Troppo. Dan Cahill is an 11-year-old boy that has many collections, from ninja cards to caps of bottles. He barely remembers the night their parents died something that upsets him. The only thing that reminded them to him was a photo that he lost in an underground. In the clue hunt, he is the one that solves all the mathematical puzzles and the anagrams in seconds, something that he “inherited” from his father. Finally, Nellie Gomez is the nanny of the two children. She always listens to music from her iPod and she helps them by translating the languages all over the world. In this book, she navigates Shep’s plane and the one of his friend. There, Amy and Dan get worried as this is something that Nellie never told them (that she knows how to navigate a plane although the young of her age). They think that she is “trained” to protect them, a thought that grows bigger in their mind when they see that she takes e-mails from a mysterious person that are locked with passwords. But, they also know that Nellie never made them give her the clues they found. So, what is going on with Nellie?
The theme of this series of books is something that is always repeated; that you should never trust anyone. Even though it is always in the children’s mind, they trust sometimes their relatives sharing with them some clues, something that most of the times proves that was wrong to happen leading Amy and Dan almost to death.
Recommendations/Warnings
I recommend this book because it is awesome. Even though I would never buy a book that has as its title “The Maze of Bones” (the first book of the series), I loved it from the first page. You should better read these books numerical (from the first and then second, third etc) because otherwise you’ll get confused with the many characters and facts.
The book I read this month is “Girl with a pearl earring” by Tracy Chevalier. T. Chevalier was born in 1962 and grew up in Washington DC. She got two degrees: one in English from Oberlin College, Ohio, the other in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. She has lived for 20 years, and past, in London and now she is married, with one son. “Girl with a pearl earring” is her second novel and has won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award. The book has been made into a film, that lately became very famous. The books tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old girl who becomes a maid in the house of the famous painter Vermeer. Griet is very calm and attentive, and her different way of looking at things and at the world makes sure that the painter feels attracted to her. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings, teaching her how to create colours. Not only she has to manage with these “feelings” for Vermeer, but also she has to fight with six children, a loyal maid Tanneke, Catharina, Vermeer’s wife and his mother-in-law Maria Thins. The household is predominantly dominated by Cornelia a six-year-old girl who sees more than she should. Griet also has to control two growing attentions, from a local butcher and from Vermeer’s patron, the wealthy van Rujiven. Griet has to find her way through this completely new life, outside hers which has been fragmented due to accident and death. When Griet becomes part of Vermeer’s work their intimacy grows, and in the house jealousy disrupt and changes the tranquillity of it. After a while the reader is able to find out that even Vermeer fall in love with Griet; he can see the pure beauty in her. In the story although, what doesn’t happen is far more important than what does happen. Between Griet and Vermeer there’s a high respect, that lead them to just stare at each other in adoration and just for once let their hands brush together when she’s helping him to mix his paints. All this gestures finally never led to anything. This is the book’s focus; on what never happens but “should”. The reader is taken to wish for Vermeer and Griet’s relationship to grow page after page, although this is where Chevalier’s talent show up. Taking the reader to believe something would happen and then surprise us all and never let it happen; specifically in the book the unconditional love between the two main characters (Vermeer and Griet). The book also analyzes the “fight” between two different, but at the same time similar, religions: catholic and protestant, always in conflict one another. The book is well written and the character’s descriptions are very specific so the reader can empathize with each of them. The story is really interesting and the author let the reader to love the protagonist, Griet, which is intelligent and ready for all the terrible things that life will bring to her. The novel isn’t long but full of meaning, as Hemingway’s stories, it looks as if Tracy Chevalier uses the iceberg theory (novels are not long but they are vastly meaningful).
I read "Christmas Carol" of Charles Dickens, this is the second time that i read it but last time was a lot of time ago! Reading it again the message sent form the 3 spirits was more interesting form the first time i read it. I think that the second spirit was the one that critically damaged his strong barrier of credulity, and sadness.
