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Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach

This book has a moral which says that you don't have to do the same as the others do if you don't want to. Even if it gives shame to your family and you are abandoned by them. You just do what you want and be happy.

That's the principle Jonathon the seagull follows in his life. He doesn't care about anything but his flying and soon is abandoned by his family. Jon kept on going without caring and one day he reached something which seemed like the paradise for all seagulls who want to master the art of flying. It wasn't meant for gulls who keep squawking and going around beating other gulls to get some food.

There, in that place, he perfects his flying and tells his master that he wants to go back to where he came from, Earth, to teach some of the gulls who wished to fly and be like him. He was permitted to go, he started with a small group and it soon started growing. By looking at him many of the other gulls get inspired and ask to be trained. He teaches everyone and some gulls start thinking of him as the son of 'The Great One' something like Jesus or Buddha, however he was just a great seagull.

There are also many beautiful photos taken of Jon. (Here are some which I have chosen from various sources in Google)

Secrets - Ruskin Bond

Secrets is a book in which there are many short stories. all with mysterious and unexpected endings. They're are many nice ones, but actually some of the stories were predictable and you knew who the thief was, halfway through the story.


 

Vicky’s Angel - Jacqueline Wilson

Jade is so used to staying, listening and agreeing with her best friend, Vicky. Suddenly, Vicky meets with a car accident right in front of Jade’s eyes. A lady also sees this and immediately rushes out of the house and calls the police and the ambulance, which came to take Vicky away. Even though the nurse in the ambulance tells Jade not to come in the ambulance, Jade insists on travelling with Vicky. When Vicky was being operated her parents rush in. Vicky’s mother starts blaming and accusing Jade of not stopping Vicky. Jade bursts into tears and Vicky’s father comforts her. Soon the nurse comes out of the operating room announces Vicky’s death.

If you think Vicky is dead, then you are mistaken. She is always full of spirit and doesn’t let being dead stop her from enjoying her life (or death!). She arrives in Ghost form…. But, she is visible only to Jade. Instead of feeling  happy to have her friend back in some form, Jade is miserable because Vicky keeps bossing and meddling with her life.

A book that makes you cry and helps you deal with a close one’s death. Can’t say if I enjoyed reading it !

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt - Stephen and Lucy Hawking

 

"George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt”  -  Sounds adventurous, doesn’t it?  Well, it is SUPER SCARY, SUPER FUN, SUPER DANGEROUS, AND SUPER ADVENTUROUS!!

George and his best friend Anne, have always had so much fun together.  It is now difficult for them to bear the fact that they won’t be able to meet again as Anne was going to New York forever. 

Her dad Eric, is a cosmologist and they , i.e. he and his team, are working on a Mars project and the head quarters is in New York. They had recently built a robot-Homer. All  the previous robot they sent to Mars had melted within a few minutes. But this robot was special. It looked like an upside down top. “Homer would be looking for water on Mars; using a special scoop at the end of his long robotic arm, he would scrabble through the icy surface of Mars to pick up handfuls of mud, which he would then bake in a special oven.” (p.75) is the description given in the book about Homer.

Now Anne and her family have moved to New York but George can’t visit them as his family can’t afford it. But then he realized that he had a secret weapon – Grandma!  She was the bossiest and most persuasive. Even Ghenghis Khan would start trembling. So George sent an email to his Grandma to which he replied within a few seconds. The email said that she would be at his house in an hour. She came exactly as the seconds hand came to twelve, making George think she waits outside a bit earlier. Somehow she persuades his parents and she also gets the plane tickets for George with her. So off he flies and there he starts his adventure, with of course Anne.

Did you know that it rains on one of the moons of Saturn – Titan but not just any rain, acid rain with acid lakes and acid volcanoes? Do you know what Goldilocks zone is? If not, then this is a must read.

Candyfloss - Jacqueline Wilson

Weekdays with mom and weekends with dad!?! Why can't both of them stay together? What's wrong with dad? What's wrong with mom? IT'S NOT FAIR!!

