Books I read from January to May (a little late)

Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex- Eoin Colfer

Old Yeller- Fred Gipson

The Two Gentlemen of Verona- William Shakespeare

Little Britches- Ralph Moody

Alas, Babylon- Pat Frank

The Law- Fredric Bastiat

Caddie Woodlawn- Carol Ryrie Brink

Baby Island- Carol Ryrie Brink

The Giver- Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue- Lois Lowry

The Messenger Lois Lowry

A Little Home of Their Own- Celia Wilkins

Farmer Boy- Laura Ingles Wilder

The Princess Bride- William Goldman

My Side of the Mountain- Jean Craighead George

Here There Be Dragons- James A. Owen

The Docterine and Covenents

Books Read in 2010

Looking back on 2010, I guess I read a lot more then I though I did! I read a lot of books I liked, and some I did not really like, and a few I hated. But mostly, I liked almost every book I read! I read 41 books in 2010, and for all but 6 of them, it was my first time ever reading them.

For School:

Across Five Aprils

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Amazing Grace of Freedom

Uncle Toms Cabin (I listened to it, not read it though)

Romeo and Juliet

As You Like It

Macbeth

A book on Abraham Lincoln

Tartuffe

Oedipus Rex

King Lear

A Man For All Seasons

The Phantom Tollbooth

String, Straightedge, and Shadow

Carry On Mister Bowditch


For Book Clubs:

The Chosen

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

The Swiss Family Robinson


Series of Books:

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident

Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code

Artemis Fowl Opal Deception

Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows1

The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and the Battle in the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay


Other Books I read for Fun:

Fablehaven 5

Peter and the Starcatchers

Under the Lilacs

D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

The Horse and his Boy


Here is my favorite book that I read this year for each category:

Sci-fi: Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code

Fantasy: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Adventure: The Swiss Family Robinson

Fiction: The Chosen

Non-fiction: I didn't read any that I liked...

For School: Macbeth

Re-read: The Horse and His Boy

Yay for books! :)

Books

Books I have Read or Finished this Spring (From the 3rd Week of March to the 3rd week of June)

To Kill a Mockingbird (For School)

The Amazing Grace of Freedom (For school)

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

The Horse and his Boy

The Chosen

Fablehaven 5

Our awesome story

Last night, my amazing friend Katie and I wrote this awesome story. We were chatting on G-mail, then I had to go for a moment. Right before I left I said "brb", and that is where our story started. Note, it was totally impromptu, we didn't plan it or anything. It just sort of happened. :) I also don't know why we switched from third person to first person mid-story, we just did, and I thought it was funny. I really don't know why almost the whole thing was in parentheses, that also just happened.

I hope you enjoy!

