www.whyville.net Aug 8, 2003 Weekly Issue



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Top 5: Books for Reports

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Summer vacation is drawing to an end. As visions of school supplies dance in my head, it is with my utmost regret that I need to be the one to break the news to you. But I figured, why not use the start of school (for me, anyway) as the oppurtunity to recommend five great books to use in that book report? These are all easy to read, simple, page turners.

5. Ella Enchanted; by Gail Carson Levine
When Ella's mother dies, she is stuck living with her father who sends her off to finishing school. The worst thing is, Ella's under a curse. She must obey everything she is told to do. And sometimes, it's better to have free will, especially when it comes to, say, evil stepsisters. Life is suddenly no fairy tale for Ella. I've read this book a few times, and I still think it's awesome. Guys probably wouldn't like it though!

4. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles; by Julie Andrews Edwards
Ben, Lindy, and Tom Potter go to the zoo where they meet the spectacular Professor Savant. He tells them of a creature called the whangdoodle. They begin to go to his house regularly, to learn of the one difficult way to get to Whangdoodleland. It's been a while since I read it. It's one of my all-time favorites though. If you like fantasy, then you'll probably like this book.

3. Out of the Dust; by Karen Hesse
This book takes place in the 1930's. All of the crops and farms are failing because of the thick sheets of dust blown into the area. Can anything stop a young girl, Billie Jo, from her piano-playing passion? This book is written in a poetry format. At first the strange setup was a little bit confusing to read and the verses didn't seem to fit together but after only about 10 pages, I was hooked, so don't let the format sell you out.

2. Mary, Bloody Mary; by Carolyn Meyer
No, it's not about some ghost that you'll find staring back at you in the mirror. It's actually a historical fiction book, about the real "Bloody Mary." Her name is Mary Tudor, and she was a prized princess, set to one day inherit the throne. But when her father, Henry VIII, meets Anne Boleyn, the tables turn. He sends Mary, and her mother, Catherine of Aragon, off to seperate palaces, then marries Anne. Anne gives birth to Elizabeth, who is now crowned "Princess of Wales" in place of Mary. Mary's life turns around. Her life went from riches to rags. Will she ever rule England? This book was fantastic.

1. Walk Two Moons; by Sharon Creech
Salamanca Tree Hiddle (Sal) goes with Gram and Gramps on a road trip in search of Sal's mother who left, promising to return, but never did, in Idaho. Along the way, Sal enchants her grandparents with the true story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received weird messages and whose mother disappeared. Phoebe is quite... um... different. She insists her mother was kidnapped by a potential lunatic, and that her neighbor, Mrs. Cadaver, killed her husband. This links and covers up the story of Sal and her mother. Walk Two Moons is a great book: sad, touching, full of meaning, and well-written in a way that'll make this book impossible to put down.

Even if you aren't assigned a book report, I'll hope you'll take these books to consideration!

 

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