Flora Barnes AKA Floss, is very sad as her parents separated. Her mum is now with a dude called Steve. She had said that her father does not get proper money by making and selling Chip Butties. But Floss didn't think that an appropriate reason.

Flora faces difficulties with all these things in her mind that she couldn't even pay proper attention in the class. All the numbers and letters kept getting mixed up.

Now her mom is planning a surprise trip to Australia... well not for a holiday. Steve had got a promotion and now is a manager of his company. Only not in England, but in Australia. They were planning to go for 6 months and Floss was very excited. She was keen to go, but she couldn't leave her dad behind as she would miss him very much and also because the cafe was not doing good business.

Flora decides to stay. But is she sure? The rest of the story is about the six months spent at her dad's. It's a very nice book not really emotional but with very funny occasional jokes.

The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin - Idries Shah

Have you heard of Mulla Nasrudin before? He is a very great and wise man. This book contains some of the wise lessons he has taught to people in a jocular form. Here is just a sample of one of his teachings:

"How old are you Mulla?"

MN: 40

"But you said the same last time I asked you two years ago!"

MN: Yes, I always stand by what I have said.


:-) I found the book very funny.

PERCY JACKSON by Rick Riordan

There are seven books in this Greek mythology based series. All the books are un-put-downable.

Broadly the series is about Camp Half-Blood training to fight Kronos.

Camp half-blood is where half-bloods, i.e. half gods and half mortals stay. These people are so because one of their parents is God and the other is a normal mortal. These half-bloods cannot stay in normal places with regular mortals as they attract monsters.

Kronos is the father of three Gods Posieden (God of Sea), Zeus (God of Sky) and Hades (God of the underworld). Kronos had eaten Posieden and Hades but then the mother could stop hime from eating Zeus. Kronos now wants to destroy all the Gods and rule Olympus , the place where all gods live. Kronos is immortal and therefore upon being defeated and killed he takes other forms and reappears.

It’s a fabulous way of learning mythology. Mostly children think mythology is boring, but Rick Riordan makes it really exciting. You will learn about the names and characteristics of different gods, some great stories like that of ‘Achilles’, dangers of underworld, the beauty of friendship and so many other things.

HOW TO BE POPULAR - Meg Cabot

An 11 year old girl accidently spills juice on her best friend who also happened to be the most popular girl in the school. A small incident, which should have been forgiven was made to become a major tragedy in her life. She loses all her friends and becomes the most unpopular girl in the school.

After suffering for 5 years, one day she comes across a book which helps her in becoming popular. The book changes her life.

Dressing well, staying clean, staying fit and healthy, being nice to everyone, being honest, ignoring negativity, learning to laugh at oneself are some of tips presented in the book for becoming popular.

Some weird moments, some funny and some awkward silences. The book has them all.

KANE CHRONICLES by By Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles is based on Egyptian mythology and introduces us to various characters.

The entire series of The Kane Chronicles (3 books) revolves around the Kane family who have the blood of pharaohs, the magicians, the sun god ‘Ra’, and the serpant ‘Apophis’.  The Kane family lives in the house of Blood and have several adventures to stop Apophis from eating Ra to fulfill its desire of destroying the world.

I have read all the three books.

THE RED PYRAMID
Two teenagers, Carter and Saddie just find out that they belong to an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. They go to stop the God of evil, 'Set'. An adventurous journey indeed.
  

THRONE OF FIRE

In this book, the brother sister duo, Carter and Saddie Kane go into ‘Duat’ the place where all immortals live. They have to pass all the twelve stages of one part of the Duat in order to get the sun to rise properly. In the fifth stage they find Ra along with all the old and forgotten gods who need care . They take Ra to the House of Life and they fight with Apophis and his army.

SERPANT SHADOW

Carter and Saddie Kane go on a dangerous adventure involving trapping of Apophis’s shadow in its wax figurine after which they would need to chant a spell properly together in unison with perfect pronunciation. They need to do this to save the world.

The books are very interesting. It is actually a text of the voice recording which Saddie and Carter make at the end of the adventures. The book is hilarious particularly when there are commentaries about the characters especially Walt, Zia, and Anubis.