summary The never-ending story Bastian Balthazar Buz is the protagonist of “The never ending story” he’s a young boy of around 10 years old, that after stealing a book from a store called:”The never ending story”, hides in the attic of his school and starts falling in love of it. Not after too long, he discovers he’s part of this story too and will have to be the hero that saves the world of Fantasia. Fantasia is the magic world, were thousands of different creatures live and is ruled by the lovely childlike Empress. She is very sick and about to die, and the only way to save her is from bringing a human to fantasia: Bastian. The Empress sends a young green skin boy: Atreyu, on a mission, and during his long adventure he is able to transfer the message to Bastian, that he was the only one able to save fantasia, and when he was ready he had to yell out her new name. “Moonchild”! Was the new name of the childlike Empress. Bastian meets the childlike Empress, that gives him the Auryn, a medallion that connects him to her, and allows him to have what ever wish he wanted.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster Jean Webster is a famous female American writer, most of her novels are based on orphan and the most universally acclaimed work is “Daddy-Long-Legs” which has been well sell over the world and becomes one of required readings for the girls. “Daddy-Long-Legs” is an epistolary novel which means a series of letters. Jerusha Abbott (after named herself as Judy), as a child she was raised in an antiquated orphanage. Judy never had enjoyed any family fun. One day her life had been changed dramatically, one rich man whose name was giving as John Smith and because of her outstanding writing he decided to maintain her to college. Therefore, Judy began a different life and she called her supporter as ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ .For her everything was new, during the college life she delightedly learned so many knowledge and had so many experiences .She was worrying that she was not good as Daddy thought .Judy wrote letters to Daddy ceaselessly which he required for but she had never received any thing back not even few words. Daddy sometimes seemed does not existing. By a chance she met Jervis Pendleton III who had a lot of charisma and because his wide range of knowledge and his original view towards problem attracted her. However when Judy graduated from college, she rejected Jervis’s propose even though she loved him deeply .Meanwhile, Daddy invited her to New York and she found out that ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ was Jervis. Judy was shocked but a romantic love story began more specifically was a continuation of her love story. The main character of the novel is Judy herself. As you reading the novel you will find out that Judy is a dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel, she is a little bit self-contempt and not totally happy on her life because she is an orphan. However due to this reason, she groups ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ as her only relative , the only one that she can fully express and having a tendency to confide. She is a cute, simple and has a white spirit as you reading the novel. She never hides anything to Daddy neither good news or bad news and everything little things in her life. Furthermore she is always happy since she knows that it is simple to live with happiness because she lives at present, never regrets any decision and never wonders about future. Nevertheless, as Judy studies more and earned more knowledge she becomes more mature in both heart and appearance. All in all, Judy has been changing with the time but the only thing she does not is her heart – simple and always thinks of happiness. The major theme of the novel is that life like a labyrinth: everyone has the same entrance, there are many ways and difficult to find the exit but if you do not give up you will find the way out. For instance , Judy is young and charming who is not born at a good family but she has a pure and simple faith which is never blame anything and anyone and live in present because” yesterday already passed, tomorrow unknown, live in present!” Life is simple and you can find it everywhere around. Walking on the street you can find sun shines everywhere; people smile and people singing about their happy life. I recommend this novel. During the Christmas holiday I went to my cousin’s and found this book on her bookshelf. Among all the books I was attracted by its name. After I began to read it I found it very easy but it seemed have an attraction that made me to finish the book. The author wrote the book in a particular way , almost the hole novel was written with letters to narrate the story and it was very interesting and maybe because Judy was a girl so every single thing she wrote was very detailed and specific .When I was reading the book the words from Judy make me smile and feel happy. Something interesting is that a movie and a Japanese cartoon are both made based on this novel.
The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. The novel is about Holden Caulfield, a teenager that goes to New York after being expelled from school for poor grades. His parents don’t know about his expulsion therefore he doesn’t go to his family and checks into an hotel. The story is written in first person therefore the feelings and everything Holden thinks are very personal and it is very easy to identify in this character, especially for a teenager because Holden is 16 years old. Holden has many prejudices and writes everything he thinks, everything he doesn’t say in real life because of his lack in personality. “ I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.” This quote clearly shows how Holden constantly thinks about what people think about him, he wants to appear different, and finds it very difficult to say the truth also in very simple situations. This is shown especially when he speaks about sex. Sex as well as relationships and everything that has to do with women is a very important motif in the novel because they represent the adult world, a world that Holden fears. He fears being an adult because adults have responsibilities and he is sure to be a failure in his life. He is 16 years old and says he often behaves as a 13 years old. Holden thinks about sex most of the time he is with a women however he is very shy and fears intimacy therefore although he had the possibility, especially with a prostitute in the hotel, he doesn’t lose his virginity. He pays the prostitute only to talk and not be left alone, he is alienated from the world. The alienation makes Holden think that practically all of the people are “phony”. He uses the word “phony” to describe any form of superficiality in a people, as an example teachers who want to appear like teachers and change their personality. He also believes that “people never notice anything”, this is probably because he notices everything about everyone instead of knowing a person he prefers observing him and think about all his “phoniness” and his demerits. I conclusion I recommend to read this novel because it helps you to understand the feelings of a person who has a weak personality and it is also very simple and entertaining.
