May 3 Snowstorm!

Wow!  When I looked outside today I was shocked to see almost four inches of snow on the ground!  Then I came upstairs and saw that my school had a two hour late start.  I was so relieved that I could go back to bed! We recently moved out to an acreage, so this is one of the first snowstorms at the house.  The chickens don't exactly appreciate the weather, but my siblings love it. Happy sledding!

Olivia Bean Trivia Queen

Olivia Bean Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart is a great book that I finished in just days it was so good.  Olivia is a girl who loves trivia and Jeopardy! but she is horrible at geography.  Each year on Jeopardy!  there is kids week and Olivia is determined to win. But Olivia's mom just lost her job and doesn't seem to have time to sign Olivia up.  Finally her mom's boyfriend Neil signs her up!  Olivia gets to go to California for a round of Jepardy! but will Olivia win when she stinks at geography?  I really liked this book and I will be definitely reading more books by this author.

Camp Clup Girls Series

I am getting used to my new town, but that's not what I posted for. I posted to tell you about this new book series called Camp Club Girls.  They are written by various authors like The 39 Clues. They are about 6 Christian girls that met at church camp. The girls solve mysteries with the help of God. The ones I have read are 1, 2, and 3. Kate, Alexis, Mackenzie, Bailey, Sydney, and Elizabeth will keep you reading as long as you can. Believe me, I know from personal experience!

Emileah

Here's Emileah - Leah and Emily - of Reading Fever.  This is a sad day for the two of them (although only Leah looks sad, and really, she was just uncooperative).  Emily is moving away.  The two are still planning on blogging, but life will not be the same without this fantastic duo getting to spend their days at school together. These girls have been blessed with a special friendship that we hope can grow and change with these new developments in their lives.

States Night

States Night in fourth grade.  The two bloggers present on Massachusetts and Florida.  Great job!

State Poster Time

Iowa Childrens Meuseum

Over the winter break my family and I went to the Iowa Children's Museum. The day that we went was New Year's Eve. At noon they were doing a "Noon Year's Eve" balloon drop. Everyone was so excited! After the balloon drop we went to the farm room. We stayed there for awhile. We climbed through tunnels, slid down slides, and drove pretend tractors. There was one tunnel no one was brave enough to explore (including me). Then we went to the Lego room! I was a blast! Jake built superhero forts, while Kate worked on spelling words. Maddie built a castle and I made the Iowa State logo. We also went to the Hospital room, Gravity room, and many more! Well, that was our trip to the Iowa Children's Museum.

Will Third Grade EVER End?

Flora is a new student at Poplar Elementary. She wants to fit in but the girls in her class aren't making it easy. The only person that she knows is Max, and he ended up in a different class. She is also the only member of her freckle club. Flora wonders if she'll ever fit in. Will things change when a movie star moves in across the street? You'll have to find out what happens when you read Will Third Grade EVER End?

Harry Potter

I have now read the first two Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. September and October was spent reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. This book was a great book but I liked the second book better. My favorite part in this book is when Harry is still living with his aunt and uncle. Another part I really like is when Harry finds the mirror that shows Harry and his parents{James and Molly} standing together. I also really like the part in this book where Harry is on the Hogwarts Express. I think the part that is the funniest in this book is when Duddly falls into the boa constrictor's tank. Christmas is another of my favorite parts in the book,I like the part when Harry opens the invisibilty cloak. One last favorite part of this book are the Quidditch games.

Last night I was able to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The movie was good for the most part. I found it scary at some parts but my dad and sister didn't. In the movie I especially like the Quidditch match where Harry's broomstick goes crazy. The funniest part in the movie is when Duddly falls into the boa constrictor's tank. The train in the movie is cool, too. If I would rate this movie 1 being the worst 10 being the best it would definitely be an 8 or 9.