I now know the names of Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Frank Cottrell Boyce

Have you ever heard of flying cars or oxygen tanked cars which go underwater?? If not then don't be surprised when Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is down the road!


This car has a hundred year old engine made in 1902 known as the Zborowski engine. The Tootling family find this engine stuck up in a tree. They  put the engine in their very old camper van and somehow they made it fit in the bottom. It looked like an aeroplane engine and there was something weird about it. Soon they realized that the engine seemed to be controlling itself.


It took them to Paris first. It was only when they reached half way there, that they noticed that the engine would sprout wings in emergencies. So the family landed on top of the Eiffel Tower. All the french news reporters followed them for an hour asking them things and the family just kept shrugging at everyone which made everyone even more interested in the Tootlings.

Next they went....... I don't think I should tell you more, because u should read.


However,  I can tell u just one more thing. As I said, the engine controlled itself and so it takes the family all around the world to find all the lost parts of the car of the Zborowski. 


The journey is an exciting one.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking, a nine years old,
Doesn't slump on a sofa like a mould.

Always active and jumpy,
Sometimes so excited, she behaved very bumpy.

She lived by herself with no human company,
But yes! She did have  a horse and a monkey.

Tony and Anika were her only friends,
Playing with them on weekdays and weekends.

Physically strong, she was often misunderstood to be rude,
What could she do she had no elders to guide her from being crude.

In spite of her somewhat rude behavior,
She was helpful and kind to all near and dear.

Bed and Breakfast Star-Jacqueline Wilson

Elsa the girl with lion mane hair,
Leaving her lovely school & house is not fair.

Lived in 5 houses in total,
But ended up in a bed and breakfast hotel.

What an ill managed hotel oh! dear me,
But made a new friend named Naomi.

One mid-night Elsa's hunger was going higher and higher,
When she steps out the downstairs kitchen was on fire.

As a warning she yells "FIRE!" At the top of her voice,
Not that she had any other choice.

Because of this she becomes a star,
And lives in another hotel-a 5 star!

Just Laugh It - Tushita

Where do baby apes sleep?

In apricots!

How would a cannibal describe a man in a hammock?

Breakfast in bed!

What ten meters tall, green and sits in a corner?

Incredible Sulk!

When is a door not a door?
When it's ajar!

Clean Break- Jacqueline Wilson

Can you imagine you are a 10 year old girl whose experienced her parent's divorce and separation? Well that's what happens here. The book starts with Emily waking up from 3 years of staying with her step-father and his 2 children Maxie and Vita on Christmas. Her step-father Frankie (not the edible one!) was tall and kind and had long hair that came upto his waist. He keeps it in a neat plait while working and left it open at home. Emily loves it when her step-father calls her Princess Emerald. She wakes up before anyone else and fins the presents a the foot of children's bed. She knows that Santa's are only in stories but, Maxie and Vita don't. She hears her step-father come to the room so, she quick wakes the the 2 sleeping children up. Then they went and woke their mother up. They were all ready to open their presents. Smallest starts first. Maxie had got felt-tip pens, Vita got one of Santa's reindeer which she thought was a doll but, Emily pointed out that it was a puppet whose nose if you press will light up and will start singing. Emily got an Emerald ring as she's Princess Emerald. But their mother got the grandest present of all she got sparkly silver high heel sandels. Guess what  Emily's gran got? She got cool designer jeans.They all had a lovely breakfast.Her step-father insists on leaning all the dishes. She goes to admire the ring. When she hears her father mumbling. She thinks he's just singing. But when she opens the door for a peek she hears her father speaking too some lady on the phone. He was telling her that he can't wait till he leaves them and comes and joins her. Emily gets a terrible shock and screams "Nooooooooooo!!!" Everyone comes rushing into the kitchen. So, he tells them everything. The rest of the story is about how miserable they all were but, soon got used to the idea.