Book report “A very private Gentleman” by Martin Booth
The novel I read is called “A very Private Gentleman” and it was written in 1990 by the british author Martin Booth. The novel can be considered as an action novel because of the main themes of the book and how all the plot evolves. The main character of the book is Signor Farfalla (Mr. Butterfly), who is an American killer expert in creating weapons. This man after a terrible mission in Sweden, in which he almost risked his life, decides to retire from his dangerous job. After having communicated the decision about his life to Larry, his committee, he is asked by Mathilde, a woman who he meets in Rome, to create and assemble a really precise and powerful rifle, which he will not be asked to use. Signor Farfalla decides to retire in a small town in Abruzzo where he considers to be safe and have the tranquility he is looking for, but as well to create this really powerful rifle. Here in Abruzzo he becomes a close friend of the local priest and he will fall in love with a prostitute called Clara. The relationship with Clara is quite tormented because one day he will find in her purse a gun, and understands that on a date somebody is following them. So he continues his job in Abruzzo always quite frightened from the idea of not being able to cancel his past, and to be always persecuted by people who want to kill him, and unfortunately this is what will happen. The day in which he gives the weapon to Mathilda, he is shot in the abdomen by the man, Pavel, that had followed him for all his staying in the small town. He doesn’t die and manages to escape, after having killed Pavel and reaches Clara, whit who he was supposed to go away with, but, when he sees her, Signor Farfalla dies because of the blood that had comed out of his body. The main character of the book is obviously Signor Farfalla, who is a really intelligent and really sly man. We know he has a good knowledge of technology and thanks to it he is able to create all the weapons he is asked to. We know about him just from when he starts regretting of his life as a killer and so we consider him a good man, who understands his mistakes and wants to cancel them. The real problem is that he has lived a life of attention to details and trying not to be killed, so he is often paranoid, even when he is with Clara , that is his first true love. Clara , is a young and attractive women, which was constricted to be a prostitute because she didn’t manage to find a job and needed money, not having a family. She, as Signor Farfalla, is a really positive character even if theoretically a prostitute wouldn’t be considered like this. She is professional in her job, and is always really attentive to every detail. She is truly in love with Signor Farfalla, and is ready to go away with him, but unfortunately he dies at the end of the book, as I previously stated. This is a really interesting novel, that catches the attention of every reader since from the first pages. The book is written in a quite easy way, the vocabulary is simple ( apart when it goes in detail about some components of weapons), and the reading is really fast, because you don’t have to stop searching for difficult words and because it is really catching. It has been considerate such a good book that in 2010 the movie director Anton Corbjin decided to shoot a movie about it. The movie was called “The American”, focusing on Signor Farfalla’s nationality and diversity from all the other characters in the book which are mostly Swedish and Italians. The movie has been a success and famous actors like George Clooney and Violante Placido took part in it.
The book I read is called A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The genre of the book is ghost story, or a fairy tale.
Summary
It was Christmas Eve, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and in the city of London it was very cold and almost dark. There was no sunlight because of the thick fog in the air. In the centre of the city two names were painted on the door of an old building: Scrooge and Marley. Jacob Marley had dyed seven years ago. Scrooge didn't like people. He didn't care about people. He only cared about only one thing: money! He had no friends. Nobody visited his house. Nobody said hello to him as he walked through the street. But Scrooge wanted his life to be this way. He liked writing down amounts of money people owed him and people had given him in his account books and working in his office - even in Christmas. `Nonsense! Rubbish! Christmas is nonsense. It's humbug! Bah!' Scrooge use to say. Suddenly, Fred’s nephew came to scrooge’s house for a Christmas dinner invitation, Scrooge said don’t ever say that and Goodbye. Suddenly, Jacob Marley's ghost appeared next to the fire. He said three other ghosts were going to appear that night: Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They were going to help him to be good and kind to other people. Scrooge closed his eyes then opened again. He was in his own bedroom. `Jacob Marley, thank you for sending the three ghosts, thank you for coming to help me'. He said. He was happy. He had a merry Christmas. He helped poor people. After the visit of the three ghosts, Scrooge finally was a changed man.
Main Characters
Ebenezer Scrooge: he is a very bad man. He doesn't care what people call him. He doesn't care about people. He doesn't like people. He only cares and loves so much only one thing: money.