Last night I lalso finished up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This book is my favorite Harry Potter book so far. Because I liked the entire book, I do not have one favorite part. One of my favorite parts in this book is when Ron, Fred, and George come to get Harry from the Dursley's. The magic floo powder is a favorite in this book too. The book heats up when the Chamber is opened on Halloween. But the Quidditch game is awfully good, too. The day the double attack happens I had no clue Hermione would be one of the two people turned to stone. The part that I like the most {maybe} is when Ron and Harry put the pieces together and find out the monster is a basilisk. They put the pieces together by visiting Hermione{stone}. When they are visiting Hermione they see that Hermione is holding onto a peice of paper, they take the paper from Hermione and find out... The saddest part in the book is when Ginny Ron's sister is brought into the chamber to die. Ron, Harry, and Lockhart go down in the chamber to rescue Ginny. If you want to figure out what happens I suggest to read the book.

I seem to be on a Harry Potter kick. Lego: Harry Potter Building the Magical World has given me a lot to look at and enjoy today. The buildings in this book help Harry Potter's world come to life.

Now, on to book three, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Creaky Old House

This week my mom got the book Creaky Old House by Linda Ashman. This book is a topsy-turvy tale of a real fixer-upper. I really thought this book was good. The illustrations are awesome, too. In this book 9 people and 1 dog live in old house. They all loved it just the way it was until the doorknob fell off and they couldn't find a nail to fit. So they went to get a new doorknob but that one was too big. Then they went to get a new door except the door was too big. In the end someone you wouldn't expect fixes the problem. I thought this was a great book and I'm glad my mom bought it.

Lots of Books

Wow! I have tons of books to read. On my nook I have 2 that havn't even looked at and that I am in the middle of. I also have 3 library books and lots of others I can't even think about them right now. I love having to many books and I also don't like itvery much because it makes me read a little faster.

Waiting for me right now:

Summer Reading Goal

This summer I had a goal to read 40 books. And yes I did make that goal! This summer I read 46 books. I just made the goal by 6 books. Next summer I'm thinking 55 books. My favorite series is, of course, The Babysitters Club. I also liked Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler, that my mom read to me.

Fall Picture Books

The other day I was looking through my sister's book shelf and found some fall picture books. While I found more than three, I'm going to post about the three I enjoyed the most.



1. There was an Old Lady who Swallowed some Leaves by Lucille Colandro. This book my mom was reading to my sister a few nights ago and I joined in. In one verse she swallowed a shirt and in another verse swallowed some hay! I liked this book because it's always fun to see what the old lady swallowed.







2.Buster and the Giant Pumpkin by Marc Brown. Buster is the star of this book instead of Arthur! In this book Buster is going to Oregon to a pumpkin farm. Every other page of this book Buster sends a letter to someone back in Elwood City. I also learned some cool facts in this book like: From one giant pumpkin you can make more than 300 pumpkin pies! A giant pumpkin has 800 seeds in it! I like this book because it's cool book to see that pumpkins can really grow that big.









3. Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman is a You Read to Me, I'll Read to You book. I've only read through two of the stories in here but this book seems very creative! I'm hoping to read some more stories in this book later.

Babysitters Club

I'm still reading the BabySitters Club series by Ann M. Martin. Right now I'm in the middle of number #19. I've been going really fast on these books- the other night I almost read a whole book before bed. Next I'm going to read the first Super Special: Baby-Sitters on Board! My favorite book 7-19 was Stacy's Mistake. This book was really funny at the beginning. Stacy invites The Baby-Sitters Club to New York City to vist but not everyone likes the city. Dawn doesn't like hardly anything about the NYC, and Mary Anne's like a walking guide book because she's so excited. Kristy can't keep her mouth shut and Claudia is jealous of Stacy's friends. I also really liked Jessi's Secret Language where Jessi babysits for a deaf boy and his sister and learns sign language. There's a good suprise in this book, too. My goal by the end of the summer is to read 40 books. I have 30 books so far and still have a good amount of time left.

This post is being posted several weeks after Emileah wrote it because her editor/mother never got around to pre-reading this post. Oops!