The Face of the Alien King

Here's a story that I wrote inspired by an assignment in school:

The Face of the Alien King


Once upon a time there was a young rich girl named Ashley. She had a great interest in astronomy. One day she asks her father to take her to space in her rainbow rocket. While travelling she saw an orangish red colored a planet which had markings that looked like a man’s face. She understood that the planet was not yet discovered because she had never seen it in her planets chart. She asked her father to land immediately.

When they landed they saw aliens! They had 2 antennas, long eyes, star shaped nose and a tiny smiling mouth. They were delighted to have visitors come over to their planet. They asked one of the aliens to get something. The alien came back carrying something on a tray which they gave to Ashley. It looked like a fruit punch but tasted like coke (Even aliens drink coke!). But, she could sniff out something wrong. She found herself talking with the aliens. But can she talk in their language? That’s when she realized that the drink could help her speak alienese.

As she sat trying to get used to the idea of being with aliens and speaking alienese, she saw the king and queen of the planet.  She recognized that the face of the king of the aliens was exactly like the markings on the planet. They started speaking to her and asking many questions. She realized that whichever planet one lives in, elders ask the same questions, except for one question in this case “Which planet are you from?”

Charlotte's Web - E.B.White

Poem "Snort-Snort!"- Wilbur


Wilbur the pig. born as a runt

Slaughtered by someone, he shan't.

Brough up by Fern for a month,
Careful not to be a hunt.

Carried to a farm in a jeep,
For company only cow, goat, geese and sheep.

Till Christmas he'll be well fed,
Then chopped up to ham and bacon dead.

A spider saves his poor soul,
From getting barbecued on coal.

Weaves words on her web, in a manner which is logical,
But dumb humans think it's magical. 

When Santa fell to Earth - Corneilus Funke

Everybody thinks a Santa is a stout, old, chubby man with a long snow white beard and a stomach that sticks out, but no. Have you ever imagined a Santa who is thin and young about... 18? Have you heard about the Christmas story? Of course you did, about Jesus remember? But have you ever heard about the “SANTA” story? No?! Not a “SANTA” story! There is no such thing. Everyone knows that right? N O! This is how it goes:

There’s this Santa whose name is Niklas Goodfellow. He lives up to his name (Goodfellow)! Anyway he has all the things the children who believe in Santa’s do. Like,

2 tiny angels about THIS size (4 inches)

And about a hundred elves THIS size. (2 inches)

The angels are 2 very kind-hearted couples, Matilda and Emmanuel. But, the elves so many that even poor Niklas couldn’t remember their names. He could mostly remember the naughty and the grumpy ones names like Specklebeard, Gingerbeard, Rufflebeard, Coalbeard, Goatbeard, Firebeard, Fuzzbeard (weird names) etc. and so on. So, they fall to Earth as there was a thunder and rain storm. Very few things survived the crash but, not Matilda’s favorite angel china dish. She was weeping badly but, Niklas reminded her that anything made in heaven grows back if broken. Then she felt comforted because. She thought Niklas is the kindest there is.

Soon people started observing the caravan. Bill who talked the least was walking down the lane to his school. His school was not that far away. He was walking with his best friend Will and came across Dean who is the class math whiz. Bill was not at all good at studies nor was he good at talking. But, when it came to sports and P.E he was the best. So, Dean greeted him the same usual way ‘Hey Pea-Brain! What sup?’ And Bill’s usual answer ‘The sky!’ Then dean challenged him to a deal saying if he knocked on that door and got an answer he would let Bill copy the math test and Bill agreed. As soon as he got an answer he fled off to his school. Soon after a few days he felt more confident and he went back to the caravan. After seating himself properly and drinking some hot chocolate he started inquiring and came to the question: What’s the santa story? Now if you want to know abou it please read the book

Fudge - A - Mania - Judy Blume

Hi! I am Peter Hatcher and I am 10. I have a 1- 1/2 year old baby sister called Toothsie. I also have a really annoying 5 year old brother called Fudge. His actual name is Farley, But he is ready to kill anyone who calls him Farley. " Stop BARKING Turtle! ". Oh I almost forgot Turtle is my dog.


