This is about two enemies... a cheetah and a kangaroo. The kangaroo and Wonder Woman are friends. The Cheetah and Cheetah Girl are friends. The Kangaroo and Wonder Woman are good and the Cheetah and Cheetah Girl are bad. It is a little funny. They are fighting over a golden turtle. The golden turtle gives anyone powers. If you think the golden turtle is a toy, you are wrong; it is a real animal. If you want to know the rest of this story, then read the book.
It was really fun reading. In some parts it was funny and in other parts it was a little intense. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would give it 10. I recommend everyone read this book.
I have already asked my mom to get me the whole series.
Reading Levels:
AR: 3.4
Lexile: 560L
About Collin: It's been a while since he reviewed a book on here so I thought I'd remind you. He is 8 years old and just completed 2nd grade. He is also my son. ;) And, apparently, he's a huge fan of DC Super-Pets book series now. haha! This is also the first time his book review was done completely by him. I added the reading levels and this but he did the rest. In the past, I just added his opinion to the end. This one is all him. :)
Published June 3rd 1994 by HarperCollins (first published 1947)
Genre: Children Chapter Book
Synopsis: Mrs.Piggle-Wiggle is a funny little woman who has very long hair, loves children and lives in a house she had built upside down. She wanted it built upside down because when she was a little girl she wondered what it would be like to live in an upside down house. She had the baths and kitchen put in the correct way but everything else is upside down. The chandelier in the dining room is imagined to be a fire by all the children. The children of the neighborhood love to go to her house and play because she has a child-like personality and a big imagination that the children thrive and respond to. She is also the woman everyone calls on for parenting questions. She has a creative cure for all the problems the children have. Here is a list of some of her cures: The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure, The Answer-Backer Cure, The Selfishness Cure, The Radish Cure, The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure, The Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Cure, and The Fighter-Quarrelers Cure. This book was first published in 1947 and it is fairly obvious in the way people lived in the story, to me. My kids didn't notice anything nor ask any questions. :)
My Thoughts: This was a fun read. After each chapter Collin and I took some time to discuss the choices the children were making and if he ever does, then the consequences Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle came up with for the children and what consequences would work in our home. It was really very fun. Collin squealed, "May we please read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle today?" Really, how can a mom possibly say no to that? My 4 year old daughter even joined in our readings. They were fun to listen to for her as well. My son said that he gives this book five stars because it was so fun and I must say, I agree with him, too. :)
Synopsis: A very smart college student named, Victor Frankenstein, has this amazing idea to create life. So, by attaching body parts from the dead that he scavenged from graveyards he creates a.... monster? Well, that's what everyone thinks. He's hideous and the immediate reaction from everyone is fear and hatred. The creature only wants to feel loved. The hate he receives in return for his kind actions is enough to turn anyone in to a murderous monster.
Our Thoughts: Surprisingly, my children really liked this story. Often my four year old was the one who wanted me to keep reading. We'd read four or more chapters a night because of her. ;) There is murder in the story so you'll have to decide for yourself if you want your child reading that. It gave us lots of opportunities to discuss judgment and how important it is to get to know someone before we decide if we're going to be friends with them or not. This story really has a great message of a man who just wants to be a friend and feel love but because people don't like his looks he can't have that love and acceptance that he is in search for. My kids did not like the ending or several parts throughout. By the end of the book my six year old son was SO angry at the monster and at Frankenstein. I kept having to remind him that it is fictional. haha! So, there are intense emotions in this book so take that into account when you decide if this would be an appropriate book for your child to read.
Author: (info from Google)
Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. Wikipedia
Rating: My kids had a hard time with rating it. They said it was a really good book and they want to give it 5 stars but because of all the sad parts in it they didn't like it as much so it should get 4 stars. But then, my son said, "No, it was still really good with the sad parts. Give if 5." LOL! So.... We'll go with 4.5 Stars!! :) hehe!
Synopsis: This story is written from the view point of the dog, years later looking back on her life. The reader starts following her as a puppy and it's all given from the view point of the dog and she loses family members, tackles starvation, packs of vicious dogs, cars, and the ultimate enemy --- human beings.
Our thoughts: My children decided this was a riveting journey as they followed the life of this poor dog. Parts of it made the kids very sad and other parts made them to be very happy. They loved this book and moaned any time we had to stop and do other things in our life. Her name changes several times throughout her life depending on who she lives with. She started off as Squirrel though. It's the name her mother gave her. It is an emotional journey for children though... be warned.
Author: (info from Goodreads) Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
Synopsis: (from Goodreads) Mrs. Hunter's fourth
grade class is putting on a play. But Allie's theatrical hopes are
crushed when she's not cast as the princess. Instead, she's cast as the
evil queen. But as opening night approaches, Allie learns it's not the
size of the part, it's the size of the heart that really matters.
