My Last Post Involving Riddles

Anyone who wants the weekly riddle can have it.

The Delayed Weekly Riddle

Sorry for the delay, I was out of town.

The answer to the shadow riddle was the castles shadow.

This Weeks Riddle- He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he?

No Fear Shakespeare Macbeth

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic 219 page play (Double pages makes it  438 pages. Translated to plain English by Sparknotes, No Fear Shakespeare puts the original text of Macbeth and translates it side by side modern text. I would suggest reading through the original part first, then going back and reading the translated part. Like Hamlet, one thing leads to another person dying. In the end, eight people total died. Three witches try to comfort Macbeth when he returns from a war, but they do not really. The general, Banquo is predicted by the witches that he will become king. Macbeth and his wife murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth then puts Duncan's blood on the swords of the sleeping guards. Macduff discovers Duncan's body and Macbeth kills the guards saying that they obviously murdered Duncan. Macbeth then becomes king. Lady Macbeth then starts to go crazy and kills herself. Then Macduff kills Macbeth and Macduff becomes king.

Sea Glass and Book Bag Props

The Book

Sea Glass, by Laurence Yep, is 215 pages (double pages, so 430 pages). Craig loves his life in San Francisco's Chinatown, so he is pretty bummed when he finds out that he and his family are moving away to Conception. Craig's father wants him to be an athlete, since not many Chinese are athletes, but Craig hates playing sports. Only His Uncle Quail understands this. Craig lives his life with his parents and visits his uncle quite often. Then he meets Kenyon, who becomes a friend with Craig. At first, Uncle doesn't want to meet Kenyon,  because she is a "Western", but he agrees to meet her eventually. They like to go to the ocean and swim together. One day, Craig is unable to take Kenyon to the beach she gets mad and stays away from him. Then he gets in a fight with his dad over the topic that he doesn't want to play sports. A few weeks later his parents have a talk and tell Craig that if he really hates his sports this much, he could stop them. Craig tells his father that he has been doing some swimming with Uncle Quail and that he would play that, but not for competition.  I really enjoyed this book!

Props

1. Sea Glass- The Sea Glass is an important part of the story even though it was only in the last two pages. Craig found a piece of sea glass when he was swimming in his uncles cove,

2.Water- This symbolizes Uncles cove, which was like a private part of the ocean in his backyard. Craig and Kenyon swam there quite often.

3. Chinese Calender- The Calender shows Craig's Chinese heritage and the setting in Conception's Chinatown. Craig fit in more in San Francisco's Chinatown than he did in Conception.

4. Swim Goggles- The goggles represent Craig and Kenyon's love for swimming in u=Uncles private cove. Craig had to persuade Uncle to let her swim in his cove because she was a "Westerner".

5. Yellow Rose- The yellow rose symbolizes Craig and Kenyon's friendship. Kenyon actually made fun of Craig when the first met, but they became good friends as the story went on.

6. Receipt- The receipt shows the store that Craig's family ran. It was in a two level building in which the bottom level was the store and the upper level was their home.

7. Inflated Basketball- This shows how Craig's father REALLY wanted Craig to be good at sports like he was and that that was the only way that he would be accepted in Conception.

8. Deflated Football- This prop symbolizes how Craig really didn't want to play sports and how he thought he was really bad at them unlike how his dad was.

9. Leaf- The leaf represents Dad and his dream of Gardening. Their new place had an old, run down, backyard that Craig's dad was determined to fix up. He eventually made it a beautiful garden with trees and flowers.

Dragonwings (4th Quarter Books)

Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep, is a wonderful 317 page (double pages = 634 pages). This book starts out in China with Moon Shadow living with his mother and his father living in San Francisco. When something happens that makes him have to live with his father, Moon Shadow is not very happy about the idea. His fathers dream is to build a flying machine (airplane). He has tried and tried but failed each time. When Moon Shadow arrived his father thought that he should learn more English. His teacher is Miss Whitlaw, but she turns out to be more of a friend to them. Then the big San Francisco earthquake happens, leaving nearly everyone homeless and starting fires everywhere. They move to Oakland where his father continues to work on his flying machine. He actually makes it work, but falls of and breaks a leg and some ribs. He is considered very lucky to be alive, but he gives up his dream of flying and puts his family first. Mother travels out to Oakland where the are reunited as a family. I think  this is a book that any one would enjoy.



