Book Report by William Chiu
May 1, 2008
I chose the book Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. The book is a fiction fantasy. I chose this book because I liked how realistic it described loneliness and friendships. In other books, it is like “Poof!” let’s be friends. This book was able to show conflicts between Jess and Leslie before they made friends. Also, I always thought that only children with no siblings are lonely. It is interesting to read about how other kids live in a big family. It seems like they felt neglected and lost too even if they have brothers and sisters. The details in the story helped make the story very emotional. I especially like the last part of the story. The author described Jess’ feelings amazingly when Leslie died.
The story took place in a farmland near a forest, Terabithia. There are only two main characters in the strory. They are Leslie and Jess. Jess is the narrator of the story. He is a regular farmer boy who felt lonely and left out at home and at school. He is very hard working, but lacks imagination and felt pity towards himself. Leslie is the opposite. She is a creative girl with a lot of imagination even though she is a single child. She moved in from Wahington DC and quickly made friends with Jess and helped grow his imagination. There is also an ex-main character that became a main character in the end. The exmain character is Mary Belle, Jess’s youngest sister. She looked up to Jess, but Jess ignored her and even found her annoying at the beginning. After Leslie died, Jesse realized that he had ignored his sister the same way he was overlooked by his parents. He finally made Mary Belle the Queen of Terabithia.
The major problem in the story was deep in Jess. He did not have friends and he felt no one cared about him. He felt angry at his family because he was not his parents’ favorite child. He liked art but he was afraid to tell anyone, except his music teacher. When he finally made friends with Leslie, he and Leslie escaped to the forest everyday after school. They found a place in the forest and named it Terabithia. He and Leslie were rulers of Terabithia. This became the place where they hided and grow their imagination. Sadly, as their friendships grew, Leslie died in an accident. Leslie death was very upsetting to Jess, but he quickly found out how much Leslie taught him in using his imagination to deal with loneliness and sadness. Then he knew Leslie’s body died, but her soul lived on. In the end, he made peace with everyone in his family and accepted his sister Mary Belle into his imaginary world by making her the Queen of Terebithia.
I recommend this book because I enjoyed it very much. It teaches three very important lessons. First, imagination is a good thing. I used to think that imagination is bad because day dreaming all day long is bad. But it does not seem so bad after reading this book. Without imagination, life would be very dull and boring. We would not have dreams and think of new ideas. Second, it teaches about friendships that last even after death. Finally, it teaches how to deal with family problems, like how we misunderstand each other and overlook each other even when we don’t mean to do that. With all these lessons in the story, it could help you learn a lot about how to deal with many problems in life!
Book Report by William Chiu
March 3, 2008
I chose the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The book is a fiction fairy tale. It is also an adventure. It is a story about how a boy follows his dream in a desperate attempt to visit Willy Wonka in the chocolate factory. I chose this book because I enjoy a lot of the descriptive information that is unbelievably wild but somehow convincing. For example, the writer was able to support the theory of Willy Wonka being a genius by saying “he invented ice cream that never melt!” If he did invent that, of course he was a genius, I thought. While I was just flipping through the pages, I was captured by some of these interesting details and wanted to read more.
This story took place in Willy Wonka’s imaginary chocolate factory around 1960s. There are 6 main characters in the story. They are Charlie, Willy Wonka, Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Augustus Gloop. Charlie is the spotlight of the story. He was the child that got the last golden ticket and the “prize” in the end of the story from Willy Wonka, owner of the chocolate factory. Mike was a television victim. He found the fourth golden ticket. Veruca was a spoiled girl that wanted everything. She got her golden ticket by whining, kicking and shoving. Violet was a gum chewer. She chewed gum for a long time until she got her golden ticket. She was so greedy for gum until she actually turned violet after chewing a special meal gum. Augustus Gloop was the first finder of the golden tickets He was greedy for food so it served him right when he kneeled by the river against Mr. Wonka’s words. Finally, Mr. Wonka was the magician of this story. He invited the children to
tour his factory by sending out the golden tickets hidden chocolate bars, with a secret objective to choose a new owner of his factory.