Ghost of Christmas Past: it looks like an old man, but it's the same size as a child. Its long hair is white as an old man's hair, but its face and skin is soft and smooth like a child's skin and face. Its arms and hands are strong, but it feet and legs are small. It wears a long white robe. It carries a branch from a green holly tree in his hand. It also carries summer flowers on its robe and a big pointed cap. From the top of the cap comes out a bright light.
Ghost of Christmas Present: it is huge and smiles all the time. It holds a big torch that looks like an animal's horn. A small, bright, red flame burns at the top of it. It has a kind voice and a kind face. It wears a long white and green robe. Its hair is long and brown, but as long as he is with Scrooge it falls and turns white. Around the top of its head there are leaves from a holly tree, and it they have ice.
Ghost of Christmas future: it wears a long black robe which touches the ground. Its head is covered by a large hood. It doesn't speak, and it always points at some place with his finger. It is terrible.
Book Report
ReplyDeleteTitle,Author,Genre
Charlie and the Chocolate factory is a book written by Roald Dahl. This book full of imagination can be called realistic fiction because it talks about a real setting and about a possible happening. We can see that its fiction because we can see various impossible happenings in the factory.
Summary
This realistic fiction book talks about a famous and exuberant owner of a famous chocolate company. He is named Willy Wonka who has the smart idea of putting a golden ticket in 5 chocolate bars. This golden tickets were a permission to enter the most important chocolate factory and one of the 5 winners would have a candy supply for life. The fortunates are Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Mike Teavee, and the protagonist which buys only 2 chocolate bars(because his poor) and has the fortune of wining a golden ticket named Charlie Bucket. During the visit various kids try to get somethings and fail because they are trapped. The protagonist Charlie doesn't do anything wrong and wins the whole wonka company.
Main characters
Charlie Bucket- Charlie Bucket is the protagonist of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is deprived of adequate food, a bed, and any privacy. In spite of all this, he never complains, nor does he ever accept charity from his family when it comes at their own expense. He is rewarded by fait with a golden ticket.
Willie Wonka- is the owner of the world-famous Wonka chocolate factory. He needs a child which is humble, respectful, and willing to run his factory exactly how Mr. Wonka runs it himself
Grandpa Joe- Grandpa Joe is the oldest and wisest of the characters in the novel. However, like Charlie and Mr. Wonka, he remains young at heart. Infact he had never got up in 30 years but decides to walk and accompain Charlie to the choclate factory.
Major themes
Justice- is th major theme which is reflected during the novel whch is demonstrated by the punishments the 4 other characters receive. This is because they were grown in the wrong way while Charlie was a genourous an d obediant kid who would sacrifice his free time to hand out newspaper so he could get some money to give to he family.
Sacrifice- is one themes that is rapresented in Charlie who is always trying to give the family some help by doing work until late to get 3 pounds. So the family can buy some bread.
Warnings/Recommendation
I fund this book enjoyable even though a little bit "babyish" if it is even a word. Even though I would still recommend because it made me reflect on what I have especially now during christmas.
School Blues by Daniel Pennac
ReplyDeleteDaniel Pennac is a French writer who wrote many novels for children and then wrote his book series “La Saga Malaussène”. He became very famous for writing an autobiography called “school blues” which won the Prix Renaudot in 2007.
As you can read from the title, the book is about school and the main difficulties that it can create in many unsatisfactory students. He was an unsatisfactory student, so he wrote about his years as student when the only things which he could get were bad grades and his years as teacher were he was trying to help unsatisfactory students as many teachers did with when he was a student.
This is an interesting story that travels into the darkest secrets and beauty of school. It is not always seen as a positive thing by many people, but sometimes it can change direction leading us to a beautiful future and not as bad as we had imagined.
The protagonist in the book is the author himself, although during the entire chapters appear different characters that were part of his past.
As you can imagine from the summarize, Pennac presented himself in two different age of life : himself as student and himself as teacher. He with the many small chapters tried to explain his problems during middle school and high school and the many impressions that he had during his many years as teacher.
During the entire story, the protagonist presented four main teachers that had a positive reaction on him because they helped him to pass 4 years of high school. One of them discovered the author’s big passion for literature. It’s because of this teacher that Pennac wrote romance and passed one year of high school and it’s because of him that he became a writer.
The most important theme in this book, is the school. In fact, the whole book was concentrated in the concept of how difficult is to pass the years in middle school and high school if you are not very good at school.
