BR 2-18: Washington D.C.

The weather in Washington can be very hot in the summer and very cold in winter. (p.18) 

I picked this book because I wanted to know about Washington. I also thought it would be easy to read because the story was separated into some section. Washington is the capital of the United States, so the city is important in the U.S. If you read the book, you will be able to get a lot of information about Washington. I could know buildings, monuments, memorials, entertainment, and so on. Washington also has many shopping and eating spaces. I have never been to Washington, so I want to go there! I also think I want to know a lot of the cities of the United States. 

Reference 

Escott, John. (2001). Washington D.C. New York, NY: Oxford Bookworms Factfiles.

[136/15074 words]

BR 2-17: The Tree House

Then the floor of his tree house gave way and Donut suddenly came crashing out of the tree. (p.23)

I picked this book because the title was attractive for me, so I wanted to read it. This story is about a brother and a sister. One day, a brother was watching a football match, but a sister wanted other TV program. She begged her mother, so he was forced to change the TV program. Instead of watching TV, he went to garage and helped his father. A sister got a remote control, but she switched off the TV. She sat on the sofa, and she bored. She tried to cook. She made strange dishes, so he was surprised. In the afternoon, he tried to make a tree house. He worked hard, but it didn’t go the way he wants it to. However, he challenged harder. If you are interested in the story, please read it. It was a fun story for me!

Reference 

Strong, Jeremy. (2001). The Tree House. London, England: Literacy Land.

[173 words/14938 words]

BR 2-16: Seasons and Celebrations

Valentine's Day started over two thousands years ago, as a winter festival, on February. (p.4)

I picked this book because I am interested in traditional events of foreign countries. I went to Minnesota in the U.S. during summer vacation, and I experienced thanksgiving. I ate turkey, pumpkin pie, and so on. It was very fun for me. This book shows traditional events of Western countries. I learned a lot of things about traditional events. For example, food people eat at the event, the reason the event was held, what people do at the event, and so on. This book has knowledge I didn’t know, so I learned a lot of things through reading the book. If you want to know about traditional events of foreign countries, please read it. After I read the book, I could get useful information. I want you to read it! 

Reference 

Maguire, Jackie. (1997). Seasons and Celebrations. New York, NY: Oxford Bookworms Factfiles.

[157/14765 words]

BR 2-15: French Adventures Part 2

The trip to France was not turning out as expected. (p.2) 

I have ever read French Adventures Part 1, so I wanted to read the continuation of the story after I read part 1. I went to the library at KGU, and I picked this book. This story is about students who came to France on a school trip. In part 1, the problem happened at the last of the story. The teacher was taken away by two men. In part 2, two students tried to find him. When they looked for their teacher, they met a woman. She helped them. If you want to know the continuation of the story, please read it. Do you think students can find their teacher? Do you think why the teacher was taken away? It is easy to read, so I recommend you to read this book.

Reference 

Strong, Jeremy. (2001). French Adventures Part 2. London, England: Literacy Land.

[156/14608 words]

BR 2-14: The Mystery of the Missing Dog

Except for his tail, Chip's dog, Max, was invisible! So was Chip. But at least Chip wore clothes. (No page number.)

When I went to the library at KGU, I picked this book. I saw the cover of the book, and I found invisible boy and  dog in the picture. I thought this story would be fun then. This story is about an invisible boy, Chip, and his friends, Justin and Charlene who look for missing Chip's dog, Max. One day, they decided to take pat in the dog show. However, the judges of the dog show won't be able to see Max, so they colored Max by using food coloring. Max can be seen by everyone. On the day of the dog show, they met some participants and their dogs. As Max walked around, the color fade, and Max became invisible again. They lost sight of Max. They tried to find him very hard. They searched the clue to find him. If you want to know the continuation of the story, please read it.

This book is level 3 in the English Garden of KGU library. You may think it is difficult to read. If you think that, you are wrong. It is easy to read, so I want you to read it. I recommend you this book. It is an interesting story.

