WILSON!!!!

I am doing my unit plan on a book called Hatchet. In the book a boy named Brian gets lost in the wilderness after a plane crash. For some reason that made me think of Wilson from the movie Castaway. Wilson was the only friend that a guy had when he was stranded on an island for four years.

Im sorry WILSON!

Walk Two Moons

Blackberry Smoothie

I decided to make a blackberry smoothie because in the book, Walk Two Moons, Sal said that blackberries reminded her of her mother. She remembers how her mother used to pick the berries by her maple tree and poo them in to her mouth. After she would kiss that tree maple tree by her. Sal examines that tree later and thinks that she sees a dark stain on it, "as from a blackberry kiss." (113) I was not about to go out and kiss a tree after eating blackberries so I just decided to make a smoothie instead. Here I made it.


Steps to making a decent tasting Smoothie


Step 1. Go to to cub foods and buy some blackberries, milk, ice cream, and sugar. (If you don't already have)


Step 2: Add a handful of blackberries, or all of them, into the blender


Step 3: Add about 1-3 cups of milk (Depending on how much you want to drink)


Step 4: Add ice cream, also 1-3 cups


Step 5: Keep adding sugar until you think it tastes good


Step 6: Drink it all before someone finds out and wants some too.


Step 7: If you are feeling especially lazy, leave the room your blender is in before someone finds out and makes you wash it. 

Brenda - Kira Kira Jazzy Journal

Brenda

      Brenda was a very sweet girl, she always had a smile on her face that enlightened everyone that saw her. Brenda Swanson lived in a wealthy family. Her family owned lots of land and her parents worked very hard to obtain everything they. The family earned every penny they had and no one could talk smack about them like they did about Mr. Lyndon. Brenda's parents were often out imagining their business and taking care of their land and other things that they owned. She did not have any siblings that could keep her company and also she was not allowed to talk to any of the maids or workers around her home. She was a very lonely girl. She has been very lonely and full of energy, Just like Lynn. Brenda was an adventurer, she constantly had to be up to something and could never stop moving around. The nearby swamp was her very favorite place to be around. At the swamp there were a lot of exciting things that she could do but she did not go to the swamp to play and run around, she went there to relax and think. She would sit by the water on a mossy log and stare at the jumping fish out in the distant water. The thoughts that she would like to think about were not just simple thoughts, they were way more complex then what most 10 year olds had. She would imagine what it would be like to be a bird, spring threw the sky and glide with the wind. She also imagined being a monkey that could swing between the tree branches. The thought that most came to her mind most often was the one about being a mermaid. She always wanted to be a mermaid and wondered how she could become one. "Maybe if I go underwater and don't come up, I will grow the ability to great underwater and a tail to swim." She was so determined that doing so was possible. Brenda finally decided that she was going to try to do it. She wore her very best dress she had because she imagined that the dress would give her a beautiful tail. After a long day of staring in the water she decided to go into the water and attempt her stunt. She walked into the water slowly but confidently. As soon she went underwater completely, she started to feel nervous but knew that she had to stay in the water. To this day no one has every seen the little girl but people have been noticing abnormally large fish in the water ever sense. 

Bud, Not Buddy - Jazzy Journal

Bud, Not Buddy. Jazzy Journal

In this Jazzy journal I will write my thoughts about how this book would be different if the character of this book was the opposite gender.

            I think that if Bud in the book Bud, Not Buddy were a girl the story would be completely different. From the very beginning the story would be completely different. When bud first gets sent out of his home to go live with the Amos family he quickly finds out that he is not wanted there and gets beat up and put into a shed.  Todd Amos told him, “Yeah, Buddy, keep a sharp eye out for the vampire bats in the shed.” This whole situation probably would have never happened if Bud were a girl. The Amos family was kind enough to take in Bud but they were truly afraid of what he was capable and didn’t trust him at all. If the Amos family took in a girl then they would probably treat the girl with sympathy.  Todd would probably not stick pencils up the girls nose. Well, maybe he would. Either way I highly doubt that the girl would start to fight back. I would assume that she would just cry and tell the parents. In the worst case, if there were a fight, then the girl would still probably not get sent out to sleep in the shack. Even after that, the girl would probably go back to the orphanage.  It was uncommon for girls to travel alone. As you can see, the story has already completely changed. If the Bud were to be a girl, everything would be different. 

