Sarah Anne Hartford by Kathleen Duey

Fabulous story which takes place during the colonial times in Massachusetts about a girl named Sarah.  During the Sabbath (or Sunday) no one was allowed to work, play, or even laugh!  Breaking this rule could have caused you to get severely punished (whipped or ridiculed at the pillory.)  Will Sarah break the rule?  Read and find out in this American Diaries book.

Eragon by Christopher Poalini

Eragon is a book about a boy named Eragon. Eragon is a farmboy that lives with his uncle Garrow. One day he goes hunting in the Spine [a mountain range] and finds a rock.

Eragon shows his uncle and his cousin Roran the rock, but they don’t have an idea about what it is. The rock turns out to be a dragon egg and the dragon hatches for Eragon. The dragon is a female, and Eragon calls her Saphira. The evil king, Galbatorix, hears about the egg, but he doesn’t know if it hatched. He sends some creatures called Ra’zac that form like humans to get the dragon egg. Saphira gets Eragon away by flying him to the Spine. The Ra’zac kills Garrow and burns the house and still doesn’t get Eragon. The storyteller of the town - named Brom- helps Eragon and together they escape from the village. They go on a long journey to get  revenge on the Ra’zac for killing Eragon’s uncle. Eragon and Brom get trapped in the city called Dras-leona. A kid named Murtagh saves Eragon and Brom, but Brom ends up dying. Eragon also saves an elf from the prison, but she starts dying. Murtagh, Eragon and Saphira have to save the elf by taking her back home. The journey is long but they make it and save the elf.

Summary written by:

Michal Nowicki

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

This book was hilariously funny.  I started it on Wednesday night and finished it by Sunday evening.  It was so good, I did not want to put it down to take care of my responsibilities.  But of course, I had to! 

The main character, Milo, learns many great life lessons through his journey through the Kingdom of Wisdom, which he enters through a magical tollbooth that appears in his bedroom.  My favorite part of the story is when the characters use idioms (sayings that don't mean what they say, like, "Chill Out!") in a literal context (someone might actually turn to ice if you say, "Chill Out!")

 So, you never know what to expect in this story of many twists and turns.

reflection by Mrs. Llantin-Cruz

An interview with Norton Juster

TurnAbout by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This book caught my attention when I realized that Margaret Peterson Haddix  wrote it.  She has also written the Among the Hidden series, which I truly enjoyed.  Then,  I read the title of the book and the summary on the back cover and I knew it was going to be juicy!  I started reading it and felt compelled to read it between my daily activities to find out what new dilemma the characters were going to face.

This book is about a scientific experiment that went very wrong.  A group of elderly people were given the opportunity to be young again, and they all took the risk.   What happens next will be a mystery until you read the book.  It is based in the late 2000's and it is written in a diary format.  The diary goes back and forth between the early 2000's when the science experiment began, and back to the late 2000's where the characters are presently dealing with some very difficult problems which were caused by this experiment.

reflection by Mrs. Llantin-Cruz

Transcript Online Chat with Margaret  Peterson Haddix