Now that I have described each major character, the storyline is clear. The main problem in this story was simply to have Charlie survive all the traps set up by Mr. Wonk to prove himself that he would be a good ruler of the chocolate factory when Mr. Wonka dies. Charlie passed all the traps by not being greedy. While the other children wanted everything in Wonka’s factory, Charlie knew he could not have everything. He was content with just the opportunity to enjoy the visit instead of taking everything with him.
In the end, Charlie was
rewarded for his good behavior. Mr. Wonka gave the chocolate factory to him.
The story contains real facts that hint about real life. For example, the description of Charlie’s family makes the picture of poverty a realistic issue in life. Also, spies from other factories getting into Mr. Wonka’s factory to steal secret recipes. This sounds like what my mom told me about Pepsi Company trying to steal Coca Cola’s recipe. I think the story has a very important morale lesson. It teaches children the problems with greed and selfishness. The other children were jealous of everything Mr. Wonka had in store and they wanted them all. Even though he was poor, Charlie knew that Mr. Wonka’s things did not belong to him and did not try to take them. In real life, you really don’t need to own everything in the world to be happy. Sometimes, you can be just as happy by filling your thoughts with fond memories. Charles was a content boy who knew what he needed and what he did not need. I like the ending of the story very much because I like to see Charlie being rewarded for his good heart.
Book Report by William Chiu
December 1, 2007
I chose the book Operation: Dump the Chump by Barbara Park. The book is a fiction comedy. One reason I chose this book is that lot of my friends who read the book loved it. They were convincing all right! I love comedy. When I saw my friends cracking up, I was cracking up to read the book. A second reason is that I like Barbara Park’s book. I especially love Skinnybones (the main character and title of the book). I remember what he said “Agugahbamabama”. That was so embarrassing. I read Operation: Dump the Chump because I always need my daily dose of laughter!
I hoped that this book would be just as funny as Skinnybones.
Also, when I looked at the cover, I wondered how the big boy managed to “ship away” that small boy. I was dying to read it!
The story takes place in a summer on a street where Oscar’s family and the Hensons family live. The characters are rather unique. There is Oscar, the older brother who planned Operation Dump the Chump. Then there is Robert, who is also known as “Slobert”. He is Oscar’s annoying kid brother who just does not seem to mind his own business. There is also Mr. Henson. He is very important to the plot because Oscar will need him to take away his annoying brother from his family. Oscar’s parents are just supporting characters that need to agree to give up Slobert. Because they love Slobert, Oscar had a difficult time to persuade his parents.
The story was about sibling rivalry.
Sibling rivalry is common, but
this one was even worse than getting a C- on your report card. Let’s zoom in more on the problem. Robert (the younger brother) annoyed his older brother (Oscar). For example, Robert convinced Oscar that he was holding poisonous spiders. Then
he let them go in Oscar’s room and locked the door.
A spider
bit Oscar and
Oscar almost fainted. Oscar was fed up and made a plot to get rid of Robert by then. His first step was to convince Mr. Henson that his father lost his job and his family had to give away Robert to save space and money. After that, he would convince his family that the Henson’s would like Robert to help them because they were old. However, he knew that his parents were hard to convince. So he decided to run an ad in the newspaper and wrote personal letters
pretending he was Mr. Henson
needing helps and also pretending to be his parents asking for someone to take Robert for the summer. His plan finally got discovered when he wrote “get rid” of Robert. It gave away clues that Oscar was annoyed with Robert. Soon, both families suspected what happened. So instead of Robert going, Oscar had to go as a
punishment!
My opinion about this book is tremendous. I would recommend this book to other friends because it has a very imporatnt life lesson. You could not “ship away” or run away from your problems. You have to encounter your problems and speak to your rivalry with reasoning. You can NOT punch them, harm them or do any physical damage to them. You have to confront them with words. Back to the rating, that lesson is 10 out of a scale of 1 to 10. For the overall book and the hilarious details within the story, I would rate this book 15 out of 10. Another name for that is off the chart. It is too funny to handle even if you have experienced the funniest comedies. I love
this book and I can understand why my friends liked
it. I think you would love it too if you like comedies.
