Thomas, 4th Grade, Reviews Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl"

Artemis Fowl is about a 12- year old criminal mastermind. His dad invested a lot of money into a failed market (transporting cola to Russia) so their fortune is not as big as it used to be. So when his father went missing, he took over the family and will do anything to regain his fortune, legal or illegal.  He even tries to steal the fairies gold (in this book, fairies are real)! I like this book because you want to see if Artemis outsmarts the fairies. I think it’s a good read for 4^th and 5^th graders.

Ashley, 5th Grade, Reviews Lemony Snicket's "The Wide Window"

The Wide Window is about three children named Violet, Klaus, and Sunny who have bad luck. Their parents died in a house fire so they ended up in the care of their Aunt Josephine. Aunt Josephine ends up living in a cave. Captain Sham forced her to leave so he could have the kids to himself. The kids spent their time with him as slaves trying to escape and reunite with their aunt.

 

My favorite part was when the kids found Aunt Josephine. I liked that section because they missed her and were worried sick. I love reunions!

 

My least favorite part was when Aunt Josephine had to pretend to jump out the window but ran out the front door instead.

 

I would recommed this book to kids like me who enjoy reading adventures.

 

Thomas, 5th Grade, Reviews "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".

Harry better watch out! The mass murderer Sirius Black is after him after breaking out of the wizard prison, Azkaban. This has never been done because it is guarded by dementors, evil creatures who suck the joy and happiness out of you. Most prisoners are driven mad from the lack of a happy memory! Twelve years prior Sirius betrayed Harry’s parents to Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard ever! Now Harry is being hunted down by Black. Meanwhile at Hogwarts, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Remus Lupin is teaching the class how to deal with everything from boggarts to Red Caps. He even teaches Harry how to use the Patronus charm (the only known defense against dementors) after Harry encounters some dementors on school grounds. Professor Dumbledore was furious; he clearly stated that the dementors stay off school grounds. The dementors are at Hogwarts to protect the students against Sirius Black. But the dementors grew restless, they longed for fear, anger, and misery. That is what they feed off of. It’s their version of steak or chicken. In other words, food. The worst they can do is the Dementor’s Kiss. They suck your soul out of you! You’ll live, but you’ll be a shell, with no thoughts, feelings, etc. It’s a very good book. I would suggest it to 6^th , 7^th, and 8^th graders. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Marina, 5th Grade - "My Trip to California"

During the summer I went to California with my family. My uncle got married, and we were invited for a celebration brunch for his marriage. During the flight, I read more than 100 pages of "Twilight". It was great how I got to read so many pages. The flight was 6 hours and felt long, and I was glad when we arrived at my grandfather's house where we would stay.

The next day, we went to Hollywood. We saw the Kodak Theatre and Chinese Theatre. I thought it was so cool how movie stars put handprints in front of the Chinese Theatre. I recognized a few people I heard of, Shirley Temple, Jackie Cooper, and Warren Beatty. From there, we were able to see the "Hollywood" sign on the hills and we took many pictures.

On Saturday, we went to the Disneyland Hotel Goofy's restaurant, where the brunch was taken place. The restaurant was a buffet, and the food was delicious. After the meal, we went to Disneyland. I went on many rides. My 4 year - old brother was really scared of "Haunted Mansion", and he still whines about it!

The following day, my uncles and aunts and my cousin all came to my grandfather's house for a barbeque. Since I'm turning 11 on August 19th, they gave me a surprise birthday party. I thought it was wonderful having the whole family come together. I got a chess set, a DS game, and many more. It was a very fine day for me.

My grandfather has a book about my ancestors, and he told me that my family tree can be traced to a thousand years ago! I heard that my family was well known back then, and had a successful business. About 200 years ago, one of my ancestors tried to start a paper company in Japan. He bought a paper making machine from the US to be shipped to Japan, but the ship sank on the way and the business failed. I was sad to hear the story but was amazed at how my family started such a long time ago.

I had a lot of great times at California, and I wish that I could go back there some time again!

High School Student Lauren ReviewsHarry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: The Movie

           A Critical Approach 

I absolutely love the Harry Potter series! However, when a movie is made from a book, I become a little apprehensive.  I am one of those people who love this series so much, that I get upset when parts are eliminated, modified or lacking the detail from the book.  One part that I did not like was in the beginning where the director changed the way Harry went to the Burrow. Also, the movie left out the part where Harry was asked by the Minister of Magic to become the “poster child” for the Ministry.  I felt that was an important subject since it showed how the Ministry felt badly for accusing Harry of lying the previous year and wanted the public not to look unfavorably upon its governing body.  The movie went too quickly when discussing many key parts of the school year.  The discovery of horcruxes and investigating the memories surrounding them were not giving those crucial parts of the story justice. In conclusion, I believe this movie was one of the better ones in the series to date.  I anticipate the final two movies.  Since the last book of the series will be made into two separate movies, hopefully, there will be enough opportunity to tell the story without leaving anything out.   Only a year and a half until then!