Hiroshima

While the Enola Gay soars in the sky, Hiroshimians pleasantly continue with their business, not aware of what horrible thing is about to happen. Hiroshima, a historical fiction novella by Laurence Yep, which has 56 pages, is very intriguing. It is about America bombing Hiroshima, then helping them to recover after the Americans realize what damage they did. Unfortunately, the Hiroshimians are too scared to go back to America for more help.

One of the strongest points of the book is when the Americans help the Hiroshimians by giving many needed surgeries. A not so strong point is when the Hiroshimians don't go back to America because they are too scared. I would definitely recommend this novella. This book is chalk full of history I wasn't aware of, that people are still dying from today. It was intriguing because every time I turned the page.... MORE ACTION!

I also loved this book because it was interesting. It made me more aware of America's history. I think Laurence Yep did a great job not "morphing" history much, like many other authors do.
I think anyone should definitely read Hiroshima, by Laurence Yep. I loved it!!!!

The Magic Paintbrush

The Magic Paintbrush, by Laurence Yep has 90 pages that kept me on my toes every minute. It is about a little boy, named Steve, who lives with his grandfather and his grandfather's friend, Uncle Fong. Since he is poor, he can't afford a new paintbrush, so he gets a big fat F! Because Grandfather doesn't want Steve to be upset and fail he gives him the magic paintbrush. They all have many great adventures with it. I would definitely recommend this book, I thought it was terrific!

Freidrich

Friedrich, by Hans Peter Richter, has 138 pages. This book is about the Holocaust and is very sad. It learned alot about the Holocaust. If there is someone who wants to learn about the Holocaust I would definately recommend it! Even though it was very, very sad, I really loved it!

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, has 240 pages. This book is about a young boy named Bruno. In the beginning of the story Bruno, his sister, Gretel, and his parents live in Berlin, Germany. But, Soon, he and his family move to Auschwitz, just one of the many concentration camps in Germany. While out exploring he meets one of the Jewish children in the camp. His name was Shmuel. When Bruno gets curious about the other side of the fence, Shmuel needs help finding his father. A quote that would really fit this book is "Curiosity killed the cat".



Bruno is committed. He is committed in many ways. One of them is when Bruno commits to his three best friends for life. Even though he ends up moving and never seeing them again. He is also committed when he is on the other side of the fence helping Shmuel find his father. Even though he is very scared and wants to go home, he stays to help his friend before he leaves. Unfortunately, he never gets the chance to get back on the other side of the fence. I thought the book was kind of boring, so I probably wouldn't recomend it.

Holes

Holes, by Louis Sachar, has 233 pages filled with drama and excitement.
The book starts off with Stanley Yelnats and him walking down a street along
an underpass, pefectly unsuspicious of anything. Stanley and his family,
unfortunately, are on the more poor side, so when he gets hit in the head with
a pair of shoes worn and signed by a famous athlete he begins running as
fast as he could home to show his mother and father the fortune he had just
found. While darting down the underpass the police see him with the shoes
(which were stolen) and take him away. Stanley has a choice, he could have
either gone to jail or Camp Green Lake. As we all probably already know, he
chose the second one.

Stanley definately perseveres through his time at Camp Green Lake and
all of the bad things he has to put up with. Facing the warden, facing Mr Sir,
and the harrassment from all of the other "campers". Especially when his only
true friend at Camp Green Lake, Zero (Hector Zeroni), runs away.
He has to trudge through the sizzling hot desert to find him, which he finally
does. I connected this book to my experience at 6th grade camp because
towards the end I was feeling kind of tired and homesick. I thought the book
was terrific, though I wouldn't recommend it for young children because it has
some violence in it.

Criss Cross

The novel, Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, has 337
pages telling the story of some kids' lives. The kids' names
are Hector, Debbie, Phil, Rowanne, Lenny, and Patty. It
also tells about the challenges the children have to
overcome during the time period of their lives. All of the
kids share the same character traits; they are all caring and
adventurous.
Adventurous and caring describe the kids' personalities.
Debbie and her friend, Peter, are both caring when Peter's
grandmother needs to go to the hospital, they find a way to
get her there, even though they have to put an effort into
looking for a way. They are also adventurous when Debbie
needs to remember how to start a car with a dead battery
and she needs to drive (without her permit) Peter's
grandmother to the hospital. Lenny is adventurous when he
teaching Debbie how to drive without his dad's permission,
when it is his dad's car.Hector is also adventurous when he
decides to take guitar lessons when no one else will. I
connected this story to myself and my friends because we
will do just about anything for each other. I would
recommend this book, I thought it was very well written!

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