Book Report by William Chiu
June 1, 2008
I chose the book Fifth Grade: Here Come Trouble by Colleen McKenna. The book is a fiction comic novel set in modern time. It has a touch of adventure in it, although not the serious type. I chose this book because I thought this might give some advice for fifth grade. (Well, it was also because there were no other books to read at my level.)
I also chose this book because it said
something about a signpost party. (Curiosity isn’t it!) The title is interesting too. I started wondering what trouble? Most stories do not mention words like trouble, problems, issues and challenges, even if it’s serious problem like a death. In this story, it turns out that people freak out on really small things (very emotional though). I like that! It makes me roll my eyes and laugh.
There are 3 main characters in this story. They are Collette, Sarah, and Marsha. Collette is a polite girl that never makes people mad, but does not speak up and know what to do. Sarah is Collette’s best friend and helper. Sarah is warmhearted but not very talkative and does not speak up for what she believes in ether. Marsha is the real convincer and annoyer….its her birthday that caused all the mayhem. She does not know what’s right and not right at all. Collette gets stuck in Marsha's boy party, will she escape? Marsha said that her signpost party will be the change of there life. But a change in someone’s life does not always go the good way, or does it? The story’s setting is in a rural area. It takes place in a time around two thousand to two thousand nine. But there are 1 sub character, Marsha’s friend and troublemaker of all time…Claudia, the annoying teenage gangster. Claudia may be planning something that will switch the party from a great experience, to a disaster.
The main problem in this novel is that Marsha’s party could turn out to be a disaster day. It’s a party with boys and girls! Collette wonders if the party could come under control. The thing is some problems could only be fixed by fixing other small problems. In this other sub problem, could Claudia ruin everything? It all started when Collette, Marsha, and Claudia went to the mall to get supplies for Marsha’s D.P (a.k.a. disaster party!) That is when Claudia decides to give Marsha a signpost present. Claudia slowly walks both Marsha and Collette to an ear piercing booth. Marsha went to do it, but luckily Collette backed away. (Infact, Claudia wrote a fake note explaining that Marsha has permission to get her ears pierced!) Then, they even went to the jewelry shop! At that point, Collette did not like what was going on at all! Claudia was going to steal an earring worth the price of over $130! Luckily, a guard caught Claudia stealing the jewel. What a relief! (When the girls went home Marsha’s mom, Marsha’s mom kept saying, “I wish you were more like Collette”. Right in front of Collette! How embarrassing. Collette knew the party could become a disaster but she also felt sorry for Marsha. That is why she decided to go to Marsha’s birthday party! Believe it or not, it incredibly did not become a disaster. With the help of Sarah and Collette, the party became a success!
Even through some characters hardly got mentioned in the story, every single character and detail was needed to make this book a success! I would recommend this book to a friend. With a touch of emotion, this book is a fun book to read for everyone!
Book Report by William Chiu
January 1, 2008
I chose the book The Long Winter by Laura Ungalls Wilder during the holiday break. The Long Winter is supposed to be a nonfiction autobiography, but I have doubt that Laura Wilder remembered so much in her 80’s to write a series of Little House books. Anyway, I chose this book because in an ELA practice, I read about her life and her writings. Also, the blurb got me to think, “Wow, a pioneer wrote this story? She must be very old!” Then it said “hero” in the blurb and I was fascinated by the thinking, “Laura Wilder knew a hero!”
The story took place in the Dacota Prairys in a winter of a very bad year. In the story, there are many characters. The main characters are Laura (the girl that grew up to write these books), Mary (Laura’s big sister), and a big helper. There are also Papa, who tries to help the family survive and their Mom, who supplied the family with items made from whatever dad got from outside. There are also supporting characters including Carrie and Grace. They are the younger sisters. I do not count them as main characters because all they do is whine and whine some more.
