Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks


The Indian in the Cupboard is the first book I read for literature in 5th grade.

This book is about a boy named Omri who receives a plastic Indian for his birthday from his best friend, Patrick.  He also receives a small white cupboard.  His mother has a key that fits perfectly into the keyhole of the cupboard.  Later that night, Omri discovers that his Indian had come to life after being locked in the cupboard.  Omri becomes good friends with the Indian, but then the Indian starts getting stubborn and making problems for him.  Omri is also having trouble keeping the Indian a secret. Will Omri be able to keep the Indian a secret or will the Indian's stubbornness expose him?

I really like this book because it was an adventure in just a single room.  Almost all of the crazy things that happen take place in Omri's room with the cupboard.  I like how the cupboard can only make stuff real that is plastic.  Some of my big questions are:

  • How does the cupboard work?
  • Why does the cupboard only work with a key?
  • Why does it only work on plastic things?

I really want to read the other 4 books in the series to see if my questions are answered.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Left Behinds: Abe Lincoln and the Selfie that Saved the Union by David Potter


The Left Behinds: Abe Lincoln and the Selfie that Saved the Union was a preview copy from NetGalley.

This book is about three kids named Mel, Bev, and Brandon, the Left Behinds.  They are stuck again, in an unusual situation, and the only way to get out of it is to use their special app, I-Time.  This time, they are sent back to 1863 where they accidentally crash into Mrs. Lincoln and end up going to the White House where they meet President Lincoln.  The Left Behinds receive a text message from their teacher--they must go to Gettysburg to stop their arch-nemesis Kurtis from changing the future by helping the Confederate soldiers win.  How will they get to Gettysburg in time and, if they do, how will they stop Curtis?

I liked this book because the Left Behinds are just three normal kids that get themselves into all sorts of trouble.  The teacher, instead of sending himself to stop Kurtis, has to send the kids because they are better undercover agents.  I also liked how, back in Lincoln's time, everybody thought their phones were special devices that might be bombs or something else scary.  I found out that this book is part of a series and now I would like to read the rest of the books.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

The House That George Built by Suzanne Slade


The House that George Built was a preview copy from NetGalley.

This is book is a shorter picture history book.  The story is talking about all the people who came together to build the White House.  It is told in a poem format, that would be really good for preschool or kindergarten kids especially.  It is modeled after the poem "This is the House that Jack Built."

I really liked how it is a cool rhyming story that could work as a song.  I liked how the pictures helped explain the story a bit better with the different steps.  I think it was a fun way to learn historical things and it makes it easier for kids to learn history when it is fun.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Benji Franklin, Kid Zillionaire: Money Troubles by Raymond Bean


I loved the first Benji Franklin Kid Zillionaire book (you can check out my review here).  The author sent me a copy of the newest one so I could read and review it too.  It was an awesome surprise!

In this book, Benji is back and he is struggling more than ever to try and solve people's problems.  First, he goes on an underwater adventure in his golden submarine to try and see why earthquakes are happening on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Then, Benji ventures off into space, trying to find the space criminals who are stealing from Mr. Crow's company.  Benji may be really smart, but sometimes even he needs help!  Who will end up helping him in the end?

I really liked this book and I thought it was even better than the first one!  Of the two stories, my favorite one is the underwater adventure, because it's really cool that he finds a new location to solve his problem (in the ocean).  I also liked the space criminal story because Benji has to figure out how to track down the space criminal.  All of his normal ideas won't work, so he has to get help from others. I also think it is kind of inspiring, because Benji is a 10 year old kid who makes an app that gets him zillions of dollars.  If he can do it, anyone can do it if they just put their mind to it.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Terrible Two Get Worse by Jory John & Mac Barnett


The Terrible Two Get Worse is a preview copy from NetGalley.

This book is a sequel to The Terrible Two (check out my review here).  In this book, Miles and Niles keep their joke club going, but one joke goes too far!  They accidentally get their principal fired and the principal's dad has to take over.  His dad is a mean principal who wants to make sure that no jokes happen at his school.  He does everything he can to do it.  How will the Terrible Two get their old principal back his job?

I really liked this book because I already like the first book and it was funny how the boys kept making jokes.  The jokes were really funny and they never actually hurt people when playing them.  I also liked how, instead of doing as many jokes in this book, Miles and Niles were on a mission to figure out how to save their principal and get him back his job.  I really hope they come out with a third book in this series.