The story Fudge - A - Mania is a story about Fudge and our 3 week visit to Maine, a beach with our whole family. It all starts with Fudge telling me : I'm getting married!
Me : So, whose the lucky bride?
Fudge: Shiela Tubman!
And then I acted as if I fainted, because we are going to Maine for three weeks and living with Shiela Tubman, who is even more irritating and annoying than Fudge.

In order to tolerate 3 weeks with Shiela I called my friend Jimmy Fargo to come to Maine with us.

So, guess what happenned? Who got married in the end?



My GRANDMA and Shiela's GRANDPA!!



Here's a poem on the book:

Going to Maine, living with the Tubmans,
Equivalant to living with non-humans.

Shiela and Fudge make a bad combination,
The 2 most annoying people in the whole nation.

The vacation didn't go as bad as I thought,
Add to it, my grandma and Shiela's grandpa tied the knot.

The Suitcase Kid - Jacqueline Wilson

The suitcase kid is all about a 10 year old girl called Andrea, who is very sad because her parents split up.

Both her parents want her to stay with them. She cooperates a lot but they keep fighting. Finally they go to the family counsellor for help and advice. They then decide that Andrea would stay at her mother's place for one week and at her father's for the next week and so on.

NOW!! Now begins the fun!!

Both her parents have their own partners and their own children. Andrea calls her mother's new husband  'The Big Hairy Baboon '. They has 3 children who are Paula, Ghrahm and the naughtiest and most annoying KATIE!. Her father's new wife Carrie has 2 children who are Crystal and Zen. They also get a new baby in the end who is called Zoe ( Zoey ).

Andrea gets in a lot of fights with kids, especially with Katie and gets badly scolded. All the scolding is made worse by Katie's snickers and smirks.

Over a period of time Andrea starts to get along with everybody.

Its an emotional book with a touch of humour. I hope this never happens, but if at all you meet someone going through parents split up then do suggest this book. It would be helpful.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

Sirius Black, Harry Potter's Godfather has escaped from the Prison of Azkaban and is now running loose. Having escaped he makes many attempts to protect Harry, but others think that he is trying to murder Harry. Harry kept thinking that Black is the murderer of his parents but, actually Peter Pettigrew did it and he is also a servant of You Know Who ( Voldemort ).There a few NEW WORDS in the story that you might want to know>>> :
ANIMAGI - It is a witch or a wizard who turn into an animal which signifies and is best suitable for them. ( Sirius Black - Grim ; Peter Pettigrew - Rat ; James Potter - Stag ( not a beetel ) ).

BOGGART - It is a creature that will turn into anything you are scared of.

DEMENTOR - They are the gaurds for the prison of Azkaban. Everyone hates them because which ever happy thought you have they erase it of your mind that is why people ( wirazds and witches ) hate them. People don't know why Harry falls sick and faints.

Poem on Governance

Governance was our unit of inquiry,
Its time for some enquiry.
Many projects we did,
And we had opened our knowledge lid.

Decorating the class was fun,
It was bright like the sun.
Many quizes we have done,
Full of pride when we won.

We asked the school to change the food,
Most of the children found it good.
There will be changes in the uniform,
Once I reach first form.

Gazing at the stars,
Desperately seeking for planet mars.
Looking forward to play a challenging game,
Covering the school with fame.

POEM ON ENERGY

Travel, entertainment, cooking and many more;
All require energy galore.
Sources of energy are many my friends;
Selection of the ones renewable is what makes sense.

Crackling coal,gushing oil splitting uranium;
Most commonly used, they don't last long and form in a millemiun.

Trickling water down the stream;
OH! Looks like a wonderful dream.
Whistling air, moving with a flair;
Plant and animal waste, giving gases bare.
Burning sun and heat of the earth;
Reminder of clean power without dearth.

Let us work towards using renewable over non - renewable energy;
Let us take a pledge to conserve energy.

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone ( 1 ) and started reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ( 3 ). I didn't read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ( 2 ) because the story line was pretty boring + I already saw the movie 7 times.