Reference

Levy, Elizabeth.(1995). The Mystery of the Missing Dog. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

[235/13562 words]

BR 2-13: Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas

“Every year, two weeks before Christmas, Fang gets a Christmas card from his mother in the mail,” Annie said. (p.3) 

I picked this book because I became a fan of Nate the Great series. When I saw the title of the book, I found a word “Christmas.” It is December now, so I thought this book was just right for this season. This story is about a boy who is a detective, and he solves the cases with his dog Sludge. In this story, his friend Annie came to him, and she asked him to solve the problem. Annie’s dog Fang got a Christmas card from his mother every year, but he has not received it yet this year. Nate the Great and Sludge have to do a lot of things, so they didn’t want to find clues and solve the case on the day. However, they are kind, so they tried to solve the problem with Annie and Fang. If you want to know the answer and the continuation of the story, please read it.

Also, this book has fun activities pages. First, there are explanations about snowfall, types of snow and Christmas catalogs. Next, it shows six fun things to do on snowy day. I want to try them if it snows this year. Lastly, it shows how to make four things. When you read them, you can know how to make potato pancakes, applesauce, Greeting cards and dog biscuits. I want to make them too. Reading these pages was very fun for me, so I want you to read it. 

Reference 

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman & Craig. (1996). Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas. New York, NY: Random House.

[282/13327 words]

BR 2-12: The Cobble Street cousins #4: Some Good News

“I have an idea,” Lily said one evening as the cousins played Scrabble in the attic. (p.5) 

I picked this book because I thought it was a pretty book when I saw this book. I also thought this book would make me happy when I saw its title. This story is about three girls who make a newspaper in cooperation. Three girls’ names are Lily, Tess and Rosie. Lily and Rosie are sisters, and Tess is their cousin. Lily wants to be a poet. Tess wants to be a Broadway star. Rosie wants a little cottage with flowers by the door. One day, three girls played together. Then, Lily caught up with a great idea. It was to make a newspaper. They interviewed a man, worked themselves in each room, and so on. They worked very hard to complete their first paper. If you are interested is this story, please read it. This book will make you feel calm.

This story is set in spring. The sentences are beautiful, so the pictures of the book are black and white, but you will be able to image colorful scenes. In the middle of the book, there is the newspaper three girls made. It is very fun to read. Moreover, this book is one of the Cobble Street Cousins series. The series have six stories. This book is fourth story. I felt it was interesting for me, so I also want to read other stories. I want you to read the book too.

Reference 

Rylant, Cynthia. (1999). The Cobble Street cousins #4: Some Good News. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

[268/13045 words]

BR 2-11: Snake Camp

He wasn’t going to computer camp! He was going to… SNAKE CAMP! (p.5) 

I picked this book because the picture of the book was unique and cute. I thought it would be fun. I also wanted to know the mean of the title because I could not understand this mean. This story was about a boy who took part in the camp. His parents let him participate in the camp, but they made a mistake. He would learn about computer software at camp, but this camp was a chance to learn about snakes. However, he had a problem. He didn’t like snakes.

In the end, he grew up through the camp. He met other participants, and he made friends with them. Moreover, his thought about snakes changed. I thought the process of his growth was interesting for me. If you are interested in the story, please read it. You will feel the story is very fun. I want you to read it.

Reference 

Stanley, George Edward. (2000). Snake Camp. New York, NY: Random House.

[177/10690 words]

BR 2-10: French Adventures

"Bye bye Story Street!" yelled Billy and Ravi. "France, here we come!" (p.6)

I picked this book because I was interested in the title and I thought the pictures are so cute. I thought this story would be fun, so I tried to read it. This story is about the children and their teachers who go to France on a school trip. The story has six chapters. First chapter described leaving for school and incidents in the bus. Second chapter described incidents in the ferry. Third chapter described going through Customs. Fourth and fifth chapter described incidents at the chateau. Last chapter described visiting church. I like the scene at the chateau because I could understand children’s feelings. They were very happy to visit France, so they jumped on the bed in their room. I identified myself with their excitement.

Also, a problem happened in the end of the story. If you are interested in the story, please read it. This book is part 1, so KGU library has French Adventures part 2. I have not read part 2. I want to read it because I want to know the continuation of the story. Moreover, I thought the conversations between children and teachers were very interesting. I recommend you to read this book. I believe both part 1 and 2 are fun for readers. 

Reference

Strong, Jeremy. (2001). French Adventures. London, the U.S.: Literacy Land.