The main problem of the story is long snowy winter. There was so much snow that their train supplies were not coming. The whole town was suffering. Luckily, Laura’s family had stored every piece of food they had. They had to share one piece of bread by dividing it into six and share half a bowl of cod fish gravy by thinning it out with water. They were all starving and got very skinny. They did not have energy and felt very cold and weak. They tried to comfort
each other by telling happy stories. Laura was very scared during the long winter, but she was comforted by her big sister Mary. When they finally ran out of all supplies, Laura’s father went out to the store owned by Almonzo and Royal. The store owners hid a lot of wheat in the store and refused to sell them to people in the town who were all starving by now. Laura’s father discovered the hidden wheat and convinced Almonzo, the store owner, to sell the hidden wheat. Almonzo was convinced and went on a heroic attempt to save the town from starvation.
This book is very long and takes patience to read. It has a lot of drama and thoughts. I read it on the day after Christmas and felt really blessed that we have so many supplies nowadays and do not need to starve. I learned that winter is not always fun like I thought. I also learned that even when you are having a hard time or scared, your family is always there to help you.
Laura was
comforted by her big sister and I think that was very sweet. Finally, I did not expect the hero to be a store owner. Initially, Almonzo wanted to hide all the wheat for himself, but he finally sold it to the starving people and saved the town from starvation. That was very courageous act because he must have been scared that he would run out of food himself. I learned that you can be a hero in many ways.
In my opinion, this book is even better than the whole Boxcar Children series. I love the Boxcar Children series. Already I think the Boxcar Children is priceless, so this is especially priceless. I recommend this book and I am saving it for my little cousin Cathy when she grows up.
Book Report by William Chiu
April 1, 2008
I chose the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. The book is a fiction fairy tale and fantasy. I chose this book because I like Roald Dahl’s stories like Charlie and Chocolate Factory. The story was told in a witty but realistic way. I especially liked the trick where she put super glue in her father’s hat. For instance, it is true that most parents think that their children are rocket scientists while they are hallow in the head. It was hard not to imagine a giant headed kid with a pea brain! I thought his books are funny but a little dark, because it is sad to read about parents treating their child like a wart. When the time was right, pluck it off your skin and throw it in the garbage can. This kind of writings is comparable to Beethovan’s music in drama (like Fur Elise) and Tchaikovsky’s music in humor (like Nutcracker).
The story mostly took place at the school, the farm house, and Matilda’s home.
There are three main characters in the story.
Matilda is the lead
character and she is the one who tries to save her teacher, Miss Honey (the second main character) from her horrible mean headmaster, Trunchbull (the third main character). Miss Honey freed Matilda from her crazy parents and in the end lived with her like Matilda’s parents. Trunchbull liked torturing people. She really hated kids and she made Miss Honey’s life miserable. Miss Honey was living in poverty because Trunchbull took her parents’ house after they died and forced Miss Honey to give her all her earnings. is …… Miss Honey’s aunt! I found this heartbroken.
Worse yet, Trunchbull
The problem in the story was about how Matilda fought the Trunchbull to get back Miss Honey’s house and money. The thing is that the Trunchbull is like an evil power house, only the type that throws children by their hair. When Miss Honey told Matilda about her aunt, Matilda knew that Miss Honey’s father did not kill himself. She knew that the Trunchbull probably had killed him. Matilda solved the problem using her special ability where she could move things with her eyes. First, she asked for Miss Honey, the Trunchbull’s and Miss Honey’s dead father’s household name. Then she held up a chalk with her eye and wrote a message to the Trunchbull from Miss Honey’s father’s point of view. The message said that the Trunchbull better give Miss Honey back her house and money, or he will rise from the dead to get her!
I think that this story is very funny but a bit too dark for kids that have problems at home.
I imagine kids who fight with parents at home would
probably get affected by some of the imaginations. Although the details make the story very interesting and captivating for me, the details contain every mood shiver and thought that make me a little uneasy. How can parents mistreat a child so bad? How can a child abandon her parents? And how can an aunt torture her niece and kill her father? From these perspectives, I hesitate to recommend this book to some of my friends who have problems at home. Although the story is funny, but they might get the wrong idea and start to believe in these fantasies!