Larkin: brb
Katie: ok
Larkin: I'M BACK!
Katie: You!
You killed my father!
Larkin: Prepare. To. Die
Katie: NOOOooooOOOOOO!
Larkin: Muaahhahhhahaahahahahaahahahahahahhahhahahhahaaa!
Katie: (light saber)
Larkin: (Awesome sword/with laser proof coating)
Katie: (swing)
Larkin: (block)
(stab)
Katie: (dodge)
(twirl, swing)
(battle yell)
Larkin: (duck, jump)
Katie: (loss of balance)
(somersault)
(recover, turn, scowl)
(strike a dramatic pose)
Larkin: ("For Narnia, Middle earth and the free countries of the galaxy)
(Charge)
Katie: (FOR PONY!)
(charge)
Larkin: (Back flip over you)
(on to my Dragon)
Katie: (pulls jetpack out of nowhere)
(ascends to meet Larkin and dragon in aerial combat!)
(pauses to wonder how Larkin could back flip while on a dragon)
Larkin: (Pulls out hunting-horn and blows, (hard) for reinforcements)
Katie: (summons nanobots to meet reinforcements)
Larkin: (wondering how Katie could pull a jet back out of nowhere)
(Commands 20 dragons to melt nanobots)
Katie: (nanobots! repair!)
(you will never defeat me, my kung fu is stronger!)
Larkin: (You will never defeat me, my magic is stronger)
Katie: (un-straps jetpack, freefalls towards Larkin with light saber swinging, nanobots like a cloud blacking out the sun behind me)
Larkin: (Dragon shoots forward, does a triple loop at a barely safe distance from Katie, then breaths fire at the nanobots, which completely disintegrates half of them)
Katie: (enraged by destruction of nanobots)
(summons a bubble of fire around myself and collides with Larkin and dragon. somehow the sword swing missed)
Larkin: (Larkin turns into her true Elf form, and uses her Elvin power to deflect Katie’s fire from herself and her dragon)
Katie: (GAH foiled again!)
(pulls enchanted daggers from boots and throws them with deadly precision)
Larkin: (daggers deflect off of even more enchanted Dragon scales)
Katie: (twirls magic-resistant dragon-piercing daggers mark 6 from sleeves and juggles menacingly)
Larkin: (reinforcement dragon comes up behind Katie and wacks her legs with his tail so she falls over)
Katie: (teleports)
(reappears behind the dragon)
(says "BOO!")
Larkin: (dragon zooms forward because she's scared because she can't understand how the heck Katie could teleport 300 feet in the air)
Katie: (hmm. good question. Katie falls after realizing that teleporting is impossible)
(the daggers clatter to the floor not but inches from me. catlike I land, poised to strike again!)
Larkin: (Larkin whispers something to the dragon, then jumps off, doing tricks worthy of the Olympics)
(lands on feet, 10 feet away from Katie in a threatening pose)
Katie: (draws dueling pistols, tosses one to Larkin)
Larkin: (Larkin pulls out a magic wand and turns her pistol into a long bow)
Katie: (BUT IT WAS A BOMB!)
(as the spell takes effect, it explodes, tossing Larkin!)
(the concussion blows nanobots everywhere, but they are dead)
Larkin: (luckily, Larkin has extremely quick reflexes, and uses a spell to counter act the majority of the bomb towards Katie, so it knocks her over too)
Katie: (I mutter an eldritch cantrip, and the nanobot pieces assemble into a metal golem!)
(it attacks!)
Larkin: (Larkin's dragon reinforcements immediately shoot lava hot flames at the golem, and it melts)
Katie: (no it doesn't)
Larkin: (fine, it just welds the joints together so it can't move very quickly)
(Larkin grins)
Katie: (fine)
(the golem falls. on top of the dragon)
Larkin: (but the dragon is way stronger then the golem, so she throws the golem off of herself, and uses her tail to smash it into one solid hunk of metal)
(the size of a dining room table)
Katie: (golem is dead. its metallic remains lie in a heap.)
Larkin: (good)
Katie: (its red eyes flicker and go dark)
(I am sad)
(I cry)
Larkin: (Larkin suddenly feels bad for your fruitless efforts, (and because you are her friend) so she puts a body bind spell on you because she knows you have the tendency to be treacherous)
Katie: (without speaking, I make the water turn into a blue dragon-thing out of sheer force of will)
(and that was very nice of you not to kill me btw)
Larkin: (I wonder what exactly a dragon-thing is)
(and send my dragon off to fight your dragon-thing)
Katie: (ok the dragon-thing is like a long snaky see through dragon made of water. pics later)
(the dragons meet in battle!)
Larkin: (My dragon breaths fire at your dragon, which makes it shrink because half of your dragon turns to steam and floats away)
Katie: (my dragon melts and envelops yours in water)
Larkin: (My dragon concentrates on becoming as hot as possible, and then the water explodes)
Katie: (my dragon fizzles away into a puddle)
Larkin: (I raise my eyebrows at you, as if saying "that's the best you can do?"
(and pull out a real-not bombed long bow)
Katie: (you slip in the puddle!)
Larkin: (but use it to my advantage to do a jump/huge triple double back flip onto my dragon)
Katie: (I do a flip-type-thing to my dragon-thing)
(but it's not there)
(instead, I teleport onto your dragon!)
(behind you)
(holding onto the tail)
Larkin: (I use the flat of my sword to knock you off)
Katie: (grab back onto the very tip of the tail and climb hand over hand underneath your dragon until I am holding onto his front legs.)
(also, I tied all his shoelaces together)
(he doesn't know 'cause he's flying.)
Larkin: (my dragon is a girl)
Katie: (she doesn't know, cause she's flying)
Larkin: (and she doesn't wear shoes)
Katie: (I use duct tape to entangle her mary janes?)
Larkin: (IF my dragon wore shoes, she would wear dragon-thing leather boots)
(so ha)
(and my dragon only pretends she doesn’t notice, and she spreads her legs far apart so you fall down)
Katie: (and down and down)
(I parachute)
(and create an illusion of a dragon's horde in a nearby cave!)
Larkin: (my dragon starts to fly straight towards you illusion)
(but she is too smart to be tricked so she breaths fire at you)
Katie: (as she breaths fire at me she's not looking at the pile of gold. the gold disappears and she flies into a giant hole!)
I have to go now.