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Musical

If I was to make a musical about this book, I would try to make it at enjoyable as possible and try to keep the audience in a very light mood but at the same time serious enough to show the troubles of the time period. 

Sound Track:

1. We Are Family - Sister Sledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpYgpF1bqQ

This is a very light song about family. It shows the importance of family. This book really shows that family is important and I think this song perfectly depicts it. It is a well-known song.

2. Woody Guthrie - This land is your land.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaI5IRuS2aE

I chose this song because goes perfectly with the book. The book has a very important theme about land and this song sings about land. It is a very light and well known song. In the book land was very important because it gave the African Americans power and strength.

3. James Taylor & Carole King - You've Got a Friend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7RPCFfudmU

This last third song I chose is a bit sadder than the other ones. But it is a good song about friendship, which is very important in this book. I would play this song when the kids are trying to be friends with each other and can’t.

Actors

Papa                  

-Denzel Washington

Mama

-Viola Davis                          Big Ma - Whoopi Goldberg

T.J.  - TRISTAN WILDs            

or Donald Glover 

 Cassie - Willow Smith ^

 Little Man - Jaden Smith^

 Mr. Morrison - Ossie Davis ^

Stacey- KWESI BOAKYE^




          

                        

Stage Design: I want my set to be located on a plantation with a little shack. I also want there to be a small town near by and a school. Lasty, I want to have a dust/muddt road by trees.

Ramona's Journal

Dear Journal,

I thought that today would be one of the worst nights of my life but I was wrong. I really wanted to a have a good sheep costume today so I could be just like my friends but I was not able to acquire my own. I wanted to be a sheep really badly and was hoping that my mom would make me one but I was not thinking about she doesn’t have much time to make me one. She has a very busy work schedule and when she comes home she does not have much time. I know I was wrong for thinking that my mom would make me one but what my dad said was very mean. He told me, “It is your own fault.” (2239) Something I wish that I would have tried to make him quit smoking after charismas so he wouldn’t be so grumpy and so he would help me make the costume. I was also very sad when he called me a brat behind my back. He should not have called me that and it made me cry.

After all the night of the concert did not turn out very bad. Yes, I had the worst costume of all my friends but that did not stop me from going out there. At first I did not want to go out to perform because I was embarrassed but then when I saw the three wise persons putting on make up I was interested in what they were doing. First I was peaking  at them but they noticed me. I wanted to try some make up so I came and they painted me a nose and put make up on me. I was very excited and suddenly I wanted to go out. I felt like I was being covered and concealed and that no one would notice me behind my makeup. I felt like a different person. When my friends saw that I had a black nose they wanted one too and at the end it turns out that they wanted to look just like me instead of the other way around. That made me very happy and I am glad that this happened to me tonight. I am very happy now. 

10 Important elements/ Characteristics of The Book of Three

10 Important elements

Here is my list of the 10 most important characteristics or elements in this fantasy. They are not in a specific order but all add to the