So, throughout the book the author seeks to present a very friendly atmosphere at all, but seen through the eyes of someone who has never been very good at school until he came to the last year of high school where his grades rose compared to the unprepared he received during all the other years in school.
Another important theme is the fact that the author focalizing his attention on the unsatisfactory students also proposes a reflection in teachers. In fact one theme is the way in which the teachers could better understand students’ talents and feeling, that is understand if they have some particular passions that emerge with difficulties.
So I can end my summary underlining that the main characteristics of this book is the importance of the points of view. An unsatisfactory students can, in fact, became a big writer as Pennac if he meets a teacher with a deep sensibility.
It is a good book, that’s why I enjoyed read it !
It presents a truth that no one can hide: the idea that even the most famous people have had a very eventful childhood. Were unsatisfactory students that over time have become famous because they had found what could make them really good at. From the cover, I quickly realized that it would be the perfect book for me and that surely even my friends could try to feel my reactions to this book. So, that’s why I recommend this book to my classmates, but not only ... even adults, to those who would relive those years with a different point of view.
Hello Ms Gelso and classmates,
ReplyDeletethe book report is written in two parts
Title, Author, Genre
The book I read during the winter break is called “The 39 clues: In Too Deep”, and it is the sixth one from a series of ten books. Each book of this series isn’t written from the same author, but from different ones. This one was written by Jude Watson and it is a children and adventure novel.
Summary
Amy and Dan Cahill are two orphan children that live with their aunt (that hates them) in Massachusetts. When the only person they love, their grandmother dies, they have to make a decision; either to get 1 million dollar each, or participate in the world’s most dangerous hunting, searching for 39 clues all over the world having as a prize the ruling of the world. Why dangerous? Because of their ruthless relatives that could do anything to stop them (or kill them). In this book, Amy and Dan’s clues drive them to Australia, in order to discover more things about their parents (and their relation to the clue hunt) and of course find the next clue. There, their uncle Shep Trent, who is a surfer and a navigator of a plane, helps them by transporting them all over Australia. They are on the trail of a criminal named Bob Troppo who they believe was about to find all the clues. As always they were true and with the help of another uncle they translate a poem that leads them to the sixth clue. Unfortunately, Amy and Dan lose one of their secret allies who sacrificed herself to save them and Amy remembers things of the night her parents died, making her believe that she was the cause of their death.
Main Characters
The characters become more and more in each book. Sometimes they don’t appear at all but most of the times their role is very dangerous. The main characters (that also appear in each book) are Amy Cahill, Dan Cahill and finally their au-pair Nellie Gomez.
Amy Cahill is a 14-year-old girl that is very shy and when she panics or she is among many people, she stutters. She is a bookworm and she remembers everything her grandmother Grace had told her. She likes history and she always wears a necklace of Grace that she used to wear. In the clue hunt, she is the sensible person that connects all the information and finds the solution. In this book, she finds the meaning of the poem (and the clue) and who really was Bob Troppo.
Dan Cahill is an 11-year-old boy that has many collections, from ninja cards to caps of bottles. He barely remembers the night their parents died something that upsets him. The only thing that reminded them to him was a photo that he lost in an underground. In the clue hunt, he is the one that solves all the mathematical puzzles and the anagrams in seconds, something that he “inherited” from his father.
Finally, Nellie Gomez is the nanny of the two children. She always listens to music from her iPod and she helps them by translating the languages all over the world. In this book, she navigates Shep’s plane and the one of his friend. There, Amy and Dan get worried as this is something that Nellie never told them (that she knows how to navigate a plane although the young of her age). They think that she is “trained” to protect them, a thought that grows bigger in their mind when they see that she takes e-mails from a mysterious person that are locked with passwords. But, they also know that Nellie never made them give her the clues they found. So, what is going on with Nellie?
Major Themes
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this series of books is something that is always repeated; that you should never trust anyone. Even though it is always in the children’s mind, they trust sometimes their relatives sharing with them some clues, something that most of the times proves that was wrong to happen leading Amy and Dan almost to death.
Recommendations/Warnings
I recommend this book because it is awesome. Even though I would never buy a book that has as its title “The Maze of Bones” (the first book of the series), I loved it from the first page.
You should better read these books numerical (from the first and then second, third etc) because otherwise you’ll get confused with the many characters and facts.