[238/10477 words]

BR 2-09: Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine

I LOVE YOU SLUDGE MORE THAN FUDGE. Someone had given Sludge a Valentine! (p.8)

I picked this book because I like mystery stories. I had ever read other book of Nate the Great before I read this book. When I first read one of the books of Nate the Great series, I came to like this series, so I wanted to read this book. This story is about a boy who is a detective and solve a variety of cases with his dog Sludge. One day, he saw a big paper heart that taped to the out side of the house. Message was written on the paper. However, it was signed with initials. This initials were ABH, but Nate the Great and Sludge didn't know the person whose initials were ABH. They started to solve the case. If you want to know the continuation of the story and the answer of the case, please read it. I felt it was a very interesting story.

Also, there are fun activities in the second half of the book. When you read these pages, you will be able to know a lot of things about valentine. For example, you can understand how to make a puppy love pendant, mailing a valentine, chocolate dip recipe, and so on. It was very interesting for me.  I recommend you to read it.

Reference

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. (1994). Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine. New York, NY: Random House.

[245/10239 words]

BR 2-08: The Case of the Small Fat Dog

“Let’s play at being detectives,” suggested Mouse. “Okay,” Jojo agreed. (p.17) 

I picked this book because the pictures of the book are so cute. This story is about a family who met a dog by accident. At the beginning of the story, the family went camping. At night, father read a story for children, but it is not story for children. It is a terrible story. Next morning, the family went to beach. The beach was crowded, so three children, Jojo, Mouse and Pip, act together. Then, Jojo and Mouse played at being detectives. There are following phrase in the story. “I’ll be Mr Sherlock Moans, the famous grumbling…” “And I’ll be Dr What’s-Going-On, his clueless assistant.” It was fun for me. When they walked path, they noticed a dog followed them suddenly. The detectives find why the dog was following them. If you want to know the continuation of the story, please read it.

When you read the book, you can understand many things. Why did the dog follow the children? Is the story father read for children related to encounter with children and the dog? Where is the dog from? After I read the book, I felt it was so interesting. I recommend you to read the book!

Reference 

Alexander, Jenny. (2001). The Case of the Small Fat Dog. London, the U.K.: Literacy Land.

[226/9244 words]

BR 2-07: The biggest Party in the Universe

Everyone had a different idea about how they should celebrate the school’s 200th birthday. (p.8)

I picked this book because I was interested in the title of the book. I thought what the biggest party in the universe was. I want to know it. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Turner, who is the head teacher at Story Street School, showed children the old diary and read it. When she finished reading it, children found that this school would be exactly 200 years old on May 25th this year. Children were motivated. They had good ideas to celebrate the school’s 200th birthday, and they shared their ideas each other. However, Ms. Cherry had some news of her own. It was her wedding party would beheld on May 25th. It was a problem. Then, Mrs. Turner suggest that her wedding party would be mixed up school’s 200th birthday. Ms. Cherry thought and decided it, while children sent invitations to people who had been to Story Street School in the past. However, something happened. Zak, who was the partner of Ms. Cherry, hurt two days before the wedding. They had already sent invitations of party, but they stopped the party. Children felt sad. Then, five children made a plan to success the party. If you want to know the continuation of the story, please read it! It was very fun for me.

And more, this story was separated 10 chapters. Some of the chapters were written from Zak’s view; others showed children’s states. When you read this book, you can enjoy reading because it is easy to read and pictures are colorful and cute. I really like the book. I want you to read it!

Reference

Strong, Jeremy. (1988). The Biggest Party in the Universe. London, the U.K.: Literacy Land.

[306/5899 words]

BR 2-06: Crystal the Snow Fairy

“Each Weather Fairy will help you find her own feather,” said the queen. (p.24)

I picked this book because pictures are so pretty. The library at KGU has a lot of books of fairies series: the weather fairies, the jewel fairies, the rainbow fairies, and so on. I chose the book because I like snow very much. This story is about two girls who find feathers with fairies. At the beginning of the story, it started to snow suddenly in spite of summer. This was very strange. Kirsty and Rachel have a secret. They are friends with fairies. Kirsty suddenly became fairy-size, and she flew over rivers, mountains, trees and houses. She arrived at Fairyland. When she arrived there, Rachel had already arrived there and waited Kirsty. King and queen told Kirsty and Rachel that Jack Frost and his servants, goblins, robbed Doodle’s feathers. Doodle was in charge of Fairyland’s weather and decided on the best weather for every part of Fairyland every morning, so Doodle’s feathers were very important. Two girls decided to help to find and collect feathers with fairies. If you want to know whether they could find feathers or not, please read this book! It was interesting for me. Kirsty, Rachel and the snow fairy made a special plan to return feathers goblins. When you read the book, you could also understand this plan. 