My Thoughts: Allie Finkle is a typical girl and my kids thought she was awesome!! :) Cheyenne is a classmate of Allie's and is a complete brat. As the reader continues reading it's easy to see why. She has no rules and no consequences in her family life. I was able to stop a few times and discuss this with my kids. They ended up thanking me for providing rules and consequences. I thought that was really funny coming from my four and six year old. Cheyenne was a perfect example of the entitlement issues seen in today's children and I strive not to allow that to happen to my children. I am straying.... I just thought this book provided a great learning experience that I did not expect. Each time I had to stop reading my kids were angry at me for several minutes because they wanted to continue reading. They never wanted to stop. hehe! This one was a big hit for my kids!! :) I loved the subtle messages and lessons it had throughout and the fun storyline.
Author:
Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books
for both adults and tweens/teens. Born and raised in Bloomington,
Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the
setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director
at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws
inspiration for her Heather Wells mystery series—two new books in the series will be out in 2012 and 2013), Meg wrote thePrincess Diariesseries, which was made into two hit movies by Disney, sold over 16 million copies, and has been translated into 38 languages.
Meg also wrote the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as numerous other award-winning, best-selling stand-alone books and series, including All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy’s Got One).
Meg’s newest series include the tween hit Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, the YA trilogy Airhead, and Abandon, the first book in a new paranormal series for young adult readers (the sequel, Underworld, will be in US stores in spring 2012). Insatiable, Meg’s first paranormal romance for adult readers, was followed by a sequel, Overbite, in July 2011.
Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be
habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband and two
cats.
I know that this is “Collin’s Corner” but today I am going to talk about one of my daughter’s favorite books, Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis. My daughter is four years old and we often call her Ronni. It’s not short for anything, just a name she was stuck with as a child when Collin couldn’t pronounce her name. Ronni is obsessed with two things – her father (total Daddy’s girl) and ladybugs. In fact, her request is that everyone calls her “Lady Ronni-bug”. Yes, she came up with that all by herself.
When we found these Ladybug Girl books we were so excited. There are actually several of them and they are picture books, so absolutely perfect for her. In this particular story of Ladybug Girl she finds herself alone with her dog, Bingo. Her mom and brother are both busy so she has to entertain herself. Of course, she’s Ladybug Girl so she can do anything! She saves some ants, braves a [possibly shark infested] pond, helps to build a stone wall and accomplishes several other feats as she deals with being on her own and having to entertain herself.
I love this story for my daughter. Ladybug Girl, also known as Lulu, is just a normal little girl who can get dirty, have fun and uses her imagination. I feel like imagination is such a huge thing and it needs to be nourished and developed, especially for little girls who seem to be growing up too fast. So, the fact that I found a book that does that while entertaining my daughter is absolutely awesome! So, as a family, we give these books five stars. Yeap, they’re that awesome.
This is the day that I talk about children's book with a bit of input from my six year old son, Collin. :)
Collin is in kindergarten and learning to read. However, he hates it. I thought it was me and I was doing something wrong. I mean, I read all the time and my husband and I read to the kids all the time and they LOVE it! Collin just doesn't like reading himself. I started thinking about it and remembered how much I despised reading as a child. Finally, when I grew up, I started reading what I wanted to read and not what my mom or teachers wanted me to read and I found that I LOVED reading.
Review: A peddler calls out, "Caps For Sale! Fifty cents a cap!" as he walks up and down the street. One day, hungry and tired, he decides to lean against a tree and take a nap. When he wakes he discovers all of his hats are missing except for his very own checked cap.
Review: Four children find themselves in another world where animals speak and magic is everywhere. An evil witch has taken over this strange world called Narnia and makes is always winter but never Christmas. The only hope the Narnians have is a prophecy involving four human children and Aslan, the King of Beasts. The children must overcome many trials along the way to hopefully save all of Narnia and become the high kinds and queens of a country they found in a wardrobe.
My 5 year old's name is Collin so on Saturdays he reviews a book. Well, I write it but with his opinion thrown in there. So, welcome to Collin's Corner!
Auspicious Saturday is a day for me to post something to give children an auspicious chance. We know that reading is success so we need to give them the opportunity to be successful so Saturdays are my days to post books that my children have loved.
Genre: Fiction/Classic/Children's Chapter Book (This was the Junior Classics for Young Readers version.)
Review: This is the story of an enormous whale named Moby Dick and a whaling ship. Moby Dick first comes into contact with the captain of this whaling ship, Ahab, and in that encounter Ahab loses his leg. Ahab is then filled with so much anger that he'll stop at nothing to get Moby Dick.