Thank you for reading
The book I read this month is “Girl with a pearl earring” by Tracy Chevalier. T. Chevalier was born in 1962 and grew up in Washington DC. She got two degrees: one in English from Oberlin College, Ohio, the other in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. She has lived for 20 years, and past, in London and now she is married, with one son. “Girl with a pearl earring” is her second novel and has won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award. The book has been made into a film, that lately became very famous. The books tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old girl who becomes a maid in the house of the famous painter Vermeer. Griet is very calm and attentive, and her different way of looking at things and at the world makes sure that the painter feels attracted to her. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings, teaching her how to create colours. Not only she has to manage with these “feelings” for Vermeer, but also she has to fight with six children, a loyal maid Tanneke, Catharina, Vermeer’s wife and his mother-in-law Maria Thins. The household is predominantly dominated by Cornelia a six-year-old girl who sees more than she should. Griet also has to control two growing attentions, from a local butcher and from Vermeer’s patron, the wealthy van Rujiven. Griet has to find her way through this completely new life, outside hers which has been fragmented due to accident and death. When Griet becomes part of Vermeer’s work their intimacy grows, and in the house jealousy disrupt and changes the tranquillity of it. After a while the reader is able to find out that even Vermeer fall in love with Griet; he can see the pure beauty in her. In the story although, what doesn’t happen is far more important than what does happen. Between Griet and Vermeer there’s a high respect, that lead them to just stare at each other in adoration and just for once let their hands brush together when she’s helping him to mix his paints.
ReplyDeleteAll this gestures finally never led to anything. This is the book’s focus; on what never happens but “should”. The reader is taken to wish for Vermeer and Griet’s relationship to grow page after page, although this is where Chevalier’s talent show up. Taking the reader to believe something would happen and then surprise us all and never let it happen; specifically in the book the unconditional love between the two main characters (Vermeer and Griet).
The book also analyzes the “fight” between two different, but at the same time similar, religions: catholic and protestant, always in conflict one another.
The book is well written and the character’s descriptions are very specific so the reader can empathize with each of them. The story is really interesting and the author let the reader to love the protagonist, Griet, which is intelligent and ready for all the terrible things that life will bring to her. The novel isn’t long but full of meaning, as Hemingway’s stories, it looks as if Tracy Chevalier uses the iceberg theory (novels are not long but they are vastly meaningful).
I read "Christmas Carol" of Charles Dickens, this is the second time that i read it but last time was a lot of time ago! Reading it again the message sent form the 3 spirits was more interesting form the first time i read it. I think that the second spirit was the one that critically damaged his strong barrier of credulity, and sadness.
ReplyDeletesummary The never-ending story
ReplyDeleteBastian Balthazar Buz is the protagonist of “The never ending story” he’s a young boy of around 10 years old, that after stealing a book from a store called:”The never ending story”, hides in the attic of his school and starts falling in love of it. Not after too long, he discovers he’s part of this story too and will have to be the hero that saves the world of Fantasia.
Fantasia is the magic world, were thousands of different creatures live and is ruled by the lovely childlike Empress. She is very sick and about to die, and the only way to save her is from bringing a human to fantasia: Bastian.
The Empress sends a young green skin boy: Atreyu, on a mission, and during his long adventure he is able to transfer the message to Bastian, that he was the only one able to save fantasia, and when he was ready he had to yell out her new name. “Moonchild”! Was the new name of the childlike Empress.
Bastian meets the childlike Empress, that gives him the Auryn, a medallion that connects him to her, and allows him to have what ever wish he wanted.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
ReplyDeleteJean Webster is a famous female American writer, most of her novels are based on orphan and the most universally acclaimed work is “Daddy-Long-Legs” which has been well sell over the world and becomes one of required readings for the girls. “Daddy-Long-Legs” is an epistolary novel which means a series of letters.
Jerusha Abbott (after named herself as Judy), as a child she was raised in an antiquated orphanage. Judy never had enjoyed any family fun. One day her life had been changed dramatically, one rich man whose name was giving as John Smith and because of her outstanding writing he decided to maintain her to college. Therefore, Judy began a different life and she called her supporter as ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ .For her everything was new, during the college life she delightedly learned so many knowledge and had so many experiences .She was worrying that she was not good as Daddy thought .Judy wrote letters to Daddy ceaselessly which he required for but she had never received any thing back not even few words. Daddy sometimes seemed does not existing. By a chance she met Jervis Pendleton III who had a lot of charisma and because his wide range of knowledge and his original view towards problem attracted her. However when Judy graduated from college, she rejected Jervis’s propose even though she loved him deeply .Meanwhile, Daddy invited her to New York and she found out that ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ was Jervis. Judy was shocked but a romantic love story began more specifically was a continuation of her love story.