The weather fairies are made up seven fairies: the snow fairy, the cloud fairy, the mist fairy, the lightning fairy, the rain fairy, the sunshine fairy and breeze fairy. Each fairy tries to find each feather. I want to read all books of the weather fairies. They will be fun. I recommend you to read the series of fairies.

Reference 

Meadows, Daisy. (2004). Crystal the Snow Fairy. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[299/5593 words]

BR 2-05: Old Friends, New Friends

One Saturday, the friends went up onto the common to ride their bikes. (p.1)

I picked this book because I was interested in the story about friends. I wanted to read it when I found this book at the library. This story began with an encounter of two boys. One day, Ben was in the common with his friends. They rode their bikes there. When Ben rode the bike on the track, a boy appeared suddenly. Ben slammed on the brakes and came swerving to a stop. His bike slid out from under him, and he tumbled onto the path. Ben got angry, but the boy who appeared suddenly told Ben that he taught Ben it would have been a disaster. Ben understood what the boy said, but he couldn't say "thank you." After Ben met his friends again, he told them he wanted to find the boy, so Ben and his friends searched for the boy, but they couldn't find him. After they gave up and went back, they saw an old bus. there is the boy who Ben searched for. Ben wanted to become a friend with him, but Ben's parents didn't allow because the boy was a stranger. Ben persuaded his parents. If you want to want to know the continuation of the story, please read it. Do you think Ben can become a friend the boy? What does it mean the title of the book? After I finished reading it, I could understand its mean.

Also, the boy who Ben met lived in an old bus with his mother. They hadn't a television, a computer, and so on. I think proper that I have a television, a computer and other home electronics. Ben thought so too. However, Ben knew that he could realize interesting things of the environment if he had no home electronics. If you read this book, you will realize them just like Ben. I think this is a very important thing. I want you to read the book.

Reference

Alexander, Jenny. (1988). Old Friends, New Friends. London, England: Literacy Land.

[353/4825 words]

BR 2-04: The Enormous Crocodile

“I have secret plans and clever tricks,” said the Crocodile. (No page number.) 

I picked this book because the cover of the book was attractive for me. This story was about a crocodile which wanted to eat little children. There were two crocodile in the river in Africa. One was the enormous crocodile, and the other was not so big crocodile. The enormous crocodile told not so big crocodile that it would like to eat a nice juicy child for its lunch. The enormous crocodile was hungry, so it left for jungle at once. When the enormous crocodile was walking, it saw a hippopotamus, an elephant, a monkey and a bird. Whenever it saw them, it told them to be going to eat children, and it said “I have secret plans and clever tricks.” Animals the enormous crocodile met thought it was brutal and cruel. After that, the enormous crocodile carried out the plan. Do you think the plan go well? Do you think the enormous crocodile is able to eat children? If you are interested in the story, please read it. I thought it was very fun after I finished reading it.

When you see the book, you may it has long sentences. However, the book has a lot of pretty pictures, so it is easy for you to read and understand. I don’t like reading books very much, but I felt it was interesting for me to read it. If you didn’t like books which have long sentences, you could read this book. I recommend you to read it!

Reference 

Dahl, Roald. (1978). The Enormous Crocodile. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

[273/3851 words]

BR 2-03: Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang

"We are having a detective party just for you. Because you have solved so many cases for us." (p.9)

I picked this book because I wanted to read Nate the Great series. Nate the Great is a detective. One day, his friends held a party for him, and Rosamond named the day "Happy Detective Day!" However, Annie noticed. Annie is one of the members who held the party. She noticed her dog, Fang, was missing. Nate the Great usually solves cases, but "Happy Detective Day" was his day off, so his friends tried to find Fang and solve the case for themselves. However, they couldn't find Fang. In the end, Nate the Great solved the case and found Fang. After I read the book, I thought the process that he solved the case was was very interesting. Moreover, some hints and clues were showed in the middle of the story, and small characters sometimes appeared. The sentences written in the small characters asked readers whether you could solve the case, so you will feel that you are solving the case with Nate the Great while you are reading the story. If you are interested in it, please read it. It will be fun.