The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine

I realize that the Chinese New Year is a ways away, but I couldn't wait to share this book with you! The Zhang family doesn't have very much money even though they work for Mr.Li (the richest man in Beijing.) They send their son, Ming, to trade eggs for some rice. An old man stops Ming and wants to trade the eggs for an old rusted wok. Ming says no way, but then the wok sings, " Boy, Boy trade for me, I am more than you can see!" So Ming traded. Wonderful story! It reminds us of how we should treat people. You should really read The Runaway Wok.

Pickle Pizza by Beverly Lewis

Father's Day is coming and Eric doesn't have a gift. Eric's dad died when he was little, so Grandpa lives with Eric and his mom. Eric wants to give his grandpa something, but what? He knew his grandpa loved birds so he tried to make a robin sculpture. He couldn't finish it, though. Then Eric's friend's Dee-Dee and Carly gave him an idea. Eric knew his grandpa liked pickles and everybody likes pizza! Read Pickle Pizza to find out the rest.

Only Emma by Sally Warner

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I'm glad to be back! The book I've decided to begin the fall with is Only Emma. Emma loves being an only child. Unfortunately, the son of her mom's friend, Anthony, comes over a lot and completely wrecks her room! Emma is horrified to hear that Anthony's grandmother in Tucson is ill and Anthony's parents have to leave him with Emma and her mom for a whole week! He sleeps in Emma's room and smells like peanut butter. Emma grows to like him and is sad to see him leave early. I'll let you find out the rest.

Book of the Week

I started book of the week about a year ago and only got to book of the week #3, so I'm doing it again. This week I couldn't decide betwen 2 books so I just did both.

1. 10 Things I can do to Help my World by Melanie Walsh. The cool part about this book is it's made up of 100% recycled material. I got this book when I was in 1st grade and my little sisters begged for my mom to read it to them every night. I read this book around Earth Day this year and got it out again the other night. I really like this book. It's very creative and the pictures are really good, too. There are good suggestions for how to help our earth.

2. Pictures from our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins is the second book. The illustrations for this book are wonderful. They show 2 maps in this book. The first map is a picture of how to get to the farmhouse where they are taking their vacation. The second map shows the lake which they never found on their own. When they finally got there it started to rain. I love this book. It is a great picture book that we have read a lot before bedtime.

The Baby-Sitters Club

I'm on a roll of reading. Right now I'm reading about 2 books a day, that means taking them to the pool also. The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin is what I have been devoting all my time to -I'll be starting the 7th book tonight. The books I've read so far are:

1. Kristy's Great Idea

2. Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

3. The Truth About Stacy

4. Mary Anne Saves the Day

5. Dawn and the Impossible Three

6. Kristy's Big Day

Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls was a little scary, and I already had read a few books in this series, so I knew the truth about Stacy (book#3). Kristy's Big Day was probably my favorite book so far. These are my mom's books from when she was little and the first 5 pages were missing. Luckily my mom ordered another one from Amazon to replace this copy. I almost have all the Baby-Sitters Little Sister books by Ann M. Martin and I have all the The Baby-Sitters Club books, too. I won't run out of things to read for a while. I told my mom that if I read 25 of The Baby-Sitters Club books I will have read 40 books this summer which was my original goal.

Palace Beautiful

Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams might be my favorite book this year. At first I didn't read very much of this book, but then one night I read 150+ pages and then the next morning I finished it up. It was hard to put down. Sadie and Zuzu are sisters who lived in Texas. Now they have moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. Their mom died and their dad got married again. They like their step mom but are worried that something bad might happen to her like it did to their mom. In their new house they discover a journal hidden in the attic with their next door neighbor girl. Helen was the girl who wrote the journal in 1918. Back then World War I was taking place and so was the influenza epidemic. I wanted to keep reading to see if Helen was going to survive and stayed up way past my bedtime just to read the rest of Palace Beautiful.