1. Entertaining – good read, funny,

2. Details – lots of details, vivid descriptions of setting that include all 5 senses.

3. Good lessons – very important and teaches collectively accepted beliefs

4. Good vs. Evil – clear distinction between good and bad.

5. Medieval setting – swords, horses

6. Quest/ Journey/ Adventure – Taran goes on a long adventure and ends up being a hero

7. Trilogy – there is not a solid ending to this story and could possibly be continued

8. Mythical creatures – There are many different creatures that show up throughout the story

9. Magic – one of the most important and adds to the excitement when you read

10. Forest – important metaphorically as a barrier between good and evil

A letter to Despereaux

A Letter to Despereaux

Dear Despereaux,

            I have been fortunate enough to read your story. You are one of the most inspirational and complex mice that I have ever heard of. You, my friend, are a brave soldier and you are the Knight in shining amour. Being brave is something that most people have problems difficulty with. It is very hard sometimes to over come your fears but you have done an exceptional job. Your love for the princess has leaded you to save her and bring happiness back to the kingdom. Although your bravery, courage, motivation and love are characteristics that I admire with great respect, they are not your best traits. The best thing about you is your high values. You have showed me that you are more than just a good mouse. When you said, “I forgive you, Pa.” (DiCamillo 208) you impressed me. Even though he has done the worst possible thing that he could do to you, it showed me that you have good inside you.  Not many other people or mice are so good. I think that if more people and mice where like you, the world would be a better place. There would not be evil. The dungeons that you were sent to would no longer be dark and there would not be any prisoners inside there. The whole kingdom would be able to enjoy a nice warm bowl of soup everyday and enjoy life in happiness.

            I wish you all the good things in the world. You have brought light upon your kingdom and you deserve to live happy life with the princess. I hope that the evil rats will never bother you ever again. You earned what you have and should never lose it. I wish that I could learn from you and have your bravery, courage, happiness, and love. I have much to learn from you, just tiny mouse that weighs less than a spool of thread. I hope that you continue to live happily ever after. 

Original Book Project week 5 Discussion Board 4

Plot: 
The plot of the my story is about a young boy who has caused lot of other people to suffer for his mistakes and mischief but later realizes what he has done and does all that he can do to fix everything.


Conflict: 
Trying to get forgiveness from people and do whats right even though its uncomfortable 


Character:
 The main character is young boy named Colten. He is very daring, fearless, careless, and reckless at the beginning but later changes. 


Setting:
 The story will take place during a summer break in a neighborhood. The neighborhood is mostly filled with expensive houses except for a small street with 2 small housed on the edge of the woods and right by a pond. 


Theme:
 Consistency and handwork will bring success


Point of View:
 The story will either be told by Colten or will be about Colton. 

Jazzy Reading Journal - Meet Murphy

Jazzy Reading Journal

It’s not over yet Part 3

            Just as you thought it was over and everyone lived happily ever after, the automaton started to move again. How could that possibly be? Thought Hugo. “He is moving on his own!” The automaton started to move as if it was alive! He was going completely out of control! He stood up and started to walk and move around and then fell strait back to the ground. This was the scariest but also the most amazing thing that Hugo has ever seen.

            When this incident first happened both Hugo and Murphy were in the now large workshop that Hugo had acquired with the money from his uncles cashed checks. This workshop was one large room that had all the tools anyone would ever need to fix anything they wanted. Along one wall there was a large shelf with jar upon jars filled with mechanical parts. There was one small window by the door on one wall and one large window that completely covered the ceiling so you can see stars at night in the sky. Hugo lived in this workshop and spent most of his time in it trying to perfect his automaton.

            Hugo was terrified at what happened earlier that day but he had to figure out what it was. He did not make any mechanisms in Murphy that could allow him to walk but yet some how he did. Hugo had to figure out was happened. He placed the Murphy back on his chair and wound him up again but he no longer worked. He was broken, or was he? Murphy then jumped from his chair as if he was a chimpanzee and jumped toward Hugo. He got up really close to Hugo’s face as if he had never seen something so amazing before. Hugo did the exact same thing and could not believe what was going on. Suddenly Hugo heard some knocking on his door. Who could that possible be and what would they say if they saw that the automaton had come to life! Hugo was freaking out and did not know what to do and everything around him started to go around him in circles and he felt as if he was melting away. Indeed he was as the sunlight was shining strait in his eyes as he awoke from the crazy dream he had just had. He stood up quickly and looked at Murphy to see if he was still sitting at his desk.  Murphy turned his head back at Hugo and winked. 

Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen is a well-known American writer with a very strong passion for reading. Gary is a very hard working person and has gone threw many tough jobs in his life. He wrote over 175 and close to 200 articles and short stories for young adults and children. He was very committed to writing and at times he would spend up to 20-hour days writing. Paulsen is one of the most important writes for young adults because three of his novels won the Newbery award. A book that most people might have encountered by him is called the Hatchet. I read this book many times. The book is about a thirteen year old boy who is unfortunate enough to crash land on a lake in the Canadian forest. The book is about him trying to survive alone and about all the things he goes through before he is finally rescued. Many readers were so impressed by this book that they wanted to see what would happen if the main character in Hatchet wasn’t rescued. Gary Paulsen accepted that challenge and wrote yet another impressive book. He is a writer with great skill and pride in his work.

This author influenced the development of children’s literature in many ways. Gary has a desire to tap deeply in to the human spirit. This influences readers to observe and care about the world around them just like some previous writers started to do in the last couple centuries. 

My Myth

My Myth: Locked up Dragon

            Long ago, in the age of dinosaurs, a tyrannosaurus rex sits over her fresh eggs that she just laid.  There were three eggs, they all looked identical to each other. As time went on the mother T. rex started to notice a strange spot on one of the eggs. It was a dark circle spot on the top of the egg, which seems to be swallowing the egg as time moves on. The mother started to worry for the egg and was afraid that I was infected or even dead already. She tried her best to take care of the unfortunate egg and pay extra close attention to it. Not long after, when the eggs were just about ready to hatch, one of the two white eggs cracks and a little tyrannosaurus rex head pops out and starts to struggle with the rest of the shell.  Just moments after the second white eggs hatches too and both little t. rexes start to learn and develop into a fully-grown flesh-eating dinosaur. The mother was so joyful with her two new baby rexes that she completely forgot about the third black egg.

            As time went on the black egg still lay there motionless. The mother was starting to get worried that the egg will never hatch. After a while of watching mother rex show love to the egg the baby rexes started to be jealous and decided that they should destroy it so they can get more attention.  Early in the morning when the mother was sleeping the baby rexes slipped the egg from under her and rolled it out of nest only to see it fall onto a rock and crack open. They were finally happy after they got ride of the egg and were relieved until they saw what crawled out.  It was another baby rex that was back and unique. The other two didn’t like that he was not the same so they decided to try once more to get ride of it! They attacked it with aggressive moves but soon realized that they weren’t doing anything to it. The little dinosaur got scared so he let out a cry and to everyone’s surprise fire came out that scared away the attackers.  Mother rex finally woke up after the fight controlled the problem. She then names the baby rex; Dragon.

            The black dinosaur eventually learns to trust and grow with the other rexes until one day he notices wings growing on his back. He was frightened by them and was afraid that no one will accept him so he ran away in search of place to hide. After a long and difficult day of running away finally finds a very narrow tunnel that leads somewhere. As he crawls deeper and deeper the still developing dragon finds an empty cavity deep inside the tunnel and is big enough for the dragon the rest. The following morning Dragon wakes up and realizes his wings grew bigger and now he is not able to climb back out the tunnel he came from.  Ever since then the black Dragon has been trying to get out. He is stuck inside the cavity and desperately moves his body to try to free him self but it is just not strong enough. To this day the dinosaur is stuck and every time he moves he sends massive earthquakes that rattle the earth.  

Reader's Sketch

Vasiliy Grin

Thomas Maltman

Children’s Literature, Spring 2012

Reader’s Sketch

1/19/2012

The Reader’s Sketch

         My very first memory of a story is when my mom first read to my siblings and me. We were all sitting in my mom’s cozy bed listening to my moms soft voice as she read stories in Russian. The stories that we requested her to read were usually stories of miracles happening to people. We listened in silence to every single word that she said to make sure we don’t miss anything. It was good to hear these stories and enjoyed them every single night.