Last 11 pages are very fun. The pages have detective certificate of Nate the Great, pancake recipe, how to make strawberry milk shake, secret code, and so on. I would like to try to make pancake and strawberry milk shake! This is why you will be able to be fun if you read this book. I recommend you to read it!

Reference

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. (1998). Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang. New York, NY: Random House.

[287/3578 words]

BR 2-02: Brittany the Basketball Fairy

“I’d like to find Brittany the Basketball Fairy’s magic basketball.” (p.1) 

When I went to the library at KGU and looked bookshelves, colorful books attracted my attention. It was the series of Rainbow Magic books. The stories were about many kinds of fairies, for example, weather fairies, music fairies, sports fairies, and so on. And more, all of the book covers were very cute. I picked the book about the basketball fairy because I like basketball very much.

The story began with Rachel Walker’s question. She asked Kirsty Tate, who is Rachel’s best friend, what we should do after lunch. They shared a very special secret that they had become friends with the fairies. However, the fairies had a problem that the sports fairies’ seven magic objects had been stolen by Jack Frost and his goblins. One of them is a magic basketball. Rachel and Kirsty intended to find it. They went to the rec center, and they met Abby, who is Rachel’s friend. She was participating in basketball game, but she worried her team challenged to next game with the very strong team. The team was a group of goblins. Rachel and Kirsty joined next game because they were invited by Abby. They understood goblins used a magic basketball. They thought it was unfair to use it to win the game, so they carried out a plan to get it back to the basketball fairy in the second half of the story. If you know the continuation of the story, please read this book! I felt it was fun after reading. I also wanted to read other books of the series. 

Reference

Meadows, Daisy. (2008). Brittany the Basketball Fairy. New York, NY: Scholastic. 

[283/2316 words]

BR 2-01: Nate the Great and the Musical Note

It was a note for Pip from Rosamond. I knew it would be strange. (p.10)

I picked this book because illustrations of the cover were so cute and the title is attractive for me. The hero of the story is Nate the Great, and he is a detective. One day, when he took a bath, a boy came to Nate the Great’s house. A boy whose name is Pip gave Nate the Great a piece of paper. It was a note for pip from his teacher of piano lessons, but it was so strange, so Pip couldn’t understand. He asked for Nate the Great to tell what it means. Nate the Great tried to solve the problem. If you want to know the answer of the problem, please read this book. It was very interesting. And more, this book is one of the series of Nate the Great. I want to read all of the series.

Moreover, after the story, there are extra pages in this book. Extra pages have fun activities. When you read them, you can get a lot of information, for example, pianos, fingerprints, and so on. They are useful and very fun. I read them, but there were many things I didn’t know, so I got new information. I recommend you to read this book!

Reference

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman and Mitchel. (1990). Nate the Great and the Musical Note. New York, NY: Random House.

[239/1082 words]

BR 1-15: Mr. Putter & Tabby Catch the Cold

Tabby sat on Mr. Putter's head to keep warm while he read the funnies. (No page number)




I picked this book because I came to like the series of this story. I also like the characters in the story. Mr. Putter, who is a hero in this story, had a cold in this story. When I saw the title, I imaged a bad story. However, the imagination is wrong. If you read this book, you will understand what I want to say. The story is very interesting, and it is easy to read. Please read it!

Reference

Rylant, Cynthia. (2002). Mr. Putter & Tabby Catch the Cold. Orlando, U.S.A: Harcourt.

[109 words]

BR 1-14: Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog

Then Mr. Putter, who had a very soft heart, said, “I will. I will walk your little lollypup.” (No page number)

I picked this book because the cover is cute and unique, so I was interested in the story. Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby have gotten along with their neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke. One day, her foot was injured. She had to take Zeke out for a walk, but she couldn’t. That is why he decided to take care of Zeke in stead of her. He had a hard time to look after Zeke. If you want to know the continuation of this story, please read it! Illustrations of this book are very pretty, so you will come to like this series.

Reference

Rylant, Cynthia. (1994). Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog. San Diego, U.S.A: Harcourt.

[142 words]