My favorite character are Hagrid and George. Hagrid speaks funnily for example he would say : "I woo like ter gi yer a giff." Instead of saying : "I would like to give you a gift."
I also like George Weasly even though he is not there in the story much. I like him because he is really funny, he knows all the secret routes out of the school and inside the forbidden forest. He is also the schools biggest prankster.

Actually the whole Weasly family  is funny. 

My advice is to read the book before watching the movie to understand and enjoy the movie better.

George's Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl

George's Marvellous Medicine is a marvellous book.   :-)
It is about a boy called George who hates his grandmom who keeps arguing about silly things that can't be done. Take for example:She  told George that he is growing too fast and should stop growing by eating cholocate. This was because she beleived that eating chocolate makes you grow the wrong side up instead of down.

Now tell me what to do with a grandma like this? Even George didn't know what to do.So up came George's brain to a work mode. So he started making a medicine to deal with grandma. As he anyways had to give her- her medicine at 11:00 which was one hour to go.

He started by going to the bathroom first and put all kinds of things like shampoo,aftershave, animal pills, syrups and all kinds of wierd things. I guess he wanted to make a medicine to cleance his grandma's mind.

The medicine had the effect of making his grandma very very tall ... the second round of medicine made her very very tiny.... In the end she dissapears.

While this is not an ideal way of dealing with irritating grandma's , the book is nevertheless funny and at imes inspiring :-))

Zodiac Girls - Cathy Hopkins

"Zodiac girls recipe for rebellion" is an extremely interesting book, a part of a 12 book series.

It is about a girl who used to lead a wonderful life but suddenly her life became a disaster as she moved into her aunt's apartment. She missed her pets. Then soon she went on an astrology site which made her realise that she was the Zodiac girl for the following month.

Being a zodiac girl meant being very special !!

She got to know that every zodiac sign was ruled by a planet. She was a sagittarius, ruled by the planet Jupiter. By being a zodiac girl she overcame many of her fears and also made her to look at herself in a positive manner.

The BFG - Roald Dahl

BFG, shortform for Big Friendly Giant is a very helpful giant who saved the people around the world from being eaten by bad giants.The manner in which he speaks is very funny. For example, "I is making suction boots and going upside, downside and my sister come and says 'you come down at once!' and i is says'i told you that you drive me up wall and now you done it'."  :-)

Here is a poem I wrote based on one of the chapters of the book:

MILLION DREAMS ON THE SHELVES,
WHAT THEY ARE WE DO'NT KNOW OURSELVES.
CATCH A DREAM WITH A NET,
MANY TYPES YOU GET.

IN GO DIFFERENT DREAMS IN A BOTTLE,
NOW MIX THEM IN FULL THROTTLE.
BLOW THE DREAM IN A MIND,
AND THEY THEMSELVES BIND.

Spy Dog - Andrew Cope

Spy Dog by Andrew Cope is an amazing book.It is the kind of book that you can't stop reading once you pick it up.

It is about a top secret spy known as' LARA' or 'GM451'.She had gone on a dangerous mission to defeat an evil man called MR. BIG.Her mission was to go to an adoption center and to be adopted by a lovable family and then defeat the evil villan.

While trying to defeat MR. BIG she gets very badly wounded and was no longer able to work as a spy.Hence she was able to stay with the family she wanted to.

Judy Moody

Judy Moody by Megan McDonald is a very good series. It helps you to know about your environment.

 For example the book JUDY MOODY - SAVES THE WORLD is about how she works really hard to help save the world from the trees being cut down , stopping people from littering the roads and the public gardens etc. She does all this as part of a class project.

At times it's very funny like when a dangerous alien comes on earth and stays at her house as a guest. She also has her own club for missions. The five member club has it's own club mascott toady, their pet frog.

The Worst Witch

In continuation of the witches theme, here is another book:

'The Worst Witch' by Jill Murphy.

It is the story of a girl who is a slow learner in the academy of witches. Tumbling, breaking her broomstick, turning her enemy into a pig and many other things keep us laughing. In the end she proves to be a brave witch by saving the academy from the bad witches.

The pictures in the book add more fun to the story.