:)
I hoped you had as much fun reading it as we had writing it!

The Many Uses of Narnia

WARNING: Early exposure to the Chronicles of Narnia books to young children, particularly before the age of seven, and in large doses (i.e. the whole series) may create a life long love of learning, reading, and fantasy. Other side effects may include:

He or She forever loving the world of Narnia

He or She always loving fairy tales, myths, and/or any other fantasy books.

He or She loving the movies, and watching an average of two per month.

He or She Enjoying fantasy so much they will read many other fantasy books before they are twelve. Some of these books might include: The Lord of the Rings, The Dark is Rising, A Wrinkle in Time, and/or Harry Potter.

He or She may also inspire siblings to start reading the Narnia series, including Eight year old sisters.


The many uses of Narnia:

The Books:

The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great book for an eight year old girl book club (we'll see how that one turns out)

It is a good book to read when you are board.

When you have a few days, you should always take the opportunity to read the whole series.

The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a wonderful allegory of the Resurrection.

The Last Battle can make you cry.

C. S Lewis is an amazing author.

All of the books are absolutely amazing.

The Movies:

The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great Christmas movie.

The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great movie to watch on Easter morning.

Prince Caspian is a great movie to watch Easter Evening.

You can feel the spirit while watching The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe on Easter on Easter morning as much as when you later watch general conference.

All the Narnia movies are great Christmas or birthday presents, and when you are a younger, very nice presents from the Easter Bunny.

They are great movies to watch on the way to Utah.

They are great movies to watch with you cousins.

The BBC versions are also great to watch with your cousins. After you finish Prince Caspian, even if it is after 9:30pm, your father and uncle will be begging to watch the next one.

Note: All warnings and advice are from personal experience, and may not be the same for you.

Books! (Again!)

Books I have Read or Finished this Winter (From the 3rd Week of December to the 3rd week of March)

I obviously I cant keep up with the start/finish dates very well. I read the books to fast:)


The Mysterious Benedict Society#3 12/25-29

Peter and the Starcatchers abt.12/28-1/3

Under the Lilacks 1/4-1/6

Uncle Toms Cabin (I listend to it, not read it though) (For School)

Romeo and Juliet (by Shakspeare) (For School)

As You Like It (by Shakspeare) (For School)

Macbeth (by Shakspeare) (For School)

Harry Potter book 5

Harry Potter book 6

Harry Potter book 7

Across Five Aprils (For School)

The Swiss Family Robinson

The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackdon and the Battle in the Labrith

A book on Abraham Lincoln (For School)

D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Books, Books Books!

I love to read! My favorite kind of books are Fantasy, but I love any kind of book. History, Non-fiction, Science fiction... I love books!

Last Saturday I finished reading the Harry Potter books, and I loved them. My favorite was the last one, but I liked all of them. If you saw one of my previous post on Shakespeare, you'll have noticed that last month I read A LOT of Shakespeare plays. I enjoy reading Shakespeare, and now that I've read so much of it (but not nearly as much as my Shakespeare teachers) I understand it pretty well. Another book that I listened to last month was Uncle Toms Cabin. I had to read or listen to it for a Civil war class I'm taking through my home-school group. I really liked Uncle Toms Cabin, and I thought it was a very good clasical book. It took me about three weeks to listen to it on and off.