The main character of the novel is Judy herself. As you reading the novel you will find out that Judy is a dynamic character. In the beginning of the novel, she is a little bit self-contempt and not totally happy on her life because she is an orphan. However due to this reason, she groups ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ as her only relative , the only one that she can fully express and having a tendency to confide. She is a cute, simple and has a white spirit as you reading the novel. She never hides anything to Daddy neither good news or bad news and everything little things in her life. Furthermore she is always happy since she knows that it is simple to live with happiness because she lives at present, never regrets any decision and never wonders about future. Nevertheless, as Judy studies more and earned more knowledge she becomes more mature in both heart and appearance. All in all, Judy has been changing with the time but the only thing she does not is her heart – simple and always thinks of happiness.
The major theme of the novel is that life like a labyrinth: everyone has the same entrance, there are many ways and difficult to find the exit but if you do not give up you will find the way out. For instance , Judy is young and charming who is not born at a good family but she has a pure and simple faith which is never blame anything and anyone and live in present because” yesterday already passed, tomorrow unknown, live in present!” Life is simple and you can find it everywhere around. Walking on the street you can find sun shines everywhere; people smile and people singing about their happy life.
I recommend this novel. During the Christmas holiday I went to my cousin’s and found this book on her bookshelf. Among all the books I was attracted by its name. After I began to read it I found it very easy but it seemed have an attraction that made me to finish the book. The author wrote the book in a particular way , almost the hole novel was written with letters to narrate the story and it was very interesting and maybe because Judy was a girl so every single thing she wrote was very detailed and specific .When I was reading the book the words from Judy make me smile and feel happy.
Something interesting is that a movie and a Japanese cartoon are both made based on this novel.
The Catcher in the Rye
ReplyDeleteThe Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. The novel is about Holden Caulfield, a teenager that goes to New York after being expelled from school for poor grades. His parents don’t know about his expulsion therefore he doesn’t go to his family and checks into an hotel. The story is written in first person therefore the feelings and everything Holden thinks are very personal and it is very easy to identify in this character, especially for a teenager because Holden is 16 years old. Holden has many prejudices and writes everything he thinks, everything he doesn’t say in real life because of his lack in personality.
“ I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.” This quote clearly shows how Holden constantly thinks about what people think about him, he wants to appear different, and finds it very difficult to say the truth also in very simple situations. This is shown especially when he speaks about sex. Sex as well as relationships and everything that has to do with women is a very important motif in the novel because they represent the adult world, a world that Holden fears. He fears being an adult because adults have responsibilities and he is sure to be a failure in his life. He is 16 years old and says he often behaves as a 13 years old. Holden thinks about sex most of the time he is with a women however he is very shy and fears intimacy therefore although he had the possibility, especially with a prostitute in the hotel, he doesn’t lose his virginity. He pays the prostitute only to talk and not be left alone, he is alienated from the world. The alienation makes Holden think that practically all of the people are “phony”. He uses the word “phony” to describe any form of superficiality in a people, as an example teachers who want to appear like teachers and change their personality. He also believes that “people never notice anything”, this is probably because he notices everything about everyone instead of knowing a person he prefers observing him and think about all his “phoniness” and his demerits. I conclusion I recommend to read this novel because it helps you to understand the feelings of a person who has a weak personality and it is also very simple and entertaining.
Book report
ReplyDelete“A very private Gentleman” by Martin Booth
The novel I read is called “A very Private Gentleman” and it was written in 1990 by the british author Martin Booth. The novel can be considered as an action novel because of the main themes of the book and how all the plot evolves.
The main character of the book is Signor Farfalla (Mr. Butterfly), who is an American killer expert in creating weapons. This man after a terrible mission in Sweden, in which he almost risked his life, decides to retire from his dangerous job. After having communicated the decision about his life to Larry, his committee, he is asked by Mathilde, a woman who he meets in Rome, to create and assemble a really precise and powerful rifle, which he will not be asked to use. Signor Farfalla decides to retire in a small town in Abruzzo where he considers to be safe and have the tranquility he is looking for, but as well to create this really powerful rifle. Here in Abruzzo he becomes a close friend of the local priest and he will fall in love with a prostitute called Clara. The relationship with Clara is quite tormented because one day he will find in her purse a gun, and understands that on a date somebody is following them. So he continues his job in Abruzzo always quite frightened from the idea of not being able to cancel his past, and to be always persecuted by people who want to kill him, and unfortunately this is what will happen. The day in which he gives the weapon to Mathilda, he is shot in the abdomen by the man, Pavel, that had followed him for all his staying in the small town. He doesn’t die and manages to escape, after having killed Pavel and reaches Clara, whit who he was supposed to go away with, but, when he sees her, Signor Farfalla dies because of the blood that had comed out of his body.
