The Hobbit: A Book Review By David

 Photo by David P

Recently, with “The Hobbit” being made into a movie, with all of the memorabilia junk and such, it has been popularized. Over the past month or so, I have seen many more people carrying around a copy of it. However, I am proud to say that since I was six, I have been an extremely dedicated Tolkien fan. I have read almost all of his books, with the exception of an Elvish Encyclopedia, and I have the really old (cardboard thingy cover and map on the first page) version (you can tell because the text on the cover is starting to fade) of “The Hobbit”. I have read it at least twenty-five times, and I am reading it again (Near the end now!). I love Tolkien’s writing. It helps me escape from a world that is all too real and let my imagination be free.

A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who has never thought of doing anything out-of-the-ordinary or going outside of his comfort zone, has his house invaded by dwarves seeking to claim the treasure of Erebor, kingdom under the mountain. Their leader is a dwarf named Thorin Oakenshield, and he is the grandson of the King Under The Mountain, Thrain. Erebor was overrun by a dragon, and the dwarves are looking to recover Erebor. Poor Bilbo is dragged along on an adventure, in which he learns about the outside world while getting captured by goblins, traveling through caves and forests, and even meeting Beorn, the skin-changer. He learns about doing the right thing and being tenacious. All in all, it is a wonderful book and I recommend it strongly to anyone who asks, “Should I read it?”.

Posted with BlogsyPosted with Blogsy

Squirrel and His Foolish Friends by Davi

Squirrel and His Foolish Friends

 

Once upon a time, there was a forest. In this forest, there lived a tribe of squirrels. All of the squirrels in this tribe were daredevils, except for one squirrel named Bob Scaredy Squirrel.

One day, Bob was talking with his friends, when they heard raucous laughter. Bob’s friends went investigating while he admired a caterpillar as it made its way up a tree. In the middle of its ascent, a lizard jumped from a nearby branch, grabbed the caterpillar, and started to run. As soon as it was out of sight, Bob heard a voice calling his name.

“Bob, come here Bob, you have to see this!!!!” Bob ran past the trees and saw, spread out on a cliff, a colossal log. Squirrels were running all over the log, their claws clacking against the wet wood.  Suddenly, there was a large crack and the log dipped a few feet. All the squirrels gasped, then started laughing. It seemed that the crack only enticed them more to go on the log, not to run away.

“Come on Bob,” Bob’s friends urged. “This log is really cool!!! It even cracked a little bit!!” Of course Bob, being a smart squirrel said no. When Bob’s friends started urging him even more, he started arguing. When the squirrels started chanting his name, Bob gave in.

He started to slowly walk towards the log, trying to not be scared. When he set one foot on the log, Bob started thinking of all the horrible things that could happen to him if he went on the log.

“No!” Bob declared, “I won’t do it!” And with that, Bob walked off into the forest. He walked for a little while, when he heard a large crack, and squirrels screaming, loudly at first, then slowly getting quieter. Bob raced back to find that the log had broken, and all the squirrels had fallen to the rocky ground below.

Moral: Do what’s right. Don’t give in to negative peer pressure.

Favorite Books Quarter 2 by Davi

It’s me again. I have made this blog post again to find out what books people like. Last quarter the favorite book was Harry Potter and the favorite author was Rick Riordan. This quarter I’m hoping that we get some other authors and books to win. Only post books that you’ve read recently, so that Harry Potter doesn’t win every time. Thanks.

What is Your Favorite Dystopian Fiction Book? By David

Dystopian fiction is a newly popular genre started by what I call “Hunger Games-itis” in which there is a protagonist in a new country where the government controls everything, whose family is poor and by some means of selection move in to the center of society. It is a fun genre to read. In the past few years, the number of this type of books has increased by a lot. I’d really like to know what your favorites are. Please comment!

 

Favorite Books by Davi

Books. There are a lot of them, but only a few earn the title of best book. Post your favorite books on this post and at the end of the quarter, I will tally up the votes and pick out some winners.  If you want, also post your favorite authors so I can also tally those. Thanks;)

Series Review Davi: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Fablehaven

I’m going to review the series Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I like this series because the suspense in the books is really good. I also like how Mull adds a whole different reality to our “normal” reality. It makes you wonder, are we really alone in this world? If not, then are the other being(s) sharing the world with us friendly or hostile? Mull creates this whole world that none of the main characters even imagined was real, and then hits them in the face with the news. “Hey, all the creatures that you have ever heard of in myths and legends are real. Have a nice day!!” I especially love the suspense at the end of his books. Mull ends with something crucial, like one of the main characters dying, or getting kidnapped, or the main antagonist in the series is suddenly free from his/her unbreakable prison. In conclusion, I hope you love this series as much as I did. But if you don’t, post a comment on this blog post explaining why.

Smile, A Graphic Novel about Braces by Olivia

Image from Flickrcc

This weekend I went to the bookstore and bought some books. One of them was called Smile. Smile is a true story about the author, Raina Telgemeier. She was going to get braces but then knocked out her 2 front teeth and had to go through extensive dental care to fix it. I’m getting my braces this week so it was interest to me. Whether or not you have braces or will get them I would recommend this book to any girl, or boy if you don’t mind slightly girly books. Smile is  just a long comic. I thought it would last me the weekend but I ended up reading it in under an hour. One of my favorite scenes is when Raina is recovering from dental surgery and is just lying on the couch. Her little sister is playing Super Mario Brothers and her thought bubble says,”You can only watch your sister die at Super Mario Brothers so many times.” Smile also deals with some of the social problems Raina encounters through middle school and high school.  It’s a great book.