Here is a list of [some] of my favorite books. They're not really in order, just as I think of them:)

The Book of Mormon

The Lord of the Rings (all of them)

The Hobbit

Narnia (all of them)

Harry Potter (all of them)

The Dark is Rising (Series, all of them)

Fablehaven (all of them)

The Mysterious Benedict Society (all of them)

Tresure Island

Watership Down

The Lost World

Eight Cousins

Macbeth

The Wizard of OZ

Half Magic

Magic by the Lake

Knights Castle

The Thyme Garden

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wind in the Door

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Uncle Toms Cabin

The Freedom Factor

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Peter and the Starcatchers

Under the Lilacs

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Queen Me

I'm a Queen!
A Shakespeare Queen to be exact. Once a week, I have a home-school school that I go to. It is normal school hours, and I get home work every week. One of the classes is a Shakespeare class, where we read, study, and learn about Shakespeare's plays. One thing that is optional, is to read, watch or listen to 17 unabridged plays by Shakespeare. I finished all 17 last week! After we read, watch or listen to 17 plays we have a "coronation" and become come a King or Queen. In February, we have a Shakespeare Fair, where we have a performance from the older home school acting class. We also have a modernised Shakespearean diner, and all of the Kings and Queens sit at a special table and get served by the two Shakespeare teachers and all the kids who did not do 17 plays. I think that this year, every one of our 20 Shakespeare class students finished 17 plays, or will have finished them by the Fair which is this Saturday. I'm exited for it! I'll post pictures wen I get them.

Here is the list of all the plays I have watched, read or listened to from September 2009 to February this year:

1. A Midsummer Nights Dream- Watched(BBC)
2. A Midsummer Nights Dream- Read
3. The Taming of the Shrew- Watched(BBC)
4. The Taming of the Shrew- Read
5. The Tempest- Watched(BBC)
6. As You Like It- Watched(BBC)
7. The Merchant of Venice- Read
8. As You Like It- Listened
9. Romeo and Juliet-Read
10. Romeo and Juliet-Listened
11. Romeo and Juliet-Watched(BBC)
12. A Midsummer Nights Dream-Listened
13. Macbeth-Read
14. Macbeth-Listened
15. As You Like It-Read
16. Twelfth Night-Read
17. Twelfth Night-Listened

Book I read last the Fall

Books I have Read or Finished this Fall (From the 2nd Week of September to the 2nd week of December)

I included a couple of start-finish dates, but then I stopped keeping track.

Inkheart (Reread) 9/11-9/15

The Mystery of the Periodic Table (reread) abt. 9/26 -3/10

Fablehaven #110/5-10/7 (twice)

Fablehaven #2 (twice)

Fablehaven #3 (twice)

Fablehaven #4

Harry Potter #1

Harry Potter #2

Harry Potter #3

Harry Potter #4

Peter Pan

Writing Magic

The Merchant of Venice

Books I Read This Summer

I read a lot of great books this summer. I rated them with stars ***** (5 stars) being the highest. This list includes all the books I read from the first week of June to the first week of September.

***** Over Sea, Under Stone (re-read)
***** The Dark is Rising (re-read)
***** Greenwitch (re-read)
***** The Grey King (re-read)
***** Silver on the Tree (re-read)
***** The Freedom Factor (re-read)
**** The Missing DaVincies
***** The Mysterious Benedict Society (re-read)
***** The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (re-read)
**** The red Scarf Girl (re-read)
**** Angel on the Square (re-read)
***** The Impossible Journey (re-read)
***** Treasure Island
**** The Penderwicks (re-read)
**** The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (re-read)
*** Magic or not?
**** The Well-Wishers
***** Half Magic (re-read)
***** Magic By the Lake (re-read)
**** Knights Castle (re-read)
***** The City of Ember (twice)
**** The People of Sparks
***** The Lost World (re-read)
***** Journey to the Center of the Earth
***** The Red Fairy Book