The main character of the book is obviously Signor Farfalla, who is a really intelligent and really sly man. We know he has a good knowledge of technology and thanks to it he is able to create all the weapons he is asked to. We know about him just from when he starts regretting of his life as a killer and so we consider him a good man, who understands his mistakes and wants to cancel them. The real problem is that he has lived a life of attention to details and trying not to be killed, so he is often paranoid, even when he is with Clara , that is his first true love.
Clara , is a young and attractive women, which was constricted to be a prostitute because she didn’t manage to find a job and needed money, not having a family. She, as Signor Farfalla, is a really positive character even if theoretically a prostitute wouldn’t be considered like this. She is professional in her job, and is always really attentive to every detail. She is truly in love with Signor Farfalla, and is ready to go away with him, but unfortunately he dies at the end of the book, as I previously stated.
This is a really interesting novel, that catches the attention of every reader since from the first pages. The book is written in a quite easy way, the vocabulary is simple ( apart when it goes in detail about some components of weapons), and the reading is really fast, because you don’t have to stop searching for difficult words and because it is really catching. It has been considerate such a good book that in 2010 the movie director Anton Corbjin decided to shoot a movie about it. The movie was called “The American”, focusing on Signor Farfalla’s nationality and diversity from all the other characters in the book which are mostly Swedish and Italians. The movie has been a success and famous actors like George Clooney and Violante Placido took part in it.
Dear Ms Gelso and classmates,
ReplyDeletePart 1
The book I read is called A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The genre of the book is ghost story, or a fairy tale.
Summary
It was Christmas Eve, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and in the city of London it was very cold and almost dark. There was no sunlight because of the thick fog in the air. In the centre of the city two names were painted on the door of an old building: Scrooge and Marley. Jacob Marley had dyed seven years ago. Scrooge didn't like people. He didn't care about people. He only cared about only one thing: money! He had no friends. Nobody visited his house. Nobody said hello to him as he walked through the street. But Scrooge wanted his life to be this way. He liked writing down amounts of money people owed him and people had given him in his account books and working in his office - even in Christmas. `Nonsense! Rubbish! Christmas is nonsense. It's humbug! Bah!' Scrooge use to say. Suddenly, Fred’s nephew came to scrooge’s house for a Christmas dinner invitation, Scrooge said don’t ever say that and Goodbye. Suddenly, Jacob Marley's ghost appeared next to the fire. He said three other ghosts were going to appear that night: Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They were going to help him to be good and kind to other people. Scrooge closed his eyes then opened again. He was in his own bedroom. `Jacob Marley, thank you for sending the three ghosts, thank you for coming to help me'. He said. He was happy. He had a merry Christmas. He helped poor people. After the visit of the three ghosts, Scrooge finally was a changed man.
Main Characters
Ebenezer Scrooge: he is a very bad man. He doesn't care what people call him. He doesn't care about people. He doesn't like people. He only cares and loves so much only one thing: money.
Ghost of Christmas Past: it looks like an old man, but it's the same size as a child. Its long hair is white as an old man's hair, but its face and skin is soft and smooth like a child's skin and face. Its arms and hands are strong, but it feet and legs are small. It wears a long white robe. It carries a branch from a green holly tree in his hand. It also carries summer flowers on its robe and a big pointed cap. From the top of the cap comes out a bright light.
Ghost of Christmas Present: it is huge and smiles all the time. It holds a big torch that looks like an animal's horn. A small, bright, red flame burns at the top of it. It has a kind voice and a kind face. It wears a long white and green robe. Its hair is long and brown, but as long as he is with Scrooge it falls and turns white. Around the top of its head there are leaves from a holly tree, and it they have ice.
Ghost of Christmas future: it wears a long black robe which touches the ground. Its head is covered by a large hood. It doesn't speak, and it always points at some place with his finger. It is terrible.
Part II
ReplyDeleteThemes
Some of the themes that describe this book are
Kindness
Learning
Goodness
Recommendation/Warning
I would recommend this book to people, who really like a happy ending and seeing someone change completely.
Other Information
Check out some other books from Charles Dickens like, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist.
Thanks for reading and I hope you like it.