Pie (IMPORTANT)

I am still looking for the pie cutter from pie day. If you think you might have it, PLEASE check. :) thanks

Thief of Hearts

Thief of Hearts, written by Laurence Yep, is 206 pages long. When Stacey's family from China comes to live in the suburbs of San Francisco near Stacey, Stacey and Hong-Ch'un don't get along at all. Hong-Ch'un goes to school with Stacey, and since they "know" each other, they have to share a locker. Then some items belonging to some students and the principal get stolen and are put in Stacey's locker. Everyone knows it is not Stacey, so Hong-Ch'un is being blamed. She swears it was not her, but no one believes her. Then Hong-Ch'un runs away to San Francisco's Chinatown. Stacey, her mom, and her great-grandmother, Tai-Paw go to look for her. Tai- Paw used to live in Chinatown, and she cannot believe how much it has changed. They eventually find Hong-Ch'un and take her back to her home. Stacey, Tai-Paw, and Hong-Ch'un come up with a way to catch who really committed the crime. Stacey's dad gets a special gel that you can put on something, and when the person grabs it, it turns their hands purple for quite a while. The thief turns out to be Stacey's best friend, Karen. When asked why she stole, she says because it seemed like Stacey was paying more attention to Hong-Ch'un than her. After a brief fight, they make up. By the end of the story, Stacey learns more about her Chinese culture than she learned before. This book was a great read!

"A Dream Fulfilled"

What happens to dreams fulfilled?

Does it shine like greese on a hamburger?

Or flow like a milkshake through a straw?

Does it dance like a waiter in a vintage restaurant?

Or soothe like ice cream on a summer night.

Maybe it soars like a bird flying high in the sky.

Or does it just happen?

My Holocaust Project/ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Bleet

If you have any questions or comments on my, project, put them on this post. Thanks!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a 233 pages story by John Boyne about the Holocaust. Bruno's dad is a Nazi soldier. Bruno and his family live in Berlin and they are all very happy there. But when they have to move because of Father's job, Bruno is very upset. He hates their new house and gets very curious when he sees "a farm" that is actually a concentration camp. He gets curious and asks his family, but they say to stay away. One day Bruno can't resist and goes up to the fence, where he meets a skinny, frail boy named Schmuel. They meet and Bruno sneaks some food for him. Then one day, Schmel's father is missing and Bruno asks Schmuel if he can go into the camp. Schmuel thinks he is crazy, but says yes. Then they go into the camp. But they just had to choose the day when they are going to kill of the entire concentration camp in a gas chamber. They think Bruno is a Jew, so he and Schmuel get killed together. His family figures out what has happened, and they are very sad and feel like they could have prevented it (which they could have). This book was very sad, but also very well written.

Child of the Owl

Child of the Owl, by Laurence Yep, is 278 pages long. Casey lives with her father Barney, who has lots of troubles with gambling. Because of this they move around all the time, staying in cheap motels and renting cheap houses. But when Barney gets hospitalized, Casey has nowhere to stay. She goes to live with her Uncle Phil and his family, but they are too goody-two shoes and are not a good fit for Casey. So she goes to live with her grandmother, Paw-Paw, in San Francisco's Chinatown. It takes getting used to, but Casey gets used to life with her grandmother in Chinatown. She is enrolled in a Chinese school that she hates, but copes with it. Paw-Paw takes Casey around Chinatown and shows her some things. Paw-Paw tells her a story about her family's charm, an owl. The Charm means everything to Paw-Paw and she treasures it. Casey and Paw-Paw are having a great time together, until they come home one day to find out that they are being robbed. Paw-Paw barges inside after Casey tells her to just stay outside. They come in to find that the thief is taking all their money and the owl charm! Then the thief throws Paw-Paw against the wall and she is hospitalized. Casey lives alone for a couple of month until Paw-Paw gets better. She has to use a cane all the time. Then Barney comes to meet Casey. He admits that he was the thief! He needed the money and the charm to get out of some serious debt. Casey says that she never wants to see him again. Barney tries to explain, but Casey won;t give in. After Paw-Paw gives Casey a speech that encourages her to forgive Barney, she calls him and they make up. I recommend this book to readers who can read through pretty harsh stuff.