As a child I was lazy. I hated reading and avoided it as much as I could. I will always remember my mothers screeching voice yelling at me in Russian, “Vasia! Edi Chitaat!”  In English that translates to “Vasiliy! Go read!” I had all the books a child could ever need but I never took advantage of it and now I remember that with great regret.  When I lived in my old house in Blain Minnesota I had all my books in my basement, half on a large bookshelf and the other half scattered around on the floor. I don’t have much memories of me ever reading the books but I do have plenty of me throwing them around and stacking them so I could later knock them all down by throwing a ball at them with my brother or what ever friends where over. I always got in huge trouble for doing it. But that didn’t last very long because my mom said if I ever do anything with the books besides read them she would force me to read them all with her. There was no way in the world I would ever want to read that much so I never throw another ball at the books again.

            When I just started elementary school is when reading started to get more serious and I continued to hate it even more. For me reading was like a chore so I still tried my best to stay way from it. That was extremely hard for me to do at that age because that is when I got my first reading log that I had to follow from my school.  Strangely enough I was actually very motivated to keep up with it, well, maybe that’s because if I read the most out of my class I would get a magic yoyo as a reward. That magic yoyo was one of the first things that I truly would do anything for. I was first introduced to it when my teacher had a speaker come into class to speak about reading. Also he just happened to know how to do yoyo tricks witch amused everyone in the class, even the girls. When he showed the class his first trick, which was called Walk the Dog or something similar to that, that’s when I realized I needed to have that to show off to everyone and get the attention I always loved. To get that yoyo I had to read more minutes then anyone else in my class. Challenge accepted, I thought to my self. So that was a big problem at first because I hated reading and I was not about to read for a few hours a day. What I decided to do for the first day of the log was just completely lie about I just wrote in the times and had my mom sign it and she did. At the time my mother did not know how to read in English so she usually signed everything I handed to her. It worked out perfectly for the first few days until my day caught on, eventually he figured out what the whole log was about and started to monitor my reading. Although now my reading was watched over from a distance I still refused to read. I would sit on my basement couch with my blanket and look through all the books I had over and over again. I did not want to read anything; all I wanted to do is just look at the creative illustrations from page to page and from book to book. The books that amused me the most are the ones by Dr. Sues. The pictures where different from most books, they where so abstract and sparked my imagination. I remember starting at a single page for 10 minutes at a time analyzing it and looking for things I might have previously missed. That is my first memory enjoyable member of books. I never ended up getting that yoyo but I did learn an important lesson about working hard for something that I desired.

            As years went on I learned to finally enjoy books for what they are. I started to love to read through out middle school. My favorite book or book series while I was growing up was called Flight 29 Down by Walter Sorrells. It was a very exciting and mysterious series that I enjoyed to read. I was about a plane that crashed on an Island and the things the group did to survive. These books really shaped my reading future. They showed me that books could be interesting and fun. Although I did start to enjoy books I do not consider myself a life long reader because if I had free time to do something fun or exiting then reading would unfortunately be one of the last things on my list. I plan to continue reading for as long as I can because reading will always bring me enjoyment when I cant do other things. I hope I can start reading more often though so I can grow as a person.

Dark Novels

 After reading both of the articles, I realized that both have some unquestionable points that I would agree on. Out of the two articles the one that I would have to agree more with is the one by Meghan Gurdon. The reason why I agree with her argument over Sherman Alexei's is because darkness to the extent that it is in right now should not be something a child reads in his or her spare time for entertainment. Note that I did not say that it is not something a child should read for healing or to obtain "weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters." (Sherman Alexie) I cannot argue with that but what I could say is that reading these dark novels for entertainment can change a view point of the reader on crime and even spark some potentially dangerous behaviors. "Reading about homicide doesn't turn a man into a murderer; reading about cheating on exams won't make a kid break the honor code." (Meghan Gurdon) A child that is immersed in a dark novel can learn that some of these dark things are what life really is for many, but the truth is, it is not for most of us. Those who are fortunate enough to not have experienced the horrible things that are so vividly described in these books should not scar their own "happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart. Entertainment does not merely gratify taste, after all, but creates it." (Meghan Gurdon) What they should do instead is read something that is entertaining as well as morally uplifting.