Dragon Road

291 pages of greatness describes Laurence Yep's book, Dragon Road. Calvin Chin and his best friend Barney are residents of San Francisco's Chinatown. They like to challenge strangers at basketball and make bets to get money. One day when they are playing a game, the coach of a basketball team sees how good they are, and offers them a chance to play on the San Francisco Dragons. At first Calvin doesn't really want to play on an official team. But when they hear how much they get paid for each game, they decide to do it. They pack up most of their things and set off to play basketball. The van that they use to travel in is in horrible condition, so they have to stop for repairs along the way. The team makes many stops throughout the country and wins most of their games. Then they arrive in Idaho and see snow for the first time in their lives. They stop and play in it for a while, then set back off to play more games. On the way, one of their car's tires pops and they don't have a spare. The tire has patches all over it, so they are actually patching patches now. Then they arrive in a tiny Chinatown in the middle of nowhere. They stay in a motel instead of the van and wash their clothes and have some Chinese food. The season is starting to come to an end, so they play even harder. Calvin hurts his wrist and can't play for a few games, so he is pretty upset about that. Then comes the last game, which they win. They start the long journey back to Chinatown. When they get back, they find out that Calvin's father died, and they have a funeral. Calvin and Barney both agree that they loved their experience on the team and can't wait to come back next season. I recommend this book to sports lovers and anyone who loves a good read.

Skunk Scout (NOTE- All books blogged on starting with this one are third quarter books)

Laurence Yep is the author of the 179 page novel, Skunk Scout. Teddy lives in San Francisco's Chinatown and his celebrating his birthday with his family. When he opens his uncle's present, it is a can of mosquito spray. Teddy asks why and his uncle says that his birthday present to him is that they are going camping on Mount Tamalpais. Teddy has never been out of San Francisco before. His brother Bobby asks to come along with them. Teddy is hesitant at first, but when he sees how much Bobby wants to go, he gives in and they start planning the trip. Bobby goes to the library and gets several books on camping, so when the day finally comes, they are all prepared and ready. When they got to the campsite, Teddy had the brilliant idea of putting the hamburger in dry ice instead of regular ice. For the rest of the trip, they ate nothing but marshmallows, candy, and berries. Their uncle trips in poison ivy on one of their hikes and has to stay in the tent for two nights. Then on their last day, they set out on a long hike to the sea. But on the way, they get lost and Teddy has to use his survival skills to get them back to the campsite. They never get to the ocean, but all three of them agree that this was their best day of the camp. When they get back to Chinatown, they decide that they are not the type of people who are made for camping. Teddy says that his idea of vacation is a triple-feature at the cinema. Anyone who loves reading would probably enjoy this book.

Devils Arithmetic Responce

D)- Explain how Hannah came to better understand her family and their traditions after her "experience".
     Hannah came to better understand her family and their traditions because she saw what they all had to go through to be the family that they are today. Before her experience, she didn't really know what her family and religion had gone through. When Hannah was in the Holocaust she learned that she should have followed her cultures customs and listen to the stories her relatives had to tell her. She learned that everything she was doing was for a reason, not just to get together and have a party. Hannah also learned to understand what the number tattoos on some of her relatives arms was, and what that picture meant to her aunt. Hannah's experience helped her to better understand her family and traditions.

My Random Blog For School

Loser

         Loser is a fantastic story by Jerry Spinelli that has 218 pages. Donald Zinkoff is a semi-normal kid who loves school and wants to be a mailman, like his dad. Donald travels through first through fifth grade liking some teachers more than others. His first grade teacher, Miss Meeks, is one of his favorites because she has something called the Learning Train, which combines learning with having fun. Donald hates his second grade teacher, Miss Biswell, because she is very strict and yells at Donald whenever he says the wrong answer, which is often. She even has students sit in alphabetical order by their last name, something usually not done until middle or high school. During third grade, Donald misses over half the school year due to surgery to fix a stomach valve that makes him barf all the time. He is very unhappy about that because he loves school so much. He even tries to sneak out of his house a few times to go to school. He loves fourth grade because his teacher, Mr. Yalowitz seats them with Z's in the front and A's in the back. His trouble comes on field day (play day) when he gets last place in every event he participates in. Everybody starts calling him Loser like that is his actual name. Donald says that he will never do another field day ever. Then comes fifth grade, his final year at the school. Mrs. Shankfelder is his teacher and she believes in work, work, work! Donald doesn't like her very much. Finally graduation day arrives with all the awards come with it. Donald is delighted when he gets his diploma to go on to middle school and even receives an award for his hard work. This is a great book